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Copyright.  1689, 


€l^e  Jpolp  f  ace* 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 


t-^SAO   Pa   ?«S».A 


$1  SSIp^onsus  pQ^BFia  bp  Eiguori. 

^aplambar  2711^^  1696^  in  ilp  pnl^iinal  ^nsib  ni 
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lis  Fiall^0i[^  J)ott  |tiS0jt]^  b^  Jiiguori^  anh  i^is 
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i^ab  gcob  tjaason^  for  a  fall^^r  of  ll^^  ^oqialij  nFl 
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bid^  of  i^im:  ''l]^i$  t^b  luifi  i^toma  oan|  o!b: 
^g  mi8  not  bia  bfore  i\t  9011^  i|0ar  of  \k  aga. 
!|i  uiiH  btom^  a  tis^opt  anb  pgrfot|m  gr^at  h$H 
for  |0$u$  ii^risi;' 

^0  Inotu  l^oui  lfji$  prabi^lion  uia$  fuIEibb. 


LOAN  STACK 

Cofvmam.  1888.  Mum^v  ft  MoCartky. 


.  inntlu$  llnft0n$n$:  ^nvtn  ba  Jiniiom^ 


Episcopus,  EcclesiiB  Knctor  et  Songregationis 
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I!f9 


ENTIC 


PORTRAITS  OF  THE  HOLY  FATHERS 


'•^W 


FROM 


St.  Peter  to  Leo  the  XIII 


'IJIYINa    THE    DATE    OF    THE    CONSECRATION    AND    THE 
NUMBER    OF    YEARS    EACH    REIGNED. 


NIURPHY     &     MCCARTHY, 

20   WARREN    STREET,    NEW   YORK. 


Copyright,  1889. 

1  S.  Petrus  42-67. 

2  S.  Linus  M.  67-78. 

3  S.  Cletus  I.  M.  78-90. 

4  S.  Clemens  I.  M.  90-100. 

5  S.  Anacletus  M.  100-112. 

6  S.  Evaristus  M.  112-121. 

7  S.  Alexander  I.  M.  121-132. 

8  S.  Sixtus  I.  M.  132-142. 


9  S.  Telesphorus  M.  142-154. 
10  S.  Hyginus  M.  154-158. 
lis.  Pius  I.  M.  158-167. 

12  S.  Anicetus  M.  167-175. 

13  S.  Soter  M.  175-182. 

14  S.  Eleutherus  M.  182-193. 

15  S.  Victor  I.  M.  193-203. 

16  S.  Zepliyrinus  M.  203-221. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

17  S.  Callistus  I.  M.  221-227. 

18  S.  Urbanus  I.  M.  227-2a3. 

19  S.  Pontianus  M.  233-238. 

20  S.  Anterus  M.  238-239. 

21  S.  Fabianus  M.  240-253. 

22  S.  Cornelius  M.  254-255. 

23  S.  Lucius  I.  M.  255-257. 

24  S.  Stephanus  I.  M.  257-260. 


Copyright,  1889. 

25  S.  Sixtus  II.  M.  260-261. 

26  S.  Dyonisius  261-272. 

27  S.  Felix  I.  M.  272-275. 

28  S.  Eutychiaiius  M.  275-283. 
20  S.  Cajus  M.  28:i-296. 

30  S.  Marcellinus  M.  296-304. 

31  S.  Marcellus  I.  M.  304-309. 

32  S.  Eusebius  M.  309-311. 


33  S.  Melcliiades  311-314. 

34  S.  Silvester  I.  314-337. 

35  S.  Marcus  337-340. 

36  S.  Julius  I.  341-352. 

37  Liberius  352-363. 

38  S.  Felix  II.  M.  36.3-365. 

39  S.  Damasus  I.  366-384. 

40  S.  Siricius  384-398. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

41  S.  Anastasius  I.  399-402. 

42  S.  Innocentius  I  402-417. 

43  S.  Zosimus  417-418. 

44  S.  Bonifatius  I  418-423. 

45  S.  Coelestinus  I.  42:3-432. 

46  S.  Sixtus  III.  432-440. 

47  S.  Leo  1.  Masjnus  440-461. 

48  S.  Hilarius  461-468. 


Copyright,  1889. 

49  S.  Simplicius  468-483. 

50  S.  Felix  III.  48;W92. 
61  S.  Gelasius  I.  492496. 

52  vS.  Anastasius  II.  496-498. 
63  S.  Symniagus  498-514. 

54  S.  Hormisdas  514-523. 

55  S.  Joliannes  I.  M.  523-526. 

56  S.  Felix  IV.  526-530. 


57  Bonifacius  II.  530-532. 

58  Johannes  II.  532-535. 

59  S.  Agapetus  I.  535-536. 

60  S.  Silverius  536-538. 

61  Vigilius  539-555. 

62  Pelagius  I.  555-560. 

63  Johannes  III.  560-573. 

64  Benedictus  I.  574-578. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

65  Pelagius  II.  578-590. 

66  S.  Gregorius  I.  Magnus  590-604. 

67  Sabinianus  604-606. 

68  Bonifacius  III.  607. 

69  S.  Bonifacius  IV.  608-615. 

70  S.  Adeodatus  I.  615-619. 

71  Bonifacius  V.  619-625. 

72  Honorius  I.  625-638. 


Copyriglit,  r889. 

73  Severimis  040. 

74  Jolianiies  IV.  640-642. 

75  Theodorus  I.  642-649. 

76  S.  Martin  us  I.  M.  64fW355. 

77  S.  Eugenius  I.  655-656. 

78  S.  Vitaliaiius  657-672. 

79  Adeodatus  II.  672-676. 

80  Donus  I.  676-678. 


81  S.  Agatho  678-682. 

82  S.  Leo  II.  682-683. 

83  S  Beiiedictus  II.  684-685. 

84  Johannes  V.  685-686. 

85  Conon  686-687. 

86  S.  Sergius  I.  687-701. 

87  Joliannes  VI.  701-705. 

88  Johannes  VII.  705-707 


Mui'phy  &  McCarthy. 

89  Sisinnius  708. 

90  Constantinus  708-715. 

91  S.  Gregorius  II.  715-731. 

92  S.  Gregorius  III.  731-741. 

93  S.  Zaciiarias  741-752. 

94  S.  Steplianus  II.  752. 

95  Stephanus  III.  752-757. 

96  S.  Paul  us  I.  757-767. 


Copyright,  1889. 

97  Stephanus  IV.  768-771. 

98  Hadrianus  I.  771-795. 

99  S.  Leo  III.  795-816. 

100  S.  Steplmnus  V.  816-817. 

101  S.  Paschalis  I.  817-824. 

102  Eugenius  II.  824-827. 

103  Valentiims  827. 

104  Gregorius  IV.  827-843. 


105  Sergius  IT.  844-847. 

106  S.  Leo  IV.  847-855. 

107  Benedictus  III.  855-858. 

108  S.  Nicolaus  I.  Magnus  858-867. 

109  Hadrianus  II.  867-872. 

110  Johannes  VIII.  872-882. 

111  Marinus  I.  882-884.    . 

112  Hadrianus  III.  884-885. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

113  Stephanus  VI.  885-891. 

114  Formosus  891-896. 

115  Bonifacius  VI.  896. 

116  Stephanus  VII.  896-898. 

117  Romanus  898. 

118  Theodorius  II.  898. 

119  Jolianncs  IX.  898-900. 

120  Benedictus  IV.  900-90S 


Copyright,  1889. 

121  Leo  V.  903, 

122  Christophorus  903-904. 

123  Sergius  III.  904-911. 

124  Anastasius  III.  911-913. 

125  Lando  913-914. 

126  Johannes  X.  915-928. 

127  Leo  VI.  928-929. 

V28  Stephanus  VIII.  929-931. 


129  Johannes  XL  931-936. 

130  Leo  VII.  936-939. 

131  Stephanus  IX.  939-942. 

132  Marinus  II.   943-946. 

133  Agapetus  II.  946-956. 

134  Johannes  XII.  956-964. 

135  Benedictus  V.  964-965. 

136  Johannes  XIII.  965-972. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

137  Benedictus  VI.  972-973. 

138  Bonus  II.  973. 

139  Benedictus  VII.  975-984. 

140  Johannes  XIV.  984-985. 

141  Bonifacius  VII.  985. 

142  Johannes  XV.  985-996. 

143  Johannes  XVI  996. 

144  Gregorius  V.  996-999-    . 


Copyright,  1889. 

145  Johannes  XVII.  999. 

146  Silvester  II.  999-1003. 

147  Johannes  XVIII.  1003. 

148  Johannes  XIX.  1003-1009. 

149  Sergius  IV.  1009-1012. 

100  Benedictus  VIII.  1012-1024. 

101  Johannes  XX.  1024-1033. 
152  Benedictus  IX.  1033-1044. 


153  Gregorius  VI.  1044-1046. 

154  Clemens  II.  1046-1047. 

155  Daniasus  II  1048. 

156  S.  Leo  IX.  1049-1054. 

157  Victor  II.  1055-1057. 

158  Stephanas  X.  1057-1058. 

159  Benedictus  X.  1058-1059, 

160  Nicolaus  II.  1059-1061. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy 

161  Alexander  II.  1061-1073. 

162  S.  Gregorius  VII.  1073-1085. 

163  Victor  III.  1087. 

164  B.  Urbanus  II.  1088-1099. 

165  Paschalis  II.  1099-1118. 

166  Gelasius  II.  1118-1119. 

167  Calistus  II.  1119-1124. 

168  Honorius  II.  1124-1130. 


Copyright,  1889. 

169  Innocentius  II.  11.30-1143. 

170  Coelestinus  II.  114:)-1144. 

171  Lucius  II.  1114-1145. 

172  Eugenius  III.  1145-1153. 

173  Anastasius  IV.  115:3-1154. 

174  Hadrianus  IV.  11.54-1159. 

175  Alexander  III.  1159-1181. 
">76  Lucius  III.  1181-1185. 


177  Urbanus  III.  1185-1187. 

178  Gregorius  VIII.  1187. 

179  Clemens  III.  1187-1191.   ^ 

180  Coelestinus  III.  1191-1198. 

181  Innocentius  III.  1198- 121b. 

182  Honorius  III.  1216-1227. 

183  Gregorius  IX.  1227-1241. 

184  Coelestinus  IV.  1241. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

185  Innocentius  IV.  124.3-1254. 

186  Alexander  IV.  1254-1261. 

187  Urbanus  IV.  1261-1264. 

188  Clemens  IV.  1265-1269. 

189  B.  Gregorius  X.  12/1-1270. 

190  Innocentius  V.  1276. 

191  Hadrianus  V.  1276 

192  Johannes  XXI.  1276-1277. 


Copyright,  1889. 

193  Nicolaus  III.  1277-1280. 

194  Martinus  IV.  1281-1285. 

195  Honorius  IV.  1285-1287. 

196  Jsicolaus  IV.  1288-1292. 

197  S.  Coelestinus  V.  1294. 

198  Bonifaciiis  VIII.  1294-1303. 

199  B.  Benedictus  XI.  1303-1304. 

200  Clemens  V.  1305-1314. 


201  Johannes  XXII.  1316-1334. 

202  Benedictus  XII.  1334-1342. 

203  Clemens  VI.  1342-1352. 

204  Innocentius  VI.  1352-1362. 

205  B.  Urbanus  V.  1362-1370. 

206  Gregorius  XI.  1370-1378. 

207  Urbanus  VI.  1378-1389. 

208  Bonifacius  IX.  1389-1404. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

209  Innocentius  VII.  1404-1406. 

210  Gregorius  XII.  1406-1409. 

211  Alexander  V.  1409-1410. 

212  Johannes  XXIII.  1410-1415. 

213  Martinus  V.  1417-1431. 

214  Eugenius  IV.  1431-1447. 

215  Nicolaus  V.  1447-1455. 

216  CalUstus  III.  1455-1458. 


Copyright,  1889. 

217  Tins  II.  1458-1404. 

218  Paulus  II.  1464-1471. 

219  Sixtus  IV.  1471-1484. 

220  Innocentius  VIII.  1484-1492. 

221  Alexander  VI.  1492-1503. 

222  Pius  III.  1503. 

223  Julius  II.  1503-1513. 

224  Leo  X.  1513-1521. 


225  Hadrianus  VI.  1522-1523. 

226  Clemens  VII.  152:3-1534. 

227  Paulus  III.  1534-1549. 

228  Julius  III.  1550-1555. 

229  Marcellus  II.  1555. 

230  Paulus  IV.  1555-1559. 

231  Pius  IV.  1559-1565. 

232  S.  Pius  V.  1566-1572. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy 

233  Gregorius  XIII.  1572-1585. 

234  Sixtus  V.  1585-1590. 

235  Urbanus  VII.  1590. 

236  Gregorius  XIV.  1590-1591. 

237  Innocentius  IX.  1591. 

238  Clemens  VIII.  1592-1605. 

239  Leo  XL  1605. 

240  Paulus  V.  1605-1621. 


Copyright,  1889. 

241  Gregorius  XV.  1621-1623. 

242  Urbanus  VIII.  1623-1044. 

243  Innocentius  X.  1644-1655. 

244  Alexander  VII.  1655  1667. 

245  Clemens  IX.  1667-1669. 

246  Clemens  X.  1670-1676. 

247  Innocentius  XI.  1676-1689. 

248  Alexander  VIII.  1689-1691. 


249  Innocentius  XIL.  1691-1700. 

250  Clemens  XI.  1700-1721. 

251  Innocentius  XIII.  1721-1724. 

252  Benedictus  XIII.  1724-1730. 

253  Clemens  XII  1730-1740. 

254  Benedictus  XIV.  1740-1758. 

255  Clemens  XIII.  1758-1769. 

256  Clemens  XIV.  1769-1774. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 

257  Pius  VI.  1775-1799. 

258  Pius  VII.  1800-1823. 

259  Leo  XII.  1823-1829. 

260  Pius  VIII.  1829-1830. 

261  Gregorius  XVI.  1831-1846. 

262  Pius  IX.  1846-1878. 

263  Leo  XIII.  1878. 


HALF  -  HOURS 


WITH 


The  Servants  of  God, 


WITH    A   COMPENDIUM   OF  THE 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH, 

COMPRISING 

HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS  ;   THE   INCARNATE  WORD  AND  THE  DEVO 

TION  TO  THE  SACRED  HEART;  INDIFFERENTISM  :  OR,  IS  ONE  RELIGION 

AS  GOOD  AS  ANOTHER  ?  APPROVED  BY  HIS  EMINENCE  CARDINAL 

GIBBONS  AND  THEIR  EMINENCES  CARDINALS  MANNING  AND 

NEWMAN,  THE    MOST   REVEREND   THE  ARCHBISHOPS 

OF    NEW    YORK,    PHILADELPHIA,    EDINBURGH, 

AND  GLASGOW,   AND  MANY  BISHOPS. 

COMPHSD   FROM  THE  WORKS  OF 

REV.  JOHN  Mclaughlin,      rev.  george  tickell,  s.  j., 

CHARLES  KENNY,        THOMAS  ARNOLD,  M.  A., 
REV.  W^ILLIAM  A.  ADDIS, 

AND  OTHERS. 


EMBELLISHED    WITH    NEARLY    SCO    ENGRAVINGS. 


NEW  YORK: 

PUBLISHED    BY    MURPHY    &    MCCARTHY, 

20  WARREN  STREET. 


COFY  OF  THE  IMPRIMATUR  OF  HIS  GRACE  THE  MOST  REVERENL 

ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  YORK,  APPROVING  THE  PUBLICATION 

OF  ''HALF-HOURS   WITH    THE  SERVANTS  OF  GODr 


Nihil  Obstat, 

D.    J.    McMAHON, 

CENSOR   DEPUTATUS. 


APRIL  7,   1891. 


IMPRIMATUR. 

T  Michael  Augustine, 

ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  YORK. 


APRIL  II.  1891. 


Cupyrighi,  1S91,  bjr 

MURPHv  A  McCarthy. 


CONTENTS. 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS  AND  SERVANTS  OF  GOD. 


Part  tbe  Sixet. 

ON   GOD,  HIS    ATTRIBUTES,  GIFTS,  GRACES,  ETC. 

ORAr.  rACB 

1.  On  the  Love  of  God 9 

St.  Francis  of  Sales  and  Father  Segneri. 

2.  On  the  Holy  Fear  of  God   ....    12 

Fire  Breiteville,  Fathers  Faber,  Noutt,  and  St. 
Gregory. 

3.  On  the  Holy  Will  of  God   ....     15 

Fire  Nepveu,  Massillon,  and  St.  Augustine, 

4.  On  the  Word  of  God 17 

Fire  de  la  Porte,  Massillon,  and  SS.  Francis 
and  Cyprian, 

5.  On  the  Law  of  God 20 

.55.  Augustine,  Chrysostom,  ferome,  and  Cyp- 
rian, 

6.  On  the  Presence  of  God       ....     23 

Fire  Nepveu  and  Father  Faber. 

7.  On  the  Providence  of  God   ....     25 

St,  Chrysostom,  Fire  Croiset,  and  St.  Augustine. 

8.  On  the  Service  of  God 27 

Archdeacon  Boudon  and  Father  Faber, 

9.  On  the  Want  of   Fervor  in   God's 

Service 30 

Bourdaloue,  Fire  Croiset,  and  St,  Augustine, 

10.  On  the  Mercy  of  God   .......    33 

Fire  de  la  Colombiire  and  Father  Faber, 

11.  On  God's  Mercy  in  our  Illnesses    .    35 

Father  Sfinola,  S.   M,  Fire  Nouet,  and  St, 
Ambrose, 

12.  On  God's  Mercy  in  Afflictions,  etc.    38 

St.  Chrysostom  and  P techier. 


CHAF.  VAOfe 

13.  On  the  Actual  Grace  of  God      .    .    40 

St.  yElred,  Massillon,  and  Bourdaloue, 

14.  On  the  Sanctifying  Grace  of  God  .    43 

Cardinal  Bellarmin,  Fire  Duneau,  and  St,  L»o. 

15.  On  Confidence  in  God 46 

Fires  Houdry  and  De  la  Colombiire. 

16.  On  Zeal  for  God 4> 

Fathers  Lambert,  Croiset,  and  Nouet, 


Part  tl)e  lt)ccanlr. 

ON  GOD  THE  SON  AND  GOD  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

17.  On  THE  Incarnation 51 

SS.   Bernard,  Athanasius,  Jerome,  and  Fire 
Grenada. 


18.  On  the  Divinity  of  our  Saviour 

Cardinal  Berulle  and  Fire  Dozennes. 

19.  On  Belief  in  Christ  our  Lord 

Massillon,  Promentiire,  and  St.  Jerome. 

20.  On  the  Love  of  Jesus  for  Men  . 

Fire  Eusibe  Nieremberg. 

21.  On  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord 

Fire  du  Jarry  and  St.  Augustine, 


22.  On  the  Circumcision 

Bourdaloue,  Father  Faber,  and  St.  Bernard, 

23.  On  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus     .    . 

Fire  Nouet,  S.  J. 


24.  On  the  Epiphany 

SS.   Augustine,   Chrysostom,  and  Fire  Mon^ 
morel. 


54 
57 
59 
61 
64 

60 


11 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


25.  On  the  Infancy  and  Hidden  Life  of 

Jesus '   7^ 

Pires  Croistt  and  Nouet,  S.  J. 

26.  On  the  Transfiguration 73 

FatAtr  du  Pont,  S.  J. 

27.  On  the  Washing  of  the  Feet  ...     75 

Rev.  Pire  Houdry,  S.J.,  and  St.  Lte. 

28.  On  the  Passion  of  our  Lord    ...    77 

Pires  De  la  Colombilre  and  Nouet. 

2g.  On  Jesus  Risen 80 

Bourda/oue, 

30.  On  the  Sacred  Heart  ANfa  Wounds    83 

Cardinal  Peter  Damien,  Pire  Biroat,  and  St. 
Bernard. 

31.  On  the  Mystery  of  the  Cross     .    .    86 

55.  Chrysostom  and  Augustine. 

32.  On  the  Ascension 88 

Pires  De  la   Colombiire,  Le    Valois,   and  St. 
Bernard. 

33.  On  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost    91 

St.  Chrysostom  and  Flechier. 

34.  On  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  ....    93 

Pires  Houdry  and  De  la  Colombiire. 


Part  X\z  Cjjtrt. 

on    the    blessed    virgin     MARY    AND     OF     OUR 

lady's  feasts. 

35.  On  Devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God      96 

Henri-Marie  Boudon,  Arc/tdeacon,  and  St.  Ber- 
nard. 

36.  On  the  Lmmaculate  Conception      .      99 

Pires  Houdry,  De  la  Colombiire,  and  St.  Ber- 
nard. 

37.  On  the  Nativity  of  Mary  ....     102 

Pire  Verjus. 

38.  On  the  Holy  Name  of  Mary  ...     105 

Pire  D^ Argentan. 

39.  O.v  THE  Presentation  of  Mary    .    .     107 

Fere  Houdry,  S.  J. 

40.  On  the  Annunciation 109 

Bourdaloue  and  St.  Gregory. 

41.  On  the  Visitation 112 

Fires  dujarry  and  D^ Argentan. 

42.  On  the  Purification 114 

Bourdaloue  and  Father  Faber. 

43.  Oy  the  Seven  Dolours 117 

Prom  "  Essias  de  .Sermons  "  and  Father  Faber. 


CHAP.  'AOB 

44.  On  the  Assumption 120 

Fire  Nouet. 

45.  On  the  Holy  Rosary 122 

Father  Faber  and  Pire  Nicolas  de  Dijon. 

46.  On  our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel 

Pir*  D*  la  Colombiire. 


125 


Part  t()e  Jottrtl). 

ON  OUR  HOLY  MOTHER  THE  CHURCH,  AND  OF  THE 
sacraments  administered  in  the  CHURCH. 

47.  On  the  Holy  Catholic  and   Apos- 
tolic Church 127 

Fire  Texier  and  Flechier. 


On  the  Treasures  of  the  Church 

Fire  Texier. 


130 


49.  On  the  Ministry  of  God's  Church     132 

Flechier  and  St.  Jerome. 


50.  On  Material  Churches    .... 

Flechier  and  St.  Chrysostom. 

51.  On  Sundays  and  Holidays  .    .     . 

Fire  Montmorel  and  Discours,  Chretiennes. 

52.  On  Fastings  and  Abstinence  .    . 

Fire  De  la  Colotnbiire, 

53.  On  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism    . 

St.  Chrysostom,  Pire  Ncpvue,  and  St.  Leo. 

54.  On  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  . 

Bourdaloue  and  Pire  Masson. 


135 

138 
140 
142 

145 

148 


55.  On  Holy  Communion 

Fires  Castillo,  Vaubert,  and  St.  Cyprian. 

56.  On  the  Holy   Eucharist  as  a   Sac- 

rifice   150 

Flechier.  • 

57.  On  the   Holy  Eucharist  as  a   Sac- 

rament     153 

Father  Faber,  Pire  Gamier,  and  St.  Cyprian. 

58.  On  the  Sacrament  of  Matrimony  .     156 

Fire  Cordier. 


Part  tl)e  JFifti). 
on  the  world  and  sin. 

59.  On  the  World  and  its  Dangers 

St.  Augustine,  Flechier,  and  Fire  Croiset. 

60.  On  the  World  and  its  Maxims  . 

St.  Ambrose,  Massillon,  and  St.  Augustine. 


158 


160 


CONTENTS. 


Ill 


«KAr.  PAGE 

6i.  On  the  World  and  its  Duties    .    .    163 

St.  Chrysostom  and  P'ere  Texier, 

62.  On  the  World  and  its  Honors  and 

Dtgnitiks 166 

Pire  de  la  Colombilrt  and  St.  Gregory, 

€3.  On  Mortal  Sin 168 

Pires  Texier,  Berthier,  and  St.  Cyprian. 

64.  On  Vknial  Sin 171 

Pires  de  la  Colombiire  and  Segneri. 

65.  On  Habitual  Sin 173 

St.  Augustine,  Pire  Biroat,  and  St.  Bernard, 

66.  On  Occasions  of  Sin 175 

Massillon  and  Bossuet. 

67.  On  Frequent  Relapses  into  Sim      .     177 

Bourdaloue. 

68.  On  Final  Impenitence 179 

Massillon,  De  la  Colombiire,  and  St.  Chrysostom. 


Part  t!)e  Siytl). 

ON  THE   vices   WE   SHOULD   FLEE   FROM. 

69.  On  Ambition 182 

Pires  Houdry  and  Croiset,  S.  J. 

70.  On  Anger 184 

^5.  Basil,  Chrysostom,  and  Ambrose. 

71.  On  Avarice 186 

St.  Chrysostom  and  Massillon. 

72.  On  Atheism  and  Unbelief  ....     188 

SS.  Augustine  and  Cyprian. 

73.  On  Blasphemy 191 

La  Morale  Chr'etienne  and  St.  Chrysostom. 

74.  On  Calumny  and  Slander  ....  193 

Bourdaloue  and  SS.  Chrysostom  and  Bernard. 

75.  On  Discord,  Law-Suits,  &c 196 

Pire  Lejeune,  Homelies  Morales,  and  St.  Am- 
brose. 

76.  On  Effeminacy  and  Sensuality  .    .     199 

Le  Pire  Haineuve. 

77.  On  Envy  and  Jealousy 201 

SS.  Cyprian,  Chrysostom,  and  Basil. 

78.  On  Flattery 204 

'■'■Guerre  aux  Vices,"  and  SS.  Basil  and  Jerom*. 

79.  On  Gambling 207 

Pires  Giroust  and  Bourdaloue. 

■80.  On  Hardness  of  Heart 209 

Bishot  Mascaron,  and  Pires  Nouet  and  Nepvue. 


CHAP.  ,^^ 

81.  On  Hypocrisy 211 

Bourdaloue  and  Dictionnaire  Morak. 

82.  On  Idleness  and  Sloth 213 

Bourdaloue. 

83.  On  Ignorance 215 

Pire  La  Pont. 

84.  On  Immodest  Attire,  Fashion,  etc.    217 

SS.  Chrysostom  and  Cyprian. 

85.  On  Impurity 219 

St.  Basil,  Pires  Houdry  and  De  la  Rue. 

86.  On  Ingratitude 222 

.^5.  Chrysostom  and  Ambrose,  and  Bourdaloue. 

87.  On  Intemperance 224 

Pires  de  la  Colombiire,  Houdry,  S.  J.,  and  St. 
Ambrose. 

88.  On  Lying  and  Trickery 227 

Pires  Houdry,  Heliodore,  and  St.  Augustine. 

89.  On  Prosperity  of  the  Wicked    .    .    229 

St.  Augustine  and  Massillon. 

90.  On  Rash  Judgments 231 

SS.  Francis  de  Sales,  John  of  God,  Augustine, 
and  D Abbe  de  la  Trappe. 

91.  On  Scandal 234 

Bourdaloue,  St.  Cyprian,  and  Pire  Houdry. 

92.  On  Self-Love 236 

Pires  Louis  de    Granada,  Camaret,  and  St. 
Augustine. 

93.  On  Theatres,  Balls,  etc 238 

Fenelon,  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  and  Lanetan- 
tius. 

94.  On  Theft  and  Larceny 241 

Pire  Lejeune. 

95.  On  Vain  Glory 243 

.S^.  Chrysostom,  Ambrose,  and  Rodriguez. 

96.  On  all  our  Bad  Passions    ....    246 

Pires  A.  Rodriguez,  Nepvue,  and  St.  Philip 
Neri. 


Part  i\t  §»ci)entl). 


on  the  virtues  we  should  put  into 
practice. 

97.  On  Alms-Deeds 249 

St.  Chrysostom  and  Pires  Houdry  and  Faber. 


98.  On  Keeping  the  Commandments 

Pire  Lambert. 


2JI 


99.  On  Conscience 253 

Bourdaloue. 


IV 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


CHAP.  »AGB 

loo.  On  the  Conversion  of  Sinners      .    255 

Bourdalotu  anet  Pirt  Houdry. 

loi.  On  the  Employment  of  Time     .    .    257 

Pires  Segneri  and  Croiset. 

102.  On  Faith 260 

Fleehier  and  Pire  La  Font. 

103.  On  Friendship 263 

SS,  Francis  of  Sales,  Chrysostom,  and  Jerome, 

104.  On  Good  Example 265 

Plre  Texier. 

105.  On  Good  Works 267 

St.  Chrysostom  and  Plre  Segneri. 

106.  On  Holiness  and  Perfection     .    .    270 

St.  Ambrose  and  Pire  D^Argentan. 

107.  On  Human  Respect 272 

Massillon  and  St.  Gregory. 

io8.  On  Humility 274 

St.  Francis  de  Sales  and  Father  Faher. 

109.  On  Love  of  our  Neighbor     .    .    .    276 

SS.  Bernardine  of  Sienna,  etc.,  etc. 

1 10.  On  Love  of  our  Enemies    ....     278 

Carranza,  Le  Plrejoly,  and  St.  Gregory  Naz. 

111.  On      Meditation      and       Mental 

Prayer 280 

St.  Francis  of  Sales,  Massillon,  and  Rodriguez. 

112.  On  Meekness 282 

SS.  Ambrose  and  Augustine. 

113.  On  Modesty 284 

St.  Ambrose  and  Plre  A.  Rodriguez. 

114.  On  Mortification 287 

Pires  Segneri,  Croiset,  and  St.  Bernard. 

115.  On  Obedience 290 

SS.   Francis    of   Sales,    Gregory,  and    Plre 
Lambert. 

116.  On  Order  and  Regularity     .    .    .    293 

Le  Plre  Hatneuve  and  St.  Augustine. 

117.  On  Penance  as  a  Virtue    ....     295 

Bourdaloue. 

118.  On  Perseverance 297 

Plres  Antoint  de  la  Porte   Croiset  and  St. 
PhtltJ)  Neri. 

119.  On  Piety  and  Devotion      ....    300 

St.  Bernard  and  Plre  Croiset. 

120.  On  Poverty,  Voluntary,  etc.  .  .  302 

Fathers  Sarrazin,  Faber,  and  St.  Bernard. 

121.  On  Prayer 304 

J.S1    Francis,   Augustine,   Philip    Neri,   and 
Peneion. 


CHAP 

122. 


123. 
124. 
125. 

126. 
127. 
128. 

129. 

130- 
131- 

132. 


On  Predestination 307 

Plres  Houdry  and  Croiset. 

On  Prudence 309 

St.  Basil  and  Plre  Giroust. 

On  Purity  and  Chastity    ....    311 

SS.  Astere  and  Ambrose. 

On  Religion 313 

Bourdaloue,  De  la  Colombilre,  and  St.  Ber- 
nard. 

On  Retreats 316 

SS.  Efhrem,  Gregory,  and  Plre  le  Valois. 

On  Riches  —  Use  and  Abuse.     .    .    319 

SS.  Chrysostom,  Basil,  and  Massillon. 

On  the  Excellence  of  the  Soul  .    321 

Plres  Houdry,  Nepvue,  Bretteville,  and  St. 
Chrysostom. 

On  the  Peace  of  the  Soul  .  .  .  323 

Father  Segneri,  SS.  Edmond  of  Canterbury 
and  Augustine. 

On  Salvation 326 

SS.  Ephrem,  Chrysostom,  and  Plre  Nepvue. 

On  Temptations 328 

SS.    Chrysostom,    Francis,    Augustine,    and 
Rodriguez. 

On  Vocation  to  a  State  of  Life  .    331 

Plrt  Nepvue,  Massillon,  and  St.  Philip  Neri. 


Part  t()e  eiffl&tl). 
on  the  last  four  things. 

133.  On  Death — In  General    ....    335, 

Fathers  Segneri  and  Faber. 

134.  On  Death  — a  Good  and  Bad  One    335 

SS.  Bernard,  Philip  Neri,  and  Plres  Giroust 
and  Houdry. 

135.  On  the  Particular  Judgment    .    .    338 

Plres  Du  Pont  and  Croiset. 

136.  On  the  Last  Judgment 340 

Bourdaloue  and  Plre  Segneri. 

137.  On  Purgatory 342 

On  -what  the  Saints  have  written  on  this  subject. 

138.  On  .Hell 345 

Fathers  Biroat  and  Faber. 

139.  On  Heaven 347 

St.  Chrysostom  and  Plres  Croiset  and  Nej^vue. 


COffTENTS. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH   HISTORY. 


1.  Antioch  the  First  Centre  of  the 

Catholic  Church i 

Antijihon.    Apocrisiarius.    Apocrypha. 

2.  History  of  the  Catacombs  ....  8 

3.  History  of  Canon  Law 19 

4.  History  of  Peter's  Pence   ....  26 

5.  Origin  of  Schools 28 

6.  History  of  Freemasonry     ....  33 

7.  History  of  Galileo 37 

8.  History    of    the    Irish     Catholic 

Church 45 

Origin  and  History  of  the  Irish  College  at 
Rome. 

9.  History  of  the  Inquisition     ...      58 

The  Spanish  Inquisition  Explained. 

\o.  History    of    the    Oratory    of    St. 

Philip  Neri 63 

History  of  the  Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus.  History  of  the  Devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Mary.     The  Origin  of  Bells. 

11.  Persecutions  of  the  Christians  dur- 

ing the  First  Six  Centuries    .      69 

12.  Stations 72 

Stations  of  the  Cross.     Stigmata. 

13.  Stole 76 

Dove :  Symbol  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Doxology, 
Dreams. 

14.  Purgatory 81 

Communion  of  Saints. 

15.  Beatification 89 

16.  Miracles 94 

Missal.    Propaganda. 

17.  Conclave loi 

Concordat. 

18.  Commandments  of  God 106 

Commandments  of  the  Church.  Mitre.  Mixed 
Marriages. 

19.  Intercession  and  Invocation  of  the 

Saints 112 

Dispensation.  Divorce.  What  a  Doctor  of 
*ke  Church  is.     Dogma. 


CHAP.  rAOt 

20.  Marriage lai 

Martyr,    Martyrology. 

21.  Antichrist 135 

Ash  Wednesday.  Asperges,  Assumption.  At- 
trition. Aureole.  Ave  Maria.  Banns.  Ex- 
communication.  Fathers  of  the  Church, 
Genuflexion, 

22.  Celibacy 146 

Veneration  of  Images. 

23.  Meaning  of  Doctrine  of    Immacu- 

late Conception  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin 151 

Season  of  Advent.  What  Heresy  is.  Hermit. 
Hierarchy.    Holy  Water. 

24.  Holy  Week 165 

In  Hoc  Signo  Vinces. 

25.  Language  of  the  Church  ....  172 

Churching  of  Women  after  Childbirth.  In- 
cense. 

26.  Index  of  Prohibited  Books     ...    177 

27.  Vatican  Council 181 

The  Veil.  Vestments.  Dolours  of  Blessed 
Virgin.  Domine,  non  sum  Dignus.  Chrism. 
Seamless  Coat  of  our  Saviour.  The  Pope's 
Tiara.  Quinquagesima.  Encyclical.  Apos- 
tasy. Coadjutor.  Papal  Bull.  Papal  Brief. 
Acolyte.  Pulpit.  Benedicamus  Domino. 
Julian  and  Gregorian  Calendar.  Whmt 
an  Infidel  is.    Privileged  Altar, 

28.  Altar 200 

Altar-Breads.  Altar-Cloths.  Ambo.  Amen. 
Amice.  Anathema.  Catafalque.  Catechism, 
Catechist.  Ex  Cathedra.  What  a  Cathe 
dral  is.  Sanctuary.  The  Sancius.  San 
dais. 

29.  Scapulars aio 

Schism.  Beretta.  Chalice.  Chalice  Veil. 
Chancel.  Pyx.  Ciborium.  Girdle.  Man- 
iple. Humeral  Veil.  Surplice.  Dalmatic, 
Cassock.  Tunic.  Corporal.  Crib  at  Beth- 
lehem. Cope.  Crosier,  or  Pastoral  Staff, 
Chasuble.  Frontal.  Explanation  of  Pref- 
ace of  the  Mass.  Prelate.  Why  ths  Prisst 
says  "Ite,  Missa  est."    Bursa. 


VI 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


P>rt  tlie  /int. 


CHAT. 

Introduction 


rAGS 

I 


1.  Refutation  of   Indifferentism  froh 

Reason 13 

2.  Refutation  of   Indifferentism  from 

Revelation 18 

3.  Indifferentism  Shown  to  be  a  Com- 

tradiction  of  revelation     ....    25 


4.  Refutation  of  Indifferentism    . 


44 


CHAP.  PACK 

5.  Further  Refutation  of  Indifferent- 
ism from  Revelation 50 


Part  i\t  l^tconti. 

1.  Unity 59 

2.  Universality,  or  Catholicity    ...      79 

China.  India.  Ceylon.  Antipodes.  Nevt  Zea- 
land. Oceanic  1.  Africa.  The  Levant f  Syria, 
and  Armenia.     America. 

Conclusion ,    ....     1 14 


THE  INGflRNflTE  WORD  AND  THE  DEVOTION  TO  THE  SACRED  HEART. 


REFKCE. 


PIRITUAL  reading  is  now  so  recognized  a  practice  for  all  who 
wish  to  lead  a  devout  life,  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  here  to 
insist  on  its  importance.  It  is,  however,  well  to  remind  persons 
living  in  these  times,  that  the  present  multiplication  of  period- 
ical literature  of  every  kind  is  an  additional  reason  for  being 
faithful  to  the  exercise  of  daily  spiritual  reading.  The  variety 
of  subjects  brought  before  the  reader,  the  absence  of  deep 
thought  or  real  principles,  concealed  by  an  attractive  and  brilliant  style  of 
writing,  dissipate  the  mind,  and  gradually  destroy,  not  only  the  habit,  but 
even  the  power  of  serious  reflection.  We,  therefore,  who  live  in  times  of 
much  reading  and  little  thinking,  have  the  greater  need  to  spend  some  por- 
tion of  our  day  in  reversing  this  process,  in  company  with  some  book,  which 
we  read  slowly,  but  from  which  we  can  gain  matter  for  much  after-medita- 
tion. 

The  demand  for  spiritual  reading  for  persons  varying  much  in  their  capac- 
ity, tastes,  and  the  amount  of  leisure  at  their  disposal,  justifies  the  multipli- 
cation of  such  books.  And  it  is  thouGfht  that  the  one  now  offered  to  the 
public  has  special  advantages,  which  will  make  it  prove  a  boon  to  many. 

In  spite  of  their  goodwill,  there  are  persons  whose  lives  are  so  occupied 
fchat  they  can  give  but  little  time  to  serious  reading,  and  even  those  few 
moments  have  to  be  snatched  at  uncertain  times.     For  such  as  these,  it  is 


4  PREFACE. 

important  to  have  a  book  which  can  bear  to  be  so  read.  The  editor  of 
"  Half-Hours  with  the  Saints  and  Servants  of  God "  has  effected  this,  by 
arranging  in  short  sections,  extracts  from  various  writers,  all  bearing  on  some 
one  great  truth  or  mystery  of  our  holy  religion.  It  would  be  well,  indeed, 
to  spend  a  half-hour  in  such  good  company,  but  the  sections  are  so  short,  that 
one  who  has  only  ten  minutes  at  his  disposal  would  be  able  to  read  slowly 
and  '' pausingly^'  as  St.  Philip  tells  us  such  books  should  be  read,  words  that 
would  go  far  to  sanctify  the  day. 

The  extracts  are  made  from  writers  of  every  age,  from  St.  Augustine  down 
to  our  own  Father  Faber,  and  many  of  the  quotations  are  from  books  quite 
out  of  the  reach  of  ordinary  readers.  Moreover,  the  editor  has  wisely  added 
a  short  account  of  the  life  of  the  saint,  or  servant  of  God,  whose  work  he 
quotes,  and  this  not  only  adds  much  to  the  interest  of  the  work,  but  may 
lead  those  who  have  time  at  their  disposal  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  solid  read- 
ing. They  will  learn  the  beautiful  thoughts  of  men  whom  they  have  hitherto 
known  only  by  name,  and  they  will  become  anxious  to  know  more  of  the 
history  of  their  times,  and  of  the  circumstances  in  which  they  wrote.  Thus 
ecclesiastical  history  and  the  biographies  of  the  great  Christian  writers  will 
acquire  a  new  interest  in  their  minds,  and  who  can  say  how  great  a  blessing 
a  taste  for  such  reading  may  prove  ?  Many,  whose  lives  are  now  full  of 
activity,  may  have  before  them,  through  ill  health  or  old  age,  long  years  of 
enforced  inactivity;  and  a  taste  for  reading  will  save  them  from  many 
temptations,  and  make  these  years  a  time  not  only  of  tranquil  enjoyment 
but  of  much  profit  to  their  souls.  Those  who  have  been  faithful  in  the 
practice  of  daily  spiritual  reading  know  from  experience  how  great  is  the 
fruit  derived  from  it.  Thoughts  are  suggested  which  prove  a  safeguard 
against  some  sudden  temptation  which  comes  to  them  during  the  day,  or  they 
gain  a  light  which  enables  them  to  answer  some  specious  but  shallow 
blasphemy  uttered  in  their  presence ;  or  some  cross,  which  would  otherwise 
have  betrayed  them  into  impatience,  is  welcomed  as  a  gift  from  God. 


PREFACE.  5 

These  "  Half-hours  w'th  the  Saints  and  Servants  of  God"  will  thus  enable 
many  to  profit  by  the  few  minutes  they  can  give  to  spiritual  reading,  while 
they  will  suggest  to  others,  who  have  more  time  at  their  disposal,  in  what 
books  they  may  seek  for  treatises  suited  to  their  spiritual  needs. 

The  long  experience  of  Mr.  Charles  Kenny  is  a  guarantee  for  the  literary 
excellence  of  the  book,  —  of  the  spiritual  merit  of  which  I  have  alone  been 
speaking. 

WILLIAM   T.   GORDON. 


4"  i  ^i^  tI^  ^B^  ^B^  ^w^  ?i^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^wF  ^F  ^^  ^^  w'  \^ 


\  w  Hf  w  W  W  W  W^  ^F  w  w  ?p^  ^  W_W_^I^_i__ 


eit^©Ii@  Q^uve^  ^i$\©t^,  )k 


"SS — ■ ' ■ — ^^ 

#  CHAPTER      I.  # 


V 


Si''-' 


\ 


©at^©!!©  (SRMreB  ^igt©!*^. 


\ 


A 


ANTIOCH,      W 


••• 

THE  FIRST  CENTRE  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


►  HE  city  in  which  the  disci- 
ples of  our  Lord  were  first 
called  Christians.  It  was 
the  chief  centre  of  the 
Gentile  Church,  and  here 
the  chief  apostles,  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and 
other  apostolic  men,  such 
as  St.  Barnabas,  labored.  Besides  this, 
Antioch  had  a  title  to  special  pre-eminence 
in  the  fact  that  it  was  for  a  time  the 
actual  see  of  St.  Peter,  who  founded  the 
Church  and  held  it,  according  to  St.  Jerome, 
for  seven  years.  He  was  succeeded  by 
St.  Evodius  and  St.  Ignatius.  Moreover, 
the  civil  greatness  of  the  city  combined 
with  its  traditional  glory,  as  St.  Peter's 
see,  to  give  it  a  high  rank  among  the 
churches  of  the  world.  It  is  no  wonder, 
then,  that  Antioch  should  have  been 
regarded  in  early  times  as  the  third  among 
the  episcopal  cities  of  the  Catholic  world. 


The  difficulty  rather  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  third,  instead  of  the  second,  place  was 
assigned  to  it,  and  that  it  ranked  after 
Alexandria,  the  see  of  St.  Mark.  This 
apparent  anomaly  may  be  explained  by  the 
civil  superiority  of  Alexandria,  and  this  is 
the  solution  actually  given  by  Baron  ius ; 
or,  again,  it  may  be  said  that  St.  Peter 
only  fixed  his  see  at  Antioch  for  a  time, 
whereas  he  placed  his  representative  St 
Mark  as  the  permanent  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria. 

However,  the  bishops  of  Antioch  did 
not  even  maintain  their  rank  as  third 
among  Christian  bishops,  though  it  was 
theirs  by  ancient  privilege.  At  the  second 
and  Fourth  Councils,  they  permitted  the 
bishop  of  Constantinople  to  assume  the 
next  place  after  the  Roman  bishop,  sa 
that  Antioch  became  the  fourth  among 
the  patriarchates.  Shortly  after  the  Fourth 
General  Council,  Antioch  fell  lower  stilL 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Anatolius,  bishop  of  Constantinople  in  St. 
Leo's  time,  ordained  a  patriarch  of  Antioch, 
and  this  infringement  of  the  independence 
which  belonged  to  Antioch  as  a  patriarchate 
came  to  be  regarded  as  a  settled  custom. 

The  patriarchate  of  Antioch  embraced 
the  following  provinces  :  Phoenicia  prima 
et  secunda,  Cilicia,  Arabia,  Mesopotamia, 
Osroene,  Euphratesia,  Syria  secunda, 
Isauria,  and  Palestine.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  Persia  was  subject  to  it.  Antioch 
claimed  jurisdiction  over  Cyprus,  but  the 
latter  asserted  its  independence  at  the 
Council  of  Ephesus,  and  at  a  latter  date 
Anthimus,  metropolitan  of  Cyprus,  resisted 
Peter  the  Fuller,  who  claimed  author- 
ity as  patriarch  of  Antioch.  Anthimus 
professed  to  have  found  the  body  of  St. 
Barnabas  in  the  island,  and  so  to  have 
proved  the  apostolic  foundation  of  his 
Church.  The  territory  of  Antioch  was 
abridged  further  by  the  rise  of  the  patri- 
archate of  Jerusalem.  At  Chalcedon, 
Juvenal  of  Jerusalem  secured  the  three 
Palestines  as  his  own  patriarchate.  This 
he  did  by  an  agreement  with  Maximus  of 
Antioch,  which  was  ratified  by  the  council 
and  the  Papal  legates. 

The  bishop  of  Tyre  held  the  first  place 
among  the  metropolitans  subject  to 
Antioch ;  he  was  called  prototkronos,  and 
he  had  the  right  of  consecrating  the  new 
patriarch,  though  in  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century,  as  we  have  seen,  this  privi- 
lege was  usurped  by  Constantinople.  The 
patriarch  consecrated  the  metropolitans  ; 
they  consecrated  the  bishops,  though  Pope 
Leo  wished  that  even  bishops  should  not 


be    consecrated    without    the    patriarch's 
approval. 

Under  the  emperors  Zeno  and  Anas, 
tasius,  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  century, 
Monophysite  patriarchs  were  placed  at 
Antioch,  and  this  Monophysite  patriarch- 
ate lasts  to  the  present  day,  though  the 
patriarch's  residence  was  removed  to 
Tagrit  and  later  to  Diarbekir.  There 
was  a  Greek  orthodox  patriarch,  who 
generally  resided  at  Constantinople,  but 
he  too  fell  away  in  the  general  defection  of 
the  Greeks  from  Catholic  unity.  This 
schismatic  patriarchate  of  the  orthodox 
Greeks  still  continues.  At  the  end  of 
the  eleventh  century,  the  conquests  of 
the  crusaders  led  to  the  establishment 
of  a  Latin  patriarchate. 

At  present,  besides  the  Syro-Monophy- 
site  or  Jacobite,  and  the  Greek  schismatic 
patriarch,  there  are  —  the  Latin  Catholic 
patriarch,  who,  at  present,  does  not  really 
govern  any  church  in  the  east ;  the  Greek 
Melchite  patriarch,  for  the  united  Greeks, 
the  Syrian  patriarch,  for  those  of  the 
Syrian  rite  who  returned  in  the  seventeenth 
century  from  Monophysite  error  to  the 
church;  the  Maronite  patriarch,  who  has 
authority  over  all  Maronite  settlements. 
(From  Le  Quien,  "Oriens  Christianus," 
tom.  ii.  De  Patriarchatu  Antiocheno ; 
except  the  last  paragraph,  which  is  from 
Moroni,  "  Dizionario,"  sub  voce.) 

Among  the  many  councils  assembled  at"* 
Antioch,   special   importance   belongs   (r) 
to   three   councils   held  between  264  and 
269  against   Paul   of   Samosata.     At  the 
third  council,  in  269,    Paul   was   deposed 


ANTIOCH,  THE  FIRST  CENTRE  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


and  his  formula  that  the  Son  was  of  one 
substance  {komoousios)  with  the  Father 
condemned,  probably  because  Paul  meant 
by  it,  that  the  Son  pre-existed  only  as  an 
attribute  of  the  Father,  not  as  a  distinct 
Person,  just  as  reason  in  man  is  a  mere 
faculty,  not  a  distinct  person.  The  fathers 
of  the  council  addressed  an  encyclical 
letter  to  Dionysius  of  Rome,  Maximus  of 
Alexandria,  and  to  the  other  bishops. 
Dionysius  died  that  same  year,  but  his 
successor,  Felix  I.,  published  a  decisive 
statement  of  the  Catholic  faith  against 
the  errors  of  the  heresiarch.  Paul,  how- 
ever, maintained  possession  of  the  epis- 
copal house ;  whereupon  the  orthodox 
applied  to  the  emperor  Aurelian,  who 
decreed  that  the  bishop's  house  was  to 
belong  to  him  "with  whom  the  Italian 
bishops  and  the  Roman  see  were  in 
communion." 

(2)  To  the  Synod  in  enccsniis,  held  in 
341.  It  consisted  of  97  bishops,  met  to 
consecrate  the  "  Golden  Church  "  begun 
by  Constantine  the  Great,  whence  the 
name  en  egkainiois.  The  majority  of 
the  Fathers  held  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
had  no  thought  of  betraying  it ;  and 
hence  their  25  canons  relating  to  mat- 
ters of  discipline  attained  to  great 
authority  throughout  the  Church.  But 
they  were  deceived  by  the  Eusebian 
party,  renewed  the  sentence  of  deposi- 
tion against  Athanasius,  and  put  forth 
four  Creeds,  which,  though  they  approach 
the  Nicene  confession,  still  fall  short 
of  it  by  omitting  the  decisive  word  "  con- 
BubstantiaL" 


Apart  from  its  influence  as  a  patriarch- 
ate and  as  the  meeting  place  of  councils, 
Antioch  also  wielded  great  powers  over 
the  Church  as  a  school  of  theology  and  of 
scriptural  exegesis.  This  school  already 
existed  in  the  fourth  century,  when  Dor- 
otheus  and  Lucian  —  who  died,  as  a  mar- 
tyr, in  311  —  were  its  chief  ornaments. 
The  Antiochenes  were  learned  and  logical, 
the  enemies  of  allegorical  interpretation 
and  of  mysticism,  but  their  love  of  reason- 
ing and  their  common  sense  degenerated 
at  times  into  a  rationalistic  tendency,  so 
much  so  that  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  has 
ever  been  regarded  as  the  forerunner  of 
Nestorius.  But  undoubtedly,  Antioch  ren- 
dered  great  services  in  the  literal  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture.  Unlike  the  Alexan- 
drians, the  great  scholars  of  Antioch 
turned  aside  from  allegorical  interpretations 
and  were  distinguished  for  their  critical 
spirit  and  grammatical  precision.  Among 
their  foremost  commentators  were  — 
Diodore,  bishop  of  Tarsus,  (-}-  about  394), 
formerly  priest  at  Antioch,  whose  writ- 
ings, though  vehemently  denounced  for 
their  Nestorian  tendency,  and  no  longer 
extant,  once  enjoyed  a  vast  reputation  ; 
John  Chrysostom,  the  greatest  of  all 
literal  expositors  ;  Theodore  of  Mopsues- 
tia ( +429 ),  like  Diodorus,  inclining  to 
Nestorianism,  but  gifted  with  talents 
which  can  still  be  discovered  even  in  the 
fragments  and  Latin  translations  of  his 
commentaries  which  survive,  and  known 
among  the  Nestorians  as  "the  commen- 
tator "  par  excellence  ;  Theodoret  (  -{-about 
458 ),    whose   commentaries   on   St.    Paul 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


are  "perhaps  unsurpassed"  for  "appre- 
ciation, terseness  of  expression,  and  good- 
sense." 

/\r\tipKorv. 

The  word  signifies  "  alternate  utter- 
ance." St.  Ignatius,  one  of  the  Apostolic 
Fathers,  is  believed  to  have  first  instituted 
the  method  of  alternate  chanting  by  two 
choirs  at  Antioch.  In  the  time  of  Constan- 
tine,  according  to  Sozomen,  the  monks  Fla- 
vian and  Diodorus  introduced  it  among  the 
Greeks.  In  the  Latin  Church  it  was  first 
employed  by  St.  Ambrose  at  Milan  in  the 
fourth  century,  and  soon  became  general. 
But  in  process  of  time  the  word  came  to 
have  a  more  restricted  sense,  according  to 
which  it  signifies  a  selection  of  words  or 
verses  prefixed  to  and  following  a  psalm 
or  psalms,  to  express  in  brief  the  mystery 
which  the  church  is  contemplating  in  that 
part  of  her  office. 

In  the  Mass,  the  Introit  ( introduced  by 
Pope  Celestine  I.  in  the  fifth  century), 
the  Offertory  and  the  Communion,  are 
regarded  as  Antiphons.  But  it  is  in  the 
canonical  hours  that  the  use  of  the  Anti- 
phon  receives  its  greatest  extension. 
At  Vespers,  Matins,  and  Lauds,  when  the 
office  is  a  double  [Double],  the  Antiphons 
are  doubled  — that  is,  the  whole  Antiphon 
is  said  both  before  and  after  the  psalm  or 
Canticle.  On  minor  feasts,  the  Antiphons 
are  not  doubled  ;  then  the  first  words  only 
are  said  before  the  psalm,  and  the  whole  at 
the  end  of  it.  Liturgical  writers  say  that  the 
Antiphon  means  charity ;  and  that  when  it  is 
not  doubled,  the  meaning  is  that  charity. 


begun  in  this  life,  is  perfected  in  the  life 
to  come ;  when  it  is  doubled,  it  is  because 
on  the  greater  feasts  we  desire  to  show  a 
more  ardent  charity.  Except  the  Alle- 
luias, few  Antiphons  are  sung  in  Paschal 
time,  for  the  joy  of  the  season  inflames  of 
itself,  and  without  extraneous  suggestion, 
the  charity  of  the  clergy.  On  most  Sun- 
days the  Antiphons  at  Vespers  are  taken 
from  both  Testaments,  but  in  Paschal  time 
only  from  the  New. 

The  final  antiphons  of  the  B.  V.  M. 
formed  no  part  of  the  original  Church 
ofllice  ;  they  came  into  the  breviary  later. 
They  are  four  in  number,  one  for  each 
season  in  the  year.  The  first,  "  Alma 
Redemptoris,"  sung  from  Advent  to  Can- 
dlemas, was  written  by  Hermannus  Con- 
tractus, who  died  in  1054.  Chaucer's 
beautiful  use  of  this  in  the  Prioresses 
Tale  shows  how  popular  a  canticle  it  must 
have  been  with  our  forefathers.  The 
second,  "  Ave  Regina,"  sung  from  Can- 
dlemas to  Maundy  Thursday,  was  written 
about  the  same  time,  but  the  author  is 
unknown.  The  third,  "  Regina  Cceli, 
Izetare,"  is  used  in  Paschal  time  ;  and  the 
fourth,  "  Salve  Regina  "  (to  which,  as  is 
well  known,  St.  Bernard  added  the  words 
"  O  Clemens,"  etc.),  written  either  by 
Pedro  of  Compostella  or  Hermannus  Con- 
tractus, is  sung  from  Trinity  to  Advent. 

Apocrisiarivjs. 

Ecclesiastical,  but  chiefly  Papal,  emis- 
saries to  the  Court  of  the  Emperor  were 
designated  by  this  name  from  the  fourth 


ANTIOCH,  THE  FIRST  CENTRE  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


to  the  ninth  century.  So  long  as  the 
civil  power  persecuted  the  Church,  there 
was  no  place  for  such  officials ;  but,  after 
the  conversion  of  Constantine,  the  recog- 
nition by  the  Roman  emperors  of  the 
divinity  of  Christianity  and  the  claims  of 
the  hierarchy  gave  rise  to  numberless 
questions,  within  the  borderland  of  the 
civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
which  it  was  important  for  the  Popes  to 
press  on  the  notice  of  the  emperors,  and 
obtain  definite  answers  upon,  so  that  a 
practical  adjustment  might  become  pos- 
sible. The  Apocrisiarius,  therefore,  cor- 
responded to  the  Nuncio  or  Legate  a 
latere  of  later  times,  and  was  usually  a 
deacon  of  the  Roman  Church.  Gregory 
the  Great  resided  in  this  character  for 
three  years  at  Constantinople  in  the  reign 
of  the  Emperor  Mauricius.  After  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century  we  hear  no 
more  of  such  an  emissary,  because  the 
adoption  of  the  extravagances  of  the 
Iconoclasts  by  the  imperial  Court  led  to 
a  breach  with  Rome.  But,  when  Charle- 
magne revived  the  Empire  of  the  West, 
similar  diplomatic  relations  arose  between 
him  and  the  Holy  See,  which  again 
required  the  appointment  of  Apocrisiarii. 
It  appears  that,  under  the  first  Prankish 
emperors,  the  imperial  arch-chaplain  was 
at  the  same  time  Papal  Apocrisiarius. 
Subsequently  the  name  was  given  to 
officials  of  Court  nomination,  who  held  no 
commission  from  Rome  ;  and,  in  this  way, 
the  title  in  its  old  sense  came  to  be 
disused,  and  was  replaced  by  Legatus  or 
Nuntius. 


ApocrypKa. 


It  corresponds  to  the  Jewish  word  .  .  . 
which  the  Jews  applied  to  books  with- 
drawn from  public  use  in  the  synagogue, 
on  account  of  their  unfitness  for  pubhc 
reading.^  But  the  later  Jews  had  also  the 
notion  that  some  books  should  be  with- 
drawn from  general  circulation  because 
of  the  mysterious  truths  they  contained.' 

The  early  Fathers  used  "apocryphal" 
to  denote  the  forged  books  of  heretics, 
borrowing,  perhaps,  the  name  from  the 
heretics  themselves,  who  vaunted  the 
"  apocryphal  "  ^  or  "  hidden  "  wisdom  of 
these  writings.  Later  —  e.  g.,  in  the 
"  Prologus  galeatus  "  of  Jerome  —  apoc- 
ryphal is  used  in  a  milder  sense  to  mark 
simply  that  a  book  is  not  in  the  recognized 
canon  of  Scripture ;  and  Pope  Gelasius,* ' 
in  a  decree  of  494,  uses  the  term  apocry- 
phal in  a  very  wide  manner,  (i)  of  hereto 
ical  forgeries ;  (2)  of  books  like  the 
"  Shepherd  of  Hermas,"  revered  by  the 
ancients,  but  not  a  part  of  Scripture ; 
(3)  of  works  by  early  Christian  writers 
(Arnobius,  Cassian,  etc.)  who  had  erred 
on  some  points  of  doctrine.  "We  need 
scarcely  add  that  the  Protestant  custom 
of  calling  Wisdom,  Machabees,  etc, 
"  Apocrypha,"  is  contrary  to  the  faith 
and  the  tradition  of  the  Church. 

The  name  is  now  usually  reserved  by 
Catholics   for   books   laying   claim    to    an 

1  Buxtorf.  Lex.  Chald.  et  Rabbin,  sub  voc. 

8  4  Esdr.  xiv.  46. 

»  Tertull.  De  An.  2.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  iiL  4,  29 ;  Easeh 
Hist.  iv.  22. 

*  Fleury  Hiit.  xxx.  35  ;  but  see  also  Hefele,  Cencilienga 
tchichtt,  ii.  iiS. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


origin  which  might  entitle  them  to  a  place 
in  the  canon,  or  which  have  been  supposed 
to  be  Scripture,  but  which  have  been 
finally  rejected  by  the  Church.  In  the 
Old  Testament  the  most  important  apocry- 
phal books  are  —  3d  and  4th  Esdras, 
both  of  which  are  cited  by  early  writers 
as  Scripture,  the  latter  being  also  used  in 
the  Missal  and  Breviary ;  3d  and  4th 
Machabees ;  the  prayer  of  Manasses, 
which  is  found  in  Greek  MSS.  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  is  often  printed,  in  a  Latin 
version,  in  the  appendix  to  the  Vulgate ; 
the  book  of  Enoch  {cf.  Jude  14),  which 
Tertullian  regarded  as  authentic  (it  only 
exists  at  present  in  an  Ethiopic  version)  ; 
a  151st  Psalm  attributed  to  David,  which 
is  found  in  Greek  MSS.,  and  in  the  Syriac, 
Ethiopic,  and  Arabic  versions  of  the 
Psalms ;  eighteen  psalms  attributed  to 
Solomon,  written  originally,  according  to 
some  scholars,  in  Hebrew,  according 
to  others,  in  Greek.^ 

There  is  a  great  mass  of  New  Testa- 
ment apocryphal  literature.  Some  books, 
such  as  the  "  Epistle  of  Barnabas,"  the 
two  "Epistles  of  Clement,"  and  the 
"  Shepherd  of  Hermas,"  may  in  a  certain 
sense  be  called  apocryphal,  because, 
though  not  really  belonging  to  Scripture, 
they  were  quoted  as  such  by  ancient 
writers,  or  were  inserted  in  MSS.  of  the 
New  Testament.  Some  other  books  men- 
tioned  by  Eusebius  —  viz.,  the  "  Acts  of 
Paul,"  the  "Apocalypse  of  Peter,"  the 
"  Teachings    of   the   Apostles  "   {didachai 


I  See  Reusch,  Einleit.  in  das  A.  T.  p.  176. 


ton  Apostolon),  seem  to  have  belonged  to  \ 
this  better  class  of  apocryphal  literature. 
Besides  these,  Eusebius  mentions  apocry- 
phal books  in  circulation  among  heretics 
—  viz.,  the  "  Gospels  "  of  Peter,  Thomas, 
Matthias  ;  the  "  Acts  "  of  Andrew,  John, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles.^  Fragments 
remain  of  the  ancient  Gospels,  "  according 
to  the  Hebrews,"  "of  the  Nazarenes," 
"  according  to  the  Egyptians,"  of  the 
preaching  and  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  etc., 
and  have  been  repeatedly  edited.^ 

Later  times  were  no  less  fruitful  in 
apocryphal  literature,  and  we  still  possess 
a  great  number  of  these  later  forgeries, 
entire  and  complete.  They  have  been  ' 
edited  by  Fabricius  in  the  work  already 
named ;  by  Thilo,  "  Codex  Apocryphus 
Novi  Testamenti,"  183 1,  of  which  work 
only  the  first  volume,  containing  the 
apocryphal  Gospels,  appeared ;  by  Tis- 
chendorf  ("  Evangelia  Apocrypha,"  1876, 
second  edition  enlarged  ;  "  Acta  Aposto- 
lorum  Apocrypha,"  1851  ;  "Apocryphal 
Apocalypses,"  1866)  and  by  other  scholars. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  attempt  an  enum- 
eration of  these  apocryphal  books,  but 
we  may  mention  some  which  enjoyed  a 
special  popularity  in  the  Church,  and 
exercised  a  marked  influence  on  Catholic 
literature.  A  number  of  apocryphal  Gos- 
pels treat  of  the  infancy  and  youth  of 
our  Lord,  and  of  the  history  of  His 
blessed  Mother  and  foster-father.  Among 
these    the    "  Protevangelium    of    James " 

1  Euseb.  H.  E.  iii.  2;. 

3  By  Fabricius,  Codex  Apocryphus  N.  T.  (1703-/9)1 
Grabe,  Spicilegium  Patrum,  Oxoniae  ^1700) ',  HilgeofelJ, 
N.  T.  extra  Canonem  receptum  (1S65). 


ANTIOCHy  THE  FIRST  CENTRE  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


Jjolds  the  first  place.  It  describes  the 
early  history  of  Mary,  our  Lord's  birth  at 
Bethlehem,  and  the  history  of  the  wise 
men  from  the  East.  This  gospel  was 
much  used  by  the  Greek  Fathers  ;  portions 
of  it  were  read  publicly  in  the  Eastern 
Church,  and  it  was  translated  into  Arabic 
and  Coptic.  It  was  prohibited  for  a  time 
among  the  Latins,  but  even  in  the  West 
it  was  much  used  during  the  middle  ages. 
Other  Gospels,  such  as  the  Arabic  "  Evan- 
jelium  Infantiae  Salvatoris,"  contain  legend- 
sary  miracles  of  our  Lord's  infancy. 
We  have  a  second  class  of  apocryphal 
Gospels,  which  treat  of  the  Passion  and 
Resurrection  of  Christ.  Of  this  class  is 
the  "  Gospel  of  Nicodemus."  It  is  prob- 
ably of  very  late  origin,  but  it  was  a 
favorite  book  in  the  middle  ages.  The 
Greek  text  still  exists,  but  it  was  also 
circulated,  before  the  invention  of  printing, 
in  Latin,  Anglo-Saxon,  German,  and 
French.  Closely  connected  with  this 
Gospel  are  a  number  of  documents  which 
have  sprung  from  very  ancient  but  spuri- 
ous "  Acts  of  Pilate."  These  ancient 
Acts,  which  were  known  to  Justin  and 
Tertullian,  have  perished,  but  they  called 
forth  several  imitations,  which  still  survive. 
The  one  which  is  best  known  is  a  letter 
of  Lentulus  to  the  Roman  senate,  describ- 
ing the  personal  appearance  of  our  Lord. 
It  is  a  forgery  of  the  middle  ages. 

Further,  apocryphal  literature  is  rich  in 
*'Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  and  here,  as  in 


the  apocryphal  Gospels,  we  find  early  but 
spurious  Acts,  revised  and  enlarged,  and 
so  originating  fresh  forgeries.  Thus  the 
"Acts  of  Paul  and  Thecla,"  in  their  exist- 
ing form,  are  the  recension  of  a  very  early 
work  —  forged  as  early  at  least  as  Tertul- 
Han's  time.  The  fullest  of  all  these 
"Acts"  is  the  "  Historia  Certaminis 
Apostolorum."  It  can  scarcely  be  older 
than  the  ninth  century,  but  it  is  of  con- 
siderable value,  because  the  author  has 
made  diligent  use  of  earlier  Acts,  some  of 
which  have  perished. 

Of  apocryphal  Epistles  we  have,  among 
others,  a  letter  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Laodi- 
ceans  (only  existing  in  Latin),  which, 
though  rejected  by  Jerome,  was  accepted 
as  canonical  by  many  great  Latin  theo- 
logians of  a  later  day,  won  a  place  in 
many  copies  of  the  Latin  Bible,  and  for 
more  than  nine  centuries  "  hovered  about 
the  doors  of  the  sacred  canon."  We 
may  also  mention  a  letter  of  St.  Paul 
to  the  Corinthians,  and  another  of  the 
Corinthians  to  St.  Paul  (both  only  in 
Armenian);  letters  supposed  to  have 
passed  between  St.  Paul  and  Seneca 
(known  to  Jerom  eand  Augustine)  ;  spuri- 
ous letters  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  to  St. 
Ignatius,  to  the  inhabitants  of  Messina, 
etc. 

Lastly,  we  have  apocryphal  Apocalypses 
of  Paul  (called  also  anabatikon ;  see  2  Cor. 
xii.  i),  Thomas,  Stephen  —  nay,  even  of 
St.  John  himself. 


^             ^              ^              ^              ^              ^ 
^^             ^W              "^               "W"              ^ff^              •^l^ 

CHAPTER      II. 

'                                                                     .-      t 

1* 

,.H.„.„.„.„.„.„.,,.„.„.„.„,„.,,.„.„.„.„.M.,,.n.n.n.n.n.,,.M.M.M.n.,,.M..,.n.M.M.„.n.M.,,.M.M.M.n.M.M.,..M.„.M.n.n.,,.n.M.M..,.n.M.,.    ..^.  \ 

HISTeRY  0F  THE  GATAGOMBS.  1 

u.i,>.i........i.ii.ii.ii.i>>ii>iiaiian.ii.ii.i>iM>iisn.ii>i>>ii>iiiiiliilliliiliianaiiai>.n.iHi.iii>i.ii.iiiiii.,i....M.i<aii>M.M.iiiii«iiniii..aM.i<.M..,.M.>i.M.„.    "4» 

.^IC.                                .^k.                                   ^^                                 ^^                                  ;^^                                A^ 

■W           ■'W^             ^^            ^!^            ^W^           ^^ 

SKETCH  of  the  present  state 
of  knowledge  about  the  Roman 
catacombs,  considering  the  high 
religious  interest  of  the  sub- 
ject, may  fairly  be  expected  in 
a  work  like  the  present.  We 
shall  briefly  describe  their  position,  explain 
their  origin,  and  trace  their  history  ;  then, 
after  describing  the  catacomb  of  San  Cal- 
listo,  as  a  model  of  the  rest,  we  shall 
show,  so  far  as  our  limits  will  allow,  what 
a  powerful  light  the  monuments  of  the 
catacombs  supply  in  illustration  of  the 
life,  and  in  evidence  of  the  faith,  of 
Christians  in  the  primitive  ages. 

The  word  "catacomb"  had  originally  no 
such  connotation  as  is  now  attached  to  it ; 
the  earliest  form,  catacumbcB  {kata,  and 
humbh,  a  hollow)  —  probably  suggested  by 
the  natural  configuration  of  the  ground — 
was  the  name  given  to  the  district  round 
the  tomb  of  Caecilia  Metella  and  the  Cir- 
cus Romuli  on  the  Appian  Way.  All 
through  the  middle  ages  "  ad  catacumbas  " 
meant  the  subterranean  cemetery  adjacent 
to  the  far-famed  basilica  of  St.  Sebastian, 


in  the  region  above  mentioned ;  after- 
wards, the  signification  of  the  terra  was 
gradually  extended,  and  applied  to  all 
the  ancient  underground  cemeteries  near 
Rome,  and  even  to  similar  cemeteries  in 
other  places,  at  Paris,  for  instance.  The 
bodies  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  were 
believed  to  have  rested  here  nearly  from 
the  date  of  their  martyrdom  to  the  time 
of  Pope  Cornelius,  who  translated  them 
to  where  they  are  now  (Bed.  "  De  Sex  MX. 
Mundi:"  "corpora  apostolorum  de  cata- 
cumbis  levavit  noctu ") ;  it  was  therefore, 
most  natural,  apart  from  the  sacred  asso- 
ciations which  the  memorials  of  othe^ 
martyrs  aroused,  that  for  this  reason  alone 
pilgrims  should  eagerly  visit  this  cem- 
etery. 

I.  Some  twenty-five  Christian  ceme- 
teries are  known,  and  have  been  more  or 
less  carefully  examined  ;  but  there  are 
many  others,  which,  either  from  their 
having  fallen  into  ruin  or  being  blocked 
up  with  earth  and  rubbish,  remain  unex- 
plored. Those  that  are  known  and  access- 
ible are  found  on  every  side  of  Rome  ;  but 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CATACOMBS. 


they  are  clustered  most  thickly  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  city,  near  the  Via 
Appia  and  the  Via  Ardeatina.  The  most 
noteworthy  of  all,  the  cemetery  of  San 
Callisto,  is  close  to  the  Appian  Way ;  near 
it  are  those  of  St.  Praetextatus,  St.  Sebas- 
tian, and  St.  Soteris.  Passing  on  round 
the  city  by  the  east  and  north,  we  find 
the  cemetery  of  Santi  Quattro,  near  the 
Via  Appia  Nova,  that  of  St.  Ciriaca  on 
the  road  to  Tivoli,  the  extremely  interest- 
ing catacomb  of  St.  Agnes  on  the  Via 
Nomentana,  and  that  of  St.  Alexander, 
farther  out  from  Rome  on  the  same  road. 
Next  comes  the  cemetery  of  St.  Priscilla, 
on  the  Via  Salaria.  Continuing  on,  past 
the  Villa  Borghese,  we  ■  come  upon  the 
valley  of  the  Tiber,  beyond  which,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  we  find  in  succes- 
sion the  cemeteries  of  Calepodius  and 
Generosa.  Crossing  again  to  the  left 
bank,  we  come  upon  the  cemetery  of  St. 
Lucina  on  the  Via  Ostiensis,  that  of  SS. 
Nereo  et  Achilleo  (known  also  by  the 
name  of  S.  Domitilla)  on  the  Via  Arde- 
atina, and,  finally,  that  of  St.  Balbina 
between  the  last-named  road  and  the 
Appian  Way. 

II.  The  origin  of  the  catacombs  is 
now  thoroughly  understood.  It  was  long 
believed  that  they  were  originally  mere 
sand-pits,  arenarice,  out  of  which  sand  was 
dug  for  building  purposes,  and  to  which 
the  Christians  resorted,  partly  for  the 
sake  of  concealment,  partly  because  the 
softness  of  the  material  lent  itself  to  any 
sort  of  excavation.  This  was  the  view  of 
Baronius  and  of  scholars  in  general  down 


to  the  present  century,  when  the  learned 
Jesuit,  F.  Marchi,  took  the  subject  in 
hand.  He  made  personal  researches  in 
the  catacomb  of  St.  Agnes,  and  gradually 
the  true  origin  and  mode  of  construction 
of  these  cemeteries  broke  upon  his  mind. 
His  more  celebrated  pupil,  the  Commend 
atore  de'  Rossi,  aided  by  his  brothers, 
continued  his  explorations,  and  has  given 
to  the  world  a  colossal  work  on  the 
Roman  Catacombs,  which  Dr.  Northcote 
and  Mr.  Brownlow  made  the  foundation  of 
their  interesting  book,  "Roma  Sotterra- 
nea."  Padre  Marchi  drew  attention  to  the 
fact  that  among  the  volcanic  strata  of  the 
Roman  Campagna,  three  deposits  are 
especially  noticeable  —  a  hard  building 
stone,  called  the  tufa  litoide ;  a  soft  stone, 
the  tufa  granolare ;  and  a  sand-stone  of 
scarcely  any  coherency,  called  pozzolana. 
The  sand-pits,  arenarice,  of  course  occur  in 
beds  of  this  pozzolana ;  and  if  they  had 
been  the  origin  of  the  catacombs,  the 
latter  would  have  been  wholly  or  chiefly 
excavated  in  the  same  beds.  But  in  point 
of  fact,  the  catacombs  are  almost  entirely 
found  in  the  tufa  granolare,  which  exactly 
suited  the  purposes  which  the  early  Chris- 
tians had  in  view.  In  the  first  place,  they 
were  obliged  by  the  imperial  laws  to  bury 
their  dead  outside  the  walls  of  the  city. 
Secondly,  they  naturally  would  not  place 
the  cemeteries  at  a  greater  distance  than 
they  could  help ;  and  in  fact,  all  the  cata- 
combs above  named,  except  that  of  St. 
Alexander,  are  within  two  miles  and  a  half 
of    the   city    walls.^      Thirdly,    the    tufa 

1  The  Walls  of  Aurelian. 


lO 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


granolart,  being  softer  than  the  tufa 
litoide,  the  necessary  galleries,  chambers, 
and  loculi  (receptacles  for  the  dead)  could 
more  easily  be  worked  in  it,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  sufficiently  coherent  to 
allow  of  its  being  excavated  freely  without 
danger  of  the  roof  and  sides  of  the  exca- 
vations falling  in  or  crumbling  away.  The 
pozzolana  was  softer ;  but  from  its  crum- 
bling nature  narrow  galleries  could  not  be 
run  in,  nor  loculi  hollowed  out,  without 
the  employment  of  a  great  deal  of 
masonry  for  the  sake  of  security,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  two  or  three  instances  of 
arenaricB  turned  into  catacombs  which  do 
exist ;  thus  greater  expense  and  trouble 
would  arise  in  the  end  from  resorting  to  it 
than  from  excavating  in  the  tufa  granolare. 
If  it  be  asked  why  the  Roman  Chris- 
tians did  not  bury  their  dead  in  open-air 
cemeteries,  the  answer  is  twofold.  In  the 
first  place,  the  Church  grew  up  amid 
persecution,  and  the  Christians  naturally 
strove  to  screen  themselves  and  their 
doings  from  public  observation  as  much 
as  possible,  in  the  burial  of  their  dead  as 
in  other  matters.  The  sepulchral  inscrip- 
tions and  decorations,  which  they  could 
safely  affix  to  the  graves  of  their  beloved 
ones  in  the  subterranean  gloom  of  the 
catacombs,  could  not  with  common  pru- 
dence have  been  employed  on  tombs 
exposed  to  public  view.  In  the  second 
place,  the  needs  of  prayer  and  the  duty 
of  public  worship  were  in  this  manner 
reconciled  with  the  duty  of  sepulture  to 
an  extent  not  otherwise,  under  the  cir-. 
cumstances,     attainable.      The     relatives 


might  pray  at  the  tomb  of  a  departed 
kinsman  ;  the  faithful  gather  round  the 
"  memory  "  of  a  martyr ;  the  Christian 
mysteries  might  be  celebrated  in  subter- 
ranean chapels,  and  on  altars  hewn  out  of 
the  rock,  with  a  convenience,  secrecy,  and 
safety,  which,  if  the  ordinary  mode  of 
burial  had  been  followed,  could  not  have 
been  secured.  Nor  was  the  practice  a 
novelty  when  the  Christians  resorted  to  it. 
Even  Pagan  underground  tombs  existed, 
though  the  general  custom  of  burning  the 
dead,  which  prevailed  under  the  emperors 
before  Constantine,  caused  them  to  be  of 
rare  occurrence ;  but  the  Jewish  ceme- 
teries, used  under  the  pressure  of  motives 
very  similar  to  those  which  acted  upon  the 
Christians,  had  long  been  in  operation, 
and  are  in  part  distinguishable  to  this  day. 
The  modus  operandi  appears  to  have 
been  as  follows.  In  ground  near  the  city, 
obtained  by  purchase  or  else  the  property 
of  some  rich  Christian,  an  area,  or  ceme- 
tery "  lot,"  was  marked  out,  varying  in 
e;xtent,  but  commonly  having  not  less 
than  a  frontage  of  a  hundred  and  a  depth 
of  two  hundred  feet.  At  one  corner  of 
this  area  an  excavation  was  made  and  a 
staircase  constructed ;  then  narrow  gal- 
leries, usually  little  more  than  two  feet 
in  width,  with  roof  flat  or  slightly  arched, 
were  carried  round  the  whole  space,  leav- 
ing enough  of  the  solid  rock  on  either 
side  to  admit  of  oblong  niches  {loculi)  — 
large  enough  to  hold  from  one  to  three 
bodies,  at  varying  distances,  both  verti- 
cally and  laterally,  according  to  the  local 
strength   of    the    material  —  being    exca- 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CATACOMBS. 


II 


vated  in  the  walls.  After  burial,  the 
lociihis  was  hermetically  sealed  by  a  slab 
set  in  mortar,  so  that  the  proximity  of  the 
dead  body  might  not  affect  the  purity  of 
the  air  in  the  catacomb.  Besides  these 
loaili  in  the  walls,  cubicida,  or  chambers, 
like  our  family  vaults,  were  excavated  in 
great  numbers ;  these  were  entered  by 
doors  from  the  galleries,  and  had  loculi  in 
their  walls  like  the  galleries  themselves. 
There  were  also  arcosolia  —  when  above 
the  upper  surface  of  a  loculns  containing 
the  body  of  a  martyr  or  confessor,  the  rock 
was  excavated,  so  as  to  leave  an  arched 
vault  above  and  a  flat  surface  beneath  on 
which  the  Eucharist  could  be  celebrated 
—  and  "  table-tombs,"  similar  in  all 
respects  to  the  arcosolia  except  that  the 
excavation  was  quadrangular  instead  of 
being  arched.  Openings  were  frequently 
made  between  two  or  more  adjoining 
aibiaila,  so  as  to  allow,  while  the  Divine 
Mysteries  were  being  celebrated  at  an 
arcosolimn  in  one  of  them,  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  worshippers  being  present. 
When  the  walls  of  the  circumambient 
galleries  were  filled  with  the  dead,  cross 
galleries  were  made,  traversing  the  area 
at  such  distances  from  each  other  as  the 
strength  of  the  stone  permitted,  the  walls 
of  which  were  pierced  with  niches  as 
before.  But  this  additional  space  also 
became  filled  up,  and  then  the  fossors 
were  set  to  work  to  burrow  deeper  in  the 
rock,  and  a  new  series  of  galleries  and 
chambers,  forming  a  second  underground 
story  or  piano,  was  constructed  beneath 
the  first.     Two,  three,  and  even  four  such 


additional  stories  have  been  found  in  a 
cemetery.  Another  way  of  obtaining 
more  space  was  by  lowering  the  floor  of 
the  galleries,  and  piercing  with  niches  the 
new  wall  surface  thus  supplied.  It  is 
obvious  that  expedients  like  these  could 
only  be  adopted  in  dry  and  deeply-drained 
ground,  and,  accordingly,  we  always  find 
that  it  is  the  hills  near  Rome  in  which 
the  cemeteries  were  excavated  —  the  val- 
leys were  useless  for  the  purpose  ;  hence, 
contrary  to  what  was  once  believed,  no 
system  of  general  communication  between 
the  different  catacombs  ever  existed. 
Such  communication,  however,  was  often 
effected,  when  two  or  more  cemeteries  lay 
contiguous  to  each  other  on  the  same  hill, 
and  all  kinds  of  structural  complications 
were  the  result ;  see  the  detailed  account 
in  "  Roma  Sotterranea "  of  the  growth 
and  gradual  transformation  of  the  ceme- 
tery of  San  Callisto. 

III.  With  regard  to  the  history  of  the 
catacombs,  a  few  leading  facts  are  all  that 
can  here  be  given.  In  the  first  two  cen- 
turies the  use  of  the  catacombs  by  the 
Christians  was  little  interfered  with  ;  they 
filled  up  the  area  with  dead,  and  decorated 
the  underground  chambers  with  painting 
and  sculpture,  much  as  their  means  and 
taste  suggested.  In  the  third  century 
persecution  became  fierce,  and  the  Chris- 
tians were  attacked  in  the  catacombs. 
Staircases  were  then  destroyed,  passages 
blocked  up,  and  new  modes  of  ingress  and 
egress  devised,  so  as  to  defeat  as  much  as 
possible  the  myrmidons  of  the  law ;  and 
the  changes  thus  made  can  in  many  cases 


12 


CA  THOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


be  still  recognized  and  understood.  On 
the  cessation  of  persecution,  after  A.  D. 
300,  the  catacombs,  in  which  many  mar- 
tyrs had  perished,  became  a  place  of 
pilgrimage ;  immense  numbers  of  persons 
crowded  into  them  ;  and  different  Popes — 
particularly  St.  Damasus,  early  in  the  fifth 
century  —  caused  old  staircases  to  be 
enlarged,  and  new  ones  to  be  made,  and 
luminaria  (openings  for  admitting  light 
and  air)  to  be  broken  through  from  the 
cubicula  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  in 
order  to  give  more  accommodation  to  the 
pious  throng.  These  changes  also  can  be 
recognized.  Burial  in  the  catacombs 
naturally  did  not  long  survive  the  con- 
cession of  entire  freedom  and  peace  to 
the  Church ;  but  still  they  were  looked 
upon  as  holy  places,  consecrated  by  the 
blood  of  martyrs,  and  as  such  were  visited 
by  innumerable  pilgrims.  In  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries  Lombard  invaders 
desecrated,  plundered,  and  in  part  de- 
stroyed the  catacombs.  This  led  to  a 
period  of  translations,  commencing  in  the 
eighth  century  and  culminating  with  Pope 
Paschal  (a.  d.  817),  by  which  all  the  relics 
of  the  Popes  and  principal  martyrs  and 
confessors  which  had  hitherto  lain  in  the 
catacombs  were  removed  for  greater  safety 
to  the  churches  of  Rome.  After  that  the 
catacombs  were  abandoned,  and  in  great 
part  closed ;  and  not  until  the  sixteenth 
century  did  the  interest  in  them  revive. 
The  names  of  Onufrio  Panvini,  Bosio,  and 
Boldetti  are  noted  in  connection  with  the 
renewed  investigations  of  which  they  were 
the  object ;  and  since  the  appearance   of 


the  work  of  the  Padre  Marchi  already 
mentioned,  the  interest  awakened  in  all 
Christian  countries  by  the  remarkable 
discoveries  announced  has  never  for  a 
moment  waned. 

IV.  Having  thus  attempted  to  sketch 
the  origin  and  trace  the  history  of  the 
catacombs,  we  proceed  to  describe  what 
may  now  be  seen  in  the  most  important 
portion  of  the  best  known  among  them 
all  —  the  cemetery  of  San  Callisto. 
Entering  it  from  a  vineyard  near  the 
Appian  Way,  the  visitor  descends  a  broad 
flight  of  steps,  fashioned  by  Pope  Damasus 
from  the  motive  above  mentioned,  and 
finds  himself  in  a  kind  of  vestibule,  on 
the  stuccoed  walls  of  which,  honey- 
combed with  loculi,  are  a  quantity  of  rude 
inscriptions  in  Greek  and  Latin,  some  of 
which  are  thirteen  and  fourteen  centuries 
old,  scratched  by  the  pilgrims  who  visited 
out  of  devotion  the  places  where  Popes  and 
martyrs  who  had  fought  a  good  fight  for 
Christ,  and  often  their  own  kinsfolk  and 
friends,  lay  in  the  peaceful  gloom,  awaiting 
the  resurrection.  By  following  a  narrow 
gallery  to  the  right,  a  chamber  is  reached 
which  is  called  the  Papal  Crypt ;  for  here 
beyond  all  doubt  the  bodies  of  many  Popes 
of  the  third  century,  after  Zephyrinus 
(203-217)  had  secured  this  cemetery  for 
the  use  of  the  Christians  and  committed 
it  to  the  care  of  his  deacon  Callistus, 
were  laid,  and  here  they  remained  till  they 
were  removed  by  Paschal  to  the  Vatican 
crypts.  This  is  proved  by' the  recent 
discovery,  in  and  near  the  Papal  Crypt,  of 
the  slabs  bearing  the  original  inscriptions 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CATACOMBS. 


13 


in  memory  of  the  Popes  Eutychian, 
Anteros,  Fabian,  and  Lucius.  A  passage 
leads  out  of  the  crypt  into  the  cubiculum 
of  St.  Caecilia,  where,  as  De'  Rossi  has 
almost  demonstrated,  the  body  of  the 
saint,  martyred  in  the  first  half  of  the 
third  century,  was  originally  deposited  by 
Pope  Urban,  though  it  was  afterwards 
removed  by  Paschal  to  her  church  in  the 
Trastevere,  where  it  now  lies  under  the 
high  altar.  In  this  cubiculum  are  paint- 
ings of  St.  Caecilia  and  of  our  Lord,  the 
latter  "according  to  the  Byzantine  type, 
with  rays  of  glory  behind  it  in  the  form  of 
a  Greek  cross."  But  these  paintings  are 
late  —  not  earlier  than  the  tenth  century. 
Besides  the  Papal  Crypt  and  the  chamber 
of  St.  Caecilia,  there  are  in  this  part  of 
the  cemetery  "  several  cubicula  interest- 
ing for  their  paintings,  chiefly  referable 
to  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist,  the  fish 
being  the  principal  emblem  of  the  lat- 
ter. In  one  of  these  crypts  is  a  paint- 
ing of  four  male  figures  with  uplifted 
hands,  each  with  his  name,  placed  over 
an  arcosolium  ;  in  another  are  representa- 
tions of  peacocks,  the  emblem  of  immor- 
tality ;  in  a  third,  Moses  striking  the 
rock,  and  ascending  to  the  mount ;  in  a 
fourth,  a  grave-digger  {fossor)  surrounded 
with  the  implements  of  his  trade ;  in  a 
fifth,  the  Good  Shepherd,  with  the  miracle 
of  the  paralytic  taking  up  his  bed  ;  in 
a  sixth,  a  banquet  of  seven  persons,  sup- 
posed to  be  the  seven  disciples  alluded 
to  in  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  St. 
John's  Gospel.  These  paintings,  as  well 
as    the    greater    part    of    the    catacomb, 


are  referred  to  the  last  half  of  the  third 
century."  ^ 

V.  For  a  detailed  answer,  accompanied 
with  proofs,  to  the  question,  what  testi- 
mony the  catacombs  bear  to  the  nature 
of  the  religious  belief  and  life  of  the  early 
Christians,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
pages  of  "  Roma  Sotterranea,"  or  to  the 
larger  work  of  De'  Rossi.  He  will  there 
find  sufficient  evidence  to  convince  him  of 
the  truth  of  two  main  propositions  —  (i) 
that  the  religion  of  those  Christians  was 
a  sacramental  religion  ;  (2)  that  it  was  the 
reverse  of  puritanical ;  that  is,  that  it 
disdained  the  use  of  no  external  helps 
which  human  art  and  skill  could  furnish, 
in  the  effort  to  symbolize  and  enforce  the 
spiritual  truth.  With  reference  to  the  first 
proposition,  let  him  consider  how  the  sac- 
rament of  Baptism  is  typically  represented 
in  the  catacombs  by  paintings  of  Noe  in 
the  ark,  the  rock  smitten  and  water  gush- 
ing forth,  a  fisherman  drawing  fish  out  of 
the  water  accompanied  by  a  man  baptizing, 
and  the  paralytic  carrying  his  bed  ("  Roma 
Sotterranea,"  p.  265) ;  and  also  how  the 
mystery  of  the  Eucharist  is  still  more 
frequently  and  strikingly  portrayed  by 
pictures  in  which  baskets  of  bread  are 
associated  with  fish,  the  fish  being  the 
well  known  emblem  of  Our  Lord.^  The 
second  proposition  is  so  abundantly  proved 
by  the  remains  of  Christian  art  of  very 
ancient  date  still  to  be  seen  in  the  cata- 


1  Murray's  Handbook  of  Rome  and  its  Environs. 

2  There  were  other  reasons  for  this ;  but  the  fact  that  the 
initials  of  the  Greek  words  signifying  "Jesus  Christ,  Son  of 
God,  Saviour,"  made  up  the  word  ichthtis,  fish,  undoubtedly 
had  much  to  do  with  the  general  adoption  of  the  emblem. 


14 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


combs,  in  spite  of  the  havoc  and  ruin  of 
fifteen  centuries,  that  it  would  be  a  waste 
of  words  to  attempt  to  establish  it  at 
length.  Adopting  the  general  forms  and 
methods  of  the  contemporary  Pagan  art, 
but  carefully  eliminating  whatever  in  it 
was  immoral  or  superstitious,  we  find  the 
Christian  artists  employing  Biblical  or 
symbolical  subjects  as  the  principal  figures 
in  each  composition,  while  filling  in  their 
pictures  with  decorative  forms  and  objects 
—  such  as  fabulous  animals,  scroll- 
work, foliage,  fruit,  flowers,  and  birds  — 
imitated  from  or  suggested  by  the  pre- 
existing heathen  art.  A  type  for  which 
they  had  a  peculiar  fondness  was  that  of 
the  Good  Shepherd.  The  blessed  Virgin 
and  Child,  with  a  figure  standing  near 
supposed  to  be  Isaias,  is  represented 
in  an  exceedingly  beautiful  but  much 
injured  painting  on  the  vaulted  roof  of 
a  lociilus  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Priscilla. 
De'  Rossi  believes  this  painting  "  to 
belong  almost  to  the  apostolic  age " 
("Roma  Sotterranea,"  p.  258).  Another 
favorite  type  of  Our  Lord  was  Orpheus, 
who  by  his  sweet  music  drew  all  crea- 
tures to  hear  him.  The  vine,  painted 
with  so  much  freedom  and  grace  of 
handling  on  the  roof  of  the  entrance  to 
the  cemetery  of  Domitilla,  is  also,  in 
De'  Rossi's  opinion,  work  of  the  first  cen- 
tury. ("  Roma  Sotteranea,"  Northcote 
and  Brownlow ;  Murray's  '*  Handbook  of 
Rome.'";? 

Bible  (from  biblion,  a  letter  or  paper, 
and  that  from  biblos,  the  inner  bark  of 
papyrus).     A  name  given   to  the  sacred 


books  of  the  Jews  and  the  Christians. 
In  itself  "Bible"  might  mean  a  book  of 
whatever  kind,  just  as  its  synonym  "Scrip- 
tures" {graphat)  means  originally  writ- 
ings of  any  sort.  Gradually  the  Jews  who 
spoke  Greek  employed  the  word  "  Bible  " 
as  a  convenient  name  for  their  sacred 
books.  Thus  the  Greek  translator  of 
Ecclesiasticus,  writing  soon  after  132  a.  c, 
mentions  the  law  and  the  prophets  and  the 
rest  of  the  Bible  {ta  loipa  ton  biblioti)  ; 
and  a  similar  instance  might  be  quoted 
from  first  Machabees.^  Our  Lord  and  His 
disciples  received  the  Jewish  collection 
of  the  sacred  books  with  the  same  rever- 
ence as  the  Jews  themselves,  and  gave  it 
the  title  usual  at  the  time  —  viz.  "  the 
Scriptures."  But  after  an  interval  there 
came  a  change.  The  apostles  and  their 
disciples  wrote  books  professing  sacred 
authority.  These  writings  appeared  in. 
the  latter  half  of  the  first  century,  and 
were  quoted  within  the  Church  with  the 
same  formulas  —  "it  is  written,"  etc. — 
which  had  been  used  before  to  introduce 
citations  from  the  law  and  the  prophets. 
These  books  of  Christian  authorship  were 
called,  first  of  all,  "  the  books  "  or  "  scrip- 
tures of  the  new  covenant,"  and  from  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century,  the  shorter 
expression  "new  covenant"  came  into 
vogue.  In  Chrysostom  and  succeeding 
writers  we  find  "  Bible "  {biblid)  as  the 
familiar  term  for  the  whole  collection  con- 
tained   in   either   "covenant,"  or,   as    we    - 


1  Ecclus.  Praef. ;  i  Mach.  xii.  9.    In  Dan.  l».  I,  we  find 
en  tats  biblois,  a  translation  of    *    •    * 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CATACOMBS. 


le 


should  now  say,  in  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments.' 

Under  the  article  Canon  the  reader  will 
find  some  account  of  the  way  in  which, 
and  the  authority  by  which,  the  list  of 
sacred  books  has  been  made,  while  the 
nature  of  their  inspiration  is  also  treated 
in  a  separate  article.  Here  we  take  for 
granted  that  the  Bible  consists  of  a  num- 
ber of  inspired  books,  contained  in  the 
Vulgate  translation  and  enumerated  by 
the  Council  of  Trent ;  and  we  proceed  to 
treat  of  its  authority,  its  interpretation, 
and  of  its  use  among  the  faithful. 

I.  The  Church  holds  that  the  sacred 
Scripture  is  the  written  word  of  God. 
The  Council  of  Trent,  "following  the 
example  of  the  orthodox  Fathers,  receives 
with  piety  and  reverence  all  the  books  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  since  one 
God  is  the  author  of  each."  These  words 
of  the  council,  which  are  an  almost  verbal 
repetition  of  many  early  definitions,  sepa- 
rate the  Bible  utterly  from  all  other  books. 
Of  no  human  compositions,  however  excel- 
lent, can  it  be  said  that  God  is  its  author. 
And  the  divine  origin  of  Scripture  implies 
its  perfect  truth.  We  know  for  certain, 
St  Irenaeus  argues,  that  the  Scriptures  are 
perfect,  since  they  are  spoken  by  the 
Word  of  God  and  by  the  Spirit.^  Some 
few    Catholic    theologians     have,   indeed, 


1  "The  Scriptures  of  the  new  covenant,"  Etiseb.  iii.  25  ; 
"the  books  of  the  new  covenant,"  by  implicauuii  in  Melito 
of  Sardis,  about  170  A.  d.  (apud  Euseb.  iv.  26.)  The  "new 
document"  and  Testament,  TertuU.  Adv.  Marc.  iv.  i 
("novum  instrumentum ").  We  have  translated  diatheke 
"covenant."  It  never  means  "testament"  in  the  Christian 
Scriptures,  except  in  Heb.  ix.  15-17. 

2  Iren.  ii.  28,  2. 


maintained  that  the  Scriptures  may  en 
in  minimis  —  /.  e.  in  small  matters  of  his 
torical  detail  which  in  no  way  effect  faith 
or  morals.  Nor  in  doing  so  do  they  con- 
tradict any  express  definition  of  Pope  or 
council,  thqugh  such  an  opinion  has  never 
obtained  any  currency  in  the  Church; 
But  of  course  the  modern  Protestant  theo- 
ries which  reduce  the  historical  account  of 
the  Bible  to  mere  myths,  or  again  which, 
while  they  allow  that  the  Scripture  con- 
tains the  word  of  God,  deny  that  it  is  the 
written  word  of  God,  are  in  sharp  and 
obvious  contradiction  to  the  decrees  of 
the  church. 

2.  The  Church,  then,  affirms  that  all 
Scripture  is  the  word  of  God,  but  at  the 
same  time  it  maintains  that  there  is  an 
unwritten  word  of  God  over  and  above 
Scripture.  Just  as  Catholics  are  bound  to 
defend  the  authority  of  the  Bible  against 
the  new  school  of  Protestants  who  have 
come  to  treat  it  as  an  ordinary  book,  so  they 
are  compelled  to  withstand  that  Protestant 
exaggeration,  on  the  other  side,  according 
to  which  the  word  of  God  is  contained 
in  Scripture  and  in  Scripture  alone.  The 
word  of  God  ( so  the  council  of  Trent 
teaches)  is  contained  both  in  the  Bible 
and  in  Apostolical  tradition,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  a  Christian  to  receive  the  one 
and  the  other  with  equal  veneration  and 
respect.  The  whole  history  and  the 
whole  structure  of  the  New  Testament 
witness  to  the  truth  and  reasonableness 
of  the  Catholic  view.  If  our  Lord  had 
meant  His  Church  to  be  guided  by  a  book, 
and  by  a  book  alone,  He  would  have  taken 


i6 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


care  that  Christians  should  be  at  once 
provided  with  sacred  books.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  He  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  He 
refers  those  who  were  to  embrace  His 
doctrine,  not  to  a  book,  but  to  the  living 
voice  of  His  apostles  and  of  FJ is  Church. 
"  He  who  heareth  you,"  He  said  to  the 
apostles,  "  heareth  me."  For  twenty  years 
after  our  Lord's  ascension,  not  a  single 
book  of  the  New  Testament  was  written, 
and  all  that  time  no  Christian  could  appeal, 
as  many  Protestants  do  now,  to  the  Bible 
and  the  Bible  only,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  the  New  Testament  did  not  exist, 
and  the  faithful  were  evidently  called 
upon  to  believe  many  truths  for  which  no 
strict  and  cogent  proofs  could  be  brought 
from  the  pages  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures. 
Further,  when  the  writings  of  the  New 
Testament  were  issued,  they  appeared  one 
by  one,  in  order  to  meet  special  exigencies, 
nor  is  the  least  hint  given  that  the  apostles 
or  their  disciples  provided  that  their  writ- 
ings should  contain  the  whole  sum  of 
Christian  truth.  St.  Paul  wrote  to  various 
churches  in  order  to  give  them  instruction 
on  particular  points,  and  in  order  to  pre- 
serve them  from  moral  or  doctrinal  errors 
to  which  they  were  exposed  at  the  moment. 
Far  from  professing  to  communicate  the 
whole  circle  of  doctrine  in  a  written  form, 
he  exhorts  his  converts  in  one  of  his 
earliest  epistles,  to  "hold  the  traditions 
which  "they  "had  learned,  whether  by 
word  or  by  "  his  "  epistle  "  ;  a  few  years 
later  he  praises  the  Corinthians  for  keep- 
ing the  traditions  {paradoseis)  as  he  deliv- 
ered them,  and  towards  the  close  of  his 


life,  he  warns  St.  Timothy  to  keep  the 
"deposit"  of  the  faith  {parathokon),  with- 
out a  syllable  to  imply  that  this  deposit 
had  been  committed  to  writing.^  So,  with 
regard  to  the  gospel  records,  St.  John 
expressly  declares  that  they  were,  from 
the  necessity  of  the  case,  an  incomplete 
account  of  Christ's  life.^  The  Christians 
who  lived  nearest  to  apostolic  times 
believed,  as  the  apostles  themselves  had 
done,  that  Scripture  is  a  source,  but  by 
no  means  the  only  source,  of  Christian 
doctrine.  Tertullian  constantly  appeals 
to  the  tradition  of  the  apostolic  churches, 
and  lays  down  the  principle  on  which  all 
his  arguments  against  heresy  turn  —  viz., 
that  the  apostles  taught  both  by  word  and 
by  letter.^  A  little  before  Tertullian's- 
time,  St.  Irenaeus  actually  put  the  imag- 
inary case  that  the  apostles  had  left  no 
Scripture  at  all.  In  this  case,  he  says, 
we  should  still  be  able  to  follow  the  order 
of  tradition,  which  [the  apostles]  handed 
down  to  those  into  whose  hands  they 
committed  the  churches.^ 

3.  There  is  a  controversy  no  less  vital 
between  Catholics  and  Protestants  as  to 
the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  A  pop- 
ular Protestant  theory  makes  it  the  right 
and  the  duty  of  each  individual  to  interpret 
the  Bible  for  himself  and  to  frame  his  own 
religion  accordingly;  the  Catholic,  on 
the  contrary,  maintains  that  it  belongs  to 
the  Church,  and  to  the  Church  alone,  to 
determine  the  true  sense  of  the  Scripture. 

1  2  Thess.  ii.  14 ;  i  Cor.  xi.  2  ;  i  Tim.  vi.  20. 

2  John  xxi.  25  ;  and  see  Acts  xx.  35. 
^  Prescript.  21. 

*  Iren.  iii.  4,  i. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   CATACOMBS. 


j; 


and  that  we  cannot  interpret  contrary  to 
the  Church's  decision,  or  to  "  the  unani- 
mous consent  of  the  Fathers,"  without  mak- 
ing shipwreck  of  the  faith.  The  Catholic  is 
fully  justified  in  believing  with  perfect 
confidence  that  the  Church  cannot  teach 
any  doctrine  contrary  to  the  Scripture,  for 
our  Lord  has  promised  that  the  gates  of 
hell  will  not  prevail  against  His  Church. 
On  the  other  hand,  Christ  has  made  no 
promise  of  infallibility  to  those  who 
expound  Scripture  by  the  light  of  private 
judgment.  St.  Peter  tells  us  distinctly  that 
some  parts  of  the  New  Testament  are 
hard  to  understand.  Moreover,  the  expe- 
rience of  centuries  has  abundantly  con- 
firmed the  Catholic  and  disproved  the 
*rotestant  rule  of  interpretation.  Unity 
IS  the  test  of  truth.  If  each  man  received 
the  Holy  Ghost,  enabling  him  to  ascertain 
4he  sense  of  the  Bible,  then  pious  Protes- 
tants would  be  at  one  as  to  its  meaning 
and  the  doctrines  which  it  contains, 
whereas  it  is  notorious  that  they  have 
differed  from  the  first  on  every  point  of 
doctrine.  The  principle  of  private  judg- 
ment has  been  from  the  time  it  was  first 
applied  a  principle  of  division  and  of  con- 
fusion, and  has  led  only  to  the  multiplica- 
tion of  heresies  and  sects,  agreed  in  nothing 
except  in  their  common  disagreement  with 
the  Church.  Nor  does  the  authority  of 
the  Church  in  any  way  interfere  with  the 
scientific  exposition  of  Scripture.  A 
Catholic  commentator  is  in  no  way  limited 
to  a  servile  repetition  of  the  interpretation 
already  given  by  the  Fathers.  He  is  not, 
indeed,  permitted  to  give  to  any  passage 


in  Scripture  a  meaning  which  is  at  variance 
with  the  faith,  as  attested  by  the  decision 
of  the  Church  or  the  unanimous  consent 
of  the  Fathers.  But  he  may  differ  as  to 
the  meaning  of  passages  in  Scripture,  even 
from  the  greatest  of  the  Fathers ;  he  is 
not  bound  to  consider  that  these  passages 
necessarily  bear  the  meaning  given  them 
by  general  councils  in  the  preambles  to 
their  decrees  ;  he  may  even  advance  inter- 
pretations entirely  new  and  unknown 
before.  When,  for  example,  God  is  said 
to  have  hardened  Pharao's  heart,  a  Catholic 
commentator  cannot  infer  from  this  that 
the  book  of  Exodus  makes  God  the  author 
of  sin,  but  he  may,  if  he  sees  cause,  give 
an  explanation  of  the  words  which  differs 
from  that  of  St.  Augustine  or  St.  Thomas, 
or,  indeed,  from  that  of  all  the  Fathers 
and  Doctors  of  the  Church  taken  together.^ 
4.  We  now  come  to  the  use  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  Catholic  principles  on  this 
head  follow  from  what  has  been  already 
said.  It  is  not  necessary  for  all  Christians 
to  read  the  Bible.  Many  nations,  St. 
Irenaeus  tells  us,  were  converted  and 
received  the  faith  without  being  able  to 
read.2  Without  knowledge  of  letters, 
without  a  Bible  in  their  own  tongue,  they 
received  from  the  Church  teaching  which 
was  quite  sufficient  for  the  salvation  of 
their  souls.  Indeed,  if  the  study  of  the 
Bible  had  been  an  indispensable  requisite, 
a  great  part  of  the  human  race  would  have 
been  left  without  the  means  of  grace  till 


1  Pallavacini,  Hist.  Concil.  Trident,  in  Mohler's  Symboltk 

p.  386. 

2  Iren.  iii.  4,  2. 


it 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


the  invention  of  printing.  More  than 
this,  parts  of  the  Bible  are  evidently 
unsuited  to  the  very  young  or  to  the  igno- 
rant and  hence  Clement  XL  condemned  the 
proposition  that  "  the  reading  of  Scripture 
is  for  all."  These  principles  are  fixed  and 
invariable,  but  the  discipline  of  the  Church 
with  regard  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible 
in  the  vulgar  tongue  has  varied  with  vary- 
ing circumstances.  In  early  times,  the 
Bible  was  read  freely  by  the  lay  people,  and 
the  Fathers  constantly  encourage  them  to 
do  so,  although  they  also  insist  on  the 
obscurity  of  the  sacred  text.  No  prohibi- 
tions were  issued  against  the  popular  read- 
ing the  Bible.  New  dangers  came  in  during 
the  middle  ages.  When  the  heresy  of  the 
Albigenses  arose  there  was  a  danger  from 
corrupt  translations,  and  also  from  the 
fact  that  the  heretics  tried  to  make  the 
faithful  judge  the  Church  by  their  own 
interpretation  of  the  Bible.  To  meet  these 
evils,  the  councils  of  Toulouse  (1229)  and 
Tarragona  (1234)  forbade  the  laity  to  read 
the  vernacular  translations  of  the  Bible. 
Pius  IV.  required  the  bishops  to  refuse  lay 
persons  leave  to  read  even  Catholic  ver- 
sions of  Scripture  unless  their  confessors  or 
parish  priests  judged  that  such  reading  was 


likely  to  prove  beneficial.  During  this  cen. 
tury,  Leo  XII.,  Pius  VIII.,  and  Pius  IX., 
have  warned  Catholics  against  the  Protes- 
tant Bible  Societies,  which  distribute 
versions  (mostly  corrupt  versions)  of  the 
Bible  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  pervert- 
ing simple  Catholics.  It  is  only  surprising 
that  any  rational  being  could  have  thought 
it  possible  for  the  Holy  See  to  assume  any 
other  attitude  toward  such  proceedings. 
It  is  right,  however,  to  observe  that  the 
Church  displays  the  greatest  anxiety  that 
her  children  should  read  the  Scriptures, 
if  they  possess  the  necessary  dispositions. 
"You  judge  exceedingly  well,"  says  Pius 
VI.,  in  his  letter  to  Martini,  the  author  of 
a  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Italian, 
"  that  the  faithful  should  be  excited  to  the 
reading  of  Holy  Scriptures  :  for  these  are 
the  most  abundant  sources,  which  ought 
to  be  left  open  to  every  one,  to  draw  from 
them  purity  of  morals  and  of  doctrine. 
This  you  have  seasonably  effected  .... 
by  publishing  the  sacred  Scriptures  in  the 
language  of  your  country,  ....  especially 
when  you  show  that  you  have  added 
explanatory  notes,  which,  being  extracted 
from  the  holy  Fathers,  preclude  every  pos- 
sible danger  of  abuse." 


^ 


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8^ 


,ROM  the  earliest  times  the 
determinations  of  the  Church 
received  the  name  of  Canons, 
that  is,  rules  directory  in  mat- 
ters of  faith  and  conduct. 
Thus  we  read  of  the  Apostolic 
Canons,  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of 
Nice,  or  of  Chalcedon,  etc.  A  tendency 
afterwards  appeared  to  restrict  the  term 
Canon  to  matters  of  discipline,  and  to 
give  the  name  of  Dogma  to  decisions  bear- 
ing on  faith.  But  the  Council  of  Trent 
confirmed  the  ancient  use  of  the  word, 
calling  its  determinations  "  canons^  whether 
they  bore  on  points  of  belief  or  were 
directed  to  the  reformation  of  discipline. 

Canon  Law  is  the  assemblage  of  rules 
or  laws  relating  to  faith,  morals,  and  dis- 
cipline, prescribed  or  propounded  to  Chris- 
tians by  ecclesiastical  authority.  The 
words  "  or  laws  "  are  added  to  the  defini- 
tion, lest  it  be  thought  that  these  rules 
are  only  matters  of  publication  and  per- 
suasion, and  not  binding  laws,  liable  to 
be  enforced  by  penalties.  The  definition 
shows  that  the  object  of  canon  law  is  "  faith, 


morals,  and  discipline  "  ;  and  nothing  but 
these  is  its  object.  "To  Christians"—- 
that  is,  baptized  persons  are  the  subject 
of  canon  law ;  and  that  without  reference 
to  the  question  whether  they  are  or  are 
not  obedient  to  the  Church  and  within 
her  pale.  For  theologians  teach  that  the 
character  imprinted  by  baptism  on  the 
soul  is  ineffaceable  ;  and  in  virtue  of  this 
character  the  baptized  are  Christ's  sol- 
diers, and  subject  of  right  to  those  whom 
He  appointed  to  rule  in  His  fold.  The 
unbaptized  (Turks,  Pagans,  etc.  ),  speaking 
generally,  are  not  the  subject  of  canon 
law.  Yet  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  Church  has  no  rights  and  no  duties  in 
regard  to  such  persons ;  by  the  com- 
mission of  Christ  she  has  the  right  of 
visiting,  teaching,  and  then  baptizing 
them  (^' euntes  docete  omnes  gentes,  bap- 
tizando^''  etc.).  "  Propounded  "  —  for  some 
of  these  rules  belong  to  the  natural  or  to 
the  divine  law,  and  as  such  are  not  orig- 
inally imposed  by  the  Church,  but  proposed 
and  explained  by  her.  "  By  ecclesiastical 
authority"  —  hence  canon  law    is    distin- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


guished  from  systems  of  law  imposed  by 
the  civil  authority  of  States,  as  being  pre- 
scribed by  the  power  with  which  Jesus 
Christ  endowed  the  Church  which  he 
founded  (  "  qui  vos  audit,  me  audit ;  pasce 
oves  measT  etc.). 

Before  we  proceed  to  give  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  history  of  canon  law,  to  notice  in 
parts,  ascertain  its  sources,  and  describe 
its  principal  collections,  a  preliminary 
objection,  striking  at  the  root  of  its  author- 
ity, and  almost  at  its  existence,  must  be 
examined.  It  is,  that  the  consent  of  the 
civil  power  in  any  country  is  necessary  to 
give  validity  to  the  determinations  of  the 
canon  law  in  that  country.  This  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  " placitum  regium^^  or 
"  royal  assent  "  ;  it  implies,  whatever  may 
be  the  form  of  the  government,  that  State 
authorization  is  necessary  before  it  can 
become  the  duty  of  a  Christian  to  obey 
the  ecclesiastical  authority.  On  this 
Cardinal  Soglia  writes  as  follows:  —  "If 
we  inquire  into  the  origin  of  the  '  placitum,' 
we  shall  find  it  in  the  terrible  and  pro- 
longed schism  which  lasted  from  the 
election  of  Urban  VI.  to  the  Council  of 
Constance.  For  Urban,  lest  the  schism 
should  give  occasion  to  an  improper  use 
of  Papal  authority,  granted  to  certain  pre- 
lates that  there  should  be  no  execution  of 
any  apostolic  letters  in  their  cities  and 
dioceses,  unless  such  letters  were  first 
shown  to  and  approved  by  those  prelates, 
or  their  officials.  The  rulers  of  European 
States  also  began  carefully  to  examine  all 
bulls  and  constitutions,  in  order  that  their 
subjects  might  not  be  deceived  by  pseudo- 


pontiffs.  But  these  measures,  it  is  evident, 
were  of  a  precautionary  and  temporary 
character.  However,  when  the  cause 
ceased,  the  effect  did  not  also  cease ;  on 
the  extinction  of  the  schism,  the  placitum 
did  not  disappear,  but  was  retained  by 
the  civil  power  in  many  countries,  and 
gradually  extended.  At  first,  says  Oliva, 
the  placitum  was  applied  to  Papal  rescripts 
of  grace  and  justice  given  to  individuals; 
afterwards  it  was  extended  to  decrees  of 
discipline,  and  in  the  end  even  to  dogmatic 
bulls."  The  Cardinal  explains  in  what 
sense  the  celebrated  canonist  Van  Espen, 
who  was  prone  unduly  to  magnify  the 
civil  power,  understood  the  application  of 
the  placitum  to  dogmatic  rescripts,  and 
proceeds :  —  "It  is  evident  that  this  theory" 
(of  possible  danger  or  inconvenience  to  the 
State  if  Papal  bulls  were  published  without 
restraint)  "arose  out  of  the  suggestions- 
of  statesmen  and  politicians,  who,  as  Zall-,) 
wein  says,  out  of  a  wish  to  flatter  and 
please  the  princes  whom  they  serve,  and 
to  enlarge  their  own  and  their  masters' 
jurisdiction,  as  well  as  out  of  the  hatred 
of  the  ecclesiastical  power  by  which 
they  are  often  animated,  invent  all  kinds 
of  dangers,  harms,  and  losses,  by  which 
they  pretend  the  public  welfare  is  threat- 
ened, and  artfully  bring  these  views  under 
the  notice  of  their  masters.  ...  *  If,'  pro- 
ceeds the  same  Zallwein,  '  the  ecclesias- 
tical sovereigns  whom  Christ  hath  set 
to  rule  over  the  Church  of  God,  were  to 
urge  their  "  placitum "  also,  whenever 
political  edicts  are  issued,  which,  as  often 
happens,  are  prejudicial  to  the  ecclesiastic 


HISTORY  OF  CANON  LAW, 


21 


cal  state,  hostile  to  ecclesiastical  liberties, 
opposed  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pontiff 
and  bishops,  and  aggressive  against  the 
very  holy  of  holies,  what  would  the  civil 
rulers  say  ? '  Following  up  the  argument, 
Govart  says,  '  If  a  prince  could  not  be 
said  to  have  full  power  and  jurisdiction  in 
temporals,  were  his  edicts  to  depend  on 
the  "  placitum  "  of  the  Pope  and  bishops, 
and  could  their  publication  be  hindered  by 
others,  so  neither  would  the  Pope  have 
full  power  in  spirituals,  if  his  constitutions 
depended  on  the  "  placitum  "  of  princes, 
and  could  be  suppressed  by  them.  Where- 
fore if,  in  the  former  case,  whoever 
should  maintain  the  affirmative  might 
justly  be  said  to  impugn  the  authority  of 
the  prince,  so  and  a  fortiori  in  the  second 
case  must  the  supporter  of  such  an  opin- 
ion be  said  to  undermine  with  sinister 
intention  the  Papal  authority,  or  rather  to 
destroy  it  altogether.'  The  sura  of  the 
argument  is,  that  '  by  the  "  placitum 
regium"  the  liberty  of  the  ecclesiastical 
"  magisterium  "  and  government  divinely 
entrusted  to  the  Church  is  seriously 
impaired,  the  independence  of  the  divinely 
appointed  primacy  destroyed,  and  the 
mutual  intercourse  jjetween  the  head  and 
the  members  intercepted.  Therefore,  if 
the  Church,  to  guard  against  still  greater 
evils,  endures  and  puts  up  with  the  "  placi- 
tum," she  never  consents  to  or  approves 
of  it.' " 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  interest 
of  the  laity,  and  the  Christian  people 
generally,  it  is  obvious  that  the  lovers  of 
true  liberty  must  disapprove  of  the  "placi- 


tum." It  is  impossible  that  the  Church, 
or  the  Roman  Pontiff  as  the  mouth-piece 
of  the  Church,  should  issue  any  decree  or 
have  any  interest  inimical  to  the  welfare 
of  the  general  Christian  population  in  any 
state.  Any  obstacles,  therefore,  which 
governments  may  interpose  to  the  free 
publication  and  execution  of  ecclesiastical 
rescripts  cannot  arise  from  solicitude  for 
the  public  welfare.  Whence,  then,  do  they 
arise,  or  have  they  arisen }  Evidently 
from  the  arbitrary  temper  of  kings,  the 
jealousies  of  nobles,  and  the  desire  of 
bureaucrats  to  extend  their  power.  These 
two  latter  classes,  at  least  all  but  the 
noblest  individuals  among  them,  are  usu- 
ally predisposed  to  hamper  the  action  of 
the  Church  and  the  clergy,  lest  their  own 
social  influence  should  be  diminished  rel- 
atively to  that  of  the  latter.  This  is  no 
interest  which  deserves  to  engage  popular 
sympathies,  but  rather  the  contrary. 

Historical. — Jurisdiction  is  implied  in 
the  terms  of  the  commission  of  binding 
and  losing  which  Christ  gave  to  the 
apostles,  and  especially  to  Peter.  While 
Christians  were  few,  and  apostles  and 
others  who  had "  seen  the  Lord "  still 
alive,  the  apostolic  authority  could  be 
exercised  with  little  help  from  written 
documents  or  rigid  rules.  As  these  early 
conditions  passed  away,  the  necessity  of  a 
system  of  law,  in  order  to  ensure  uniform- 
ity, equity,  and  perspicuity  in  the  exercise 
of  the  Church's  jurisdiction,  could  not  but 
become  increasingly  manifest.  After  the 
apostles  had  passed  away,  having  devolved 
upon   the   bishops   all  of    their  authoritj' 


22 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


which  was  not  limited  to  them  in  their 
apostolic  character,  each  bishop  became 
a  centre  of  jurisdiction.  In  deciding  any 
cases  that  might  be  brought  before  him, 
he  had  three  things  to  guide  him,  —  Scrip- 
ture, tradition,  and  the  "holy  canons,"  — 
that  is,  the  disciplinary  rules  which  Church 
synods,  beginning  with  the  Council  of 
Jerusalem,  had  established.  Many  of 
these  primitive  canons  are  still  preserved 
for  us  in  the  collection  known  as  the  apos- 
tolical canons,  although,  taken  as  a  whole, 
they  are  of  no  authority,  Till  Christianity 
conquered  the  imperial  throne,  questions 
of  jurisdiction  and  law  did  not  come  into 
prominence ;  after  Constantine  the  case 
was  very  different.  The  Council  of  Nice, 
besides  its  dogmatic  utterances,  framed  a 
quantity  of  canons  for  the  regulation  of 
Church  discipline,  which,  along  with  those 
of  Sardica,  were  soon  translated  into 
Latin,  and  widely  circulated  in  the  West. 
An  important  step  towards  codification 
and  uniformity  of  procedure  was  taken 
at  the  end  of  the  fifth  or  early  in  the 
sixth  century,  when  Dionysius  Exiguus, 
under  the  direction  of  Popes  Anastasius 
and  Symmachus,  made  a  large  compila- 
tion of  canons  for  the  use  of  the  Latin 
Church.  In  this  he  included  fifty  of  the 
apostolic  canons,  translated  from  the 
Greek,  considering  the  rest  to  be  of  doubt- 
ful authority ;  the  canons  of  Chalcedon, 
with  those  of  which  that  Council  had  made 
use ;  the  canons  of  Sardica,  and  a  large 
number  promulgated  by  African  councils  ; 
lastly,  the  decretal  letters  of  the  Popes 
from  Siricius  to  Anastasius  II.     The  next 


collection  is  that  supposed  to  have  been 
made  by  St.  Isidore  of  Seville,  early  in  the 
seventh  century.  About  a.  d.  850,  a  col- 
lection of  canons  and  decretals  appeared, 
seemingly  at  Mayence,  which  were  osten- 
sibly the  compilation  of  lisdore  of  Seville. 
In  an  age  of  great  ignorance,  when  criti- 
cism was  neither  in  favor  nor  provided 
with  means,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  this 
collection  which  invested  with  the  spurious 
authority  of  recorded  decisions  a  system  of  j 
things  existing  traditionally,  indeed,  but  ' 
liable  to  constant  opposition,  passed  speed-  ; 
ily  into  general  recognition  and  acceptance. 
Six  centuries  passed  before  it  was  dis- 
covered that  these  pseudo-Isidorian  or 
False  Decretals  as  they  are  now  called, 
were  to  a  great  extent  forgery.  Never- 
theless, as  Cardinal  Soglia  remarks,  the 
collection  contains  in  it  nothing  contrary 
to  faith  or  sound  morals ;  otherwise  its 
long  reception  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble ;  nor  does  the  discipline  which  it 
enjoins  depend  for  its  authority  upon  this 
collection,  but  either  upon  constitutions  ^ 
of  earlier  and  later  date,  or  upon  custom, 
"  qucs  in  rebus  disciplinaribus  multum  ' 
valet." 

Many  collections  of  canons  were  made 
and  used  in  national  churches  between  the 
date  of  Dionysius  Exiguus  and  that  of  the 
author  of  the  "  Decretum."  In  Africa 
there  was  the  Codex  Africanus  (547), 
and  the  "  Concordantia  Canonum "  of 
Bishop  Cresconius  (697)  ;  in  Spain  the 
chapters  of  Martin,  Bishop  of  Braga  (572), 
beside  the  work  by  Isidore  of  Seville 
already  mentioned ;  in    France,    a   Codex 


HISTORY  OF  CANON  LAW. 


23 


Canonum,  besides  the  capitularies  of  the 
Merovingian  and  Carlovingian  kings. 
Passing  over  these,  we  come  to  the  cel- 
ebrated compilation  by  Gratian,  a  Bene- 
dictine monk  (11 51),  which  the  compiler, 
whose  main  purpose  was  to  reconcile  the 
inconsistencies  among  canons  of  different 
age  and  authorship  bearing  on  the  same 
subject,  entitled  "  Concordantia  discor- 
dantium  Canonum,"  but  which  is  generally 
known  as  the  "Decretum  of  Gratian." 
Having  brought  our  historical  sketch  to 
the  point  where  ecclesiastical  law,  no  lon- 
ger perplexed  by  the  multiplicity  of  canons 
of  various  date  and  place  and  more  or  less 
limited  application,  begins  to  provide  her- 
self with  a  general  code  —  a  "  corpus 
juris  "  —  applicable  to  the  whole  Catholic 
world,  we  drop  the  historical  method  and 
turn  to  the  remaining  heads  of  the  inquiry. 

Canon  law  consists  of  precepts  of  differ- 
ent kinds.  Hence  it  is  divided  into  four 
parts  —  precepts  of  the  natural  law,  posi- 
tive divine  precepts,  directions  left  by  the 
apostles,  and  ecclesiastical  constitutions. 
Upon  each  of  these  Cardinal  Soglia  dis- 
courses solidly  and  lucidly  in  the  second 
chapter  of  his  Prolegomena. 

With  regard  to  the  sources  whence  these 
precepts  flow,  they  might,  strictly  speak- 
ing, be  reduced  to  three  —  God,  who 
impresses  the  natural  law  upon  the  con- 
science, and  reveals  the  truth  which  men 
are  to  believe ;  the  apostles ;  and  the 
Supreme  Pontiffs,  either  alone  or  in  con- 
junction with  the  bishops  in  general  coun- 
cils. Canonists,  however,  find  it  more 
convenient  to  define  the  sources  of  canon 


law  in  the  following  manner:  i.  Holy 
Scripture  ;  2.  Ecclesiastical  tradition  ;  3. 
The  decrees  of  councils  ;  4.  Papal  consti- 
tutions and  rescripts ;  5.  The  writings  of 
the  Fathers  ;  6.  The  civil  law.  On  this 
last  head  Soglia  remarks  that  "many 
things  relating  to  the  external  polity  of  the 
Church  have  been  borrowed  from  the 
imperial  enactments  of  Rome,  and  incor- 
porated in  the  canon  law." 

The  Collections  oi  canon  law,  considering 
it  as  a  system  in  present  force  and  obliga- 
tion, commence  with  the  '^Decretum  of 
Gratian  "  already  mentioned.  This  great 
work  is  divided  into  three  parts.  The 
first  part,  in  loi  "Distinctions,"  treats 
of  ecclesiastical  law,  its  origin,  principles, 
and  authority,  and  then  of  the  different 
ranks  and  duties  of  the  clergy.  The  sec- 
ond part,  in  thirty-six  "  Causes,"  treats  of 
ecclesiastical  courts,  and  their  form  of 
procedure.  The  third  part,  usually  called 
"De  Consecratione,"  treats  of  things  and 
rites  employed  in  the  service  of  religion. 
From  its  first  appearance  the  Decretum 
obtained  a  wide  popularity,  but  it  was  soon 
discovered  that  it  contained  numerous 
errors  which  were  corrected  under  the 
directions  of  successive  Popes  down  to 
Gregory  VHI.  Nor,  although  every  sub- 
sequent generation  has  resorted  to  its 
pages,  is  the  Decretum  an  authority  to  this 
day  —  that  is,  whatever  canons  or  maxims 
of  law  are  found  in  it  possess  only  that 
degree  of  legality  which  they  would  pos- 
sess if  they  existed  separately ;  their  being 
in  the  Decretum  gives  them  no  binding 
force.     In  the  century  after  Gratian  sev- 


24 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


eral  supplementary  collections  of  Decretals 
appeared.  These,  with  many  of  his  own, 
were  collected  by  the  orders  of  Gregory  IX., 
who  employed  in  the  work  the  extraordi- 
nary learning  and  acumen  of  St.  Raymond 
of  Pennafort,  into  five  books,  known  as 
the  Decretals  of  Gregory  IX.  These  are 
in  the  fullest  sense  authoritative,  having 
been  deliberately  ratified  and  published  by 
that  Pope  (1234).  The  Sext,  or  sixth  book 
of  the  Decretals,  was  added  by  Boniface 
VIII  (1298).  The  Clementine^  are  named 
after  Clement  V.,  who  compiled  them  out 
of  the  canons  of  the  Council  of  Vienne 
(i3i6)and  some  of  his  own  constitutions. 
The  Extravagantes  of  John  XXII.,  who 
succeeded  Clement  V.,  and  the  Extrava- 
gantes Communes,  containing  the  Decre- 
tals of  twenty-five  Popes,  ending  with  Six- 
tus  IV.  (1484),  complete  the  list.  Of  these 
five  collections — namely,  the  Decretals,  the 
Sext,  the  Clementines,  the  Extravagants 
of  John  XXII.,  and  the  Extravagants 
Common  —  the  "Corpus  Juris  Ecclesias- 
tici  "  is  made  up. 

To  these  a  very  important  addition  has 
to  be  made  in  "  Jus  novissimum  "  —  mod- 
ern law.  Under  this  head  are  comprised 
the  canons  of  general  councils  since  that 
of  Vienna,  contained  in  great  compilations 
such  as  those  of  Labbe  and  Harduin,  and 
the  Decretal  letters  of  Popes,  published 
in  the  form  of  Bullaria,  and  coming  down 
(in  the  case  of  the  great  Turin  Bullarium 
of  1857)  to  the  pontificate  of  Pius  IX. 
The  decisions  of  Roman  congregations 
and  of  the  tribunal  of  the  Rota  also  form 
part   of  this   modern  law.     The    rules   of 


the    Roman    Chancery,    first    formulated 
by    John     XXII.    and     now    numbering 
seventy  two,  are  everywhere  of  authority, 
provided   that  they  do   not  conflict  witk 
a  contrary  law,  a  clause  in  a  Concordat,! 
or    a    legitimate    custom.       Lastly,    the 
Concordats,   or   treaties    entered    into    by, 
the  Holy  See  with  various  countries   foi 
the    regulation    of    ecclesiastical    affairs,! 
constitute  special  systems  of  law  for  those 
countries. 

In  England,  as  in  other  European  coun- 
tries, the  canon  and  civil  law  were  studied 
together  before  the  Reformation,  andl 
formed  a  code,  applicable  not  only  to 
spiritual  suits  but  to  the  large  class  of 
mixed  cases,  which  was  enforced  in  the 
Church  courts.  Provincial  constitutions 
were  passed  from  time  to  time  by  different 
archbishops  of  Canterbury,  but  from  their 
increasing  number  and  the  want  of  a  meth- 
odical arrangement,  many  of  them  were 
gradually  forgotten  or  neglected.  A  great 
service,  therefore,  was  rendered  to  the 
English  Church  of  his  day  by  William 
Lyndewode,  chaplain  to  Archbishop  Chich- 
eley  and  official  of  the  Court  of  Arches, 
who  collected  and  arranged  (about  1425), 
under  the  title  of  "  Provinciale,"  the  con- 
stitutions of  fourteen  archbishops  of  Can- 
terbury, from  Stephen  Langton  to  Chich- 
eley,  classifying  them  according  to  their 
subjects  in  five  books,  in  imitation  of  the 
Decretals  of  Gregory  IX.  To  this  col- 
lection the  constitutions  of  the  legates 
Otho  (1237)  and  Othobon  (1262)  were 
subsequently  appended.  These  English 
constitutions,     and  canon    law     generally 


HISTORY  OF  CANON  LAW, 


(except  so  far  as  modified  by  the  statutes 
and  canons  which  consummated  the 
Anglican  schism,  and  raised  the  reign- 
ing sovereign  —  being  an  Anglican  Prot- 


25 


estant,  1702  —  to  the  headship  of  the 
national  church),  are  still  recognized  as 
authoritative  in  Anglican  ecclesiastical 
courts. 


l^ 


'' 


ist^r^  0f  Petsr's  Peaee.  *^ 


:f 


I 


N  annual  tax  of  one  penny  for 
every  house  in  England,  col- 
lected at  Midsummer,  and 
paid  to  the  Holy  See.  It  was 
extended  to  Ireland  under  the 
bull  granted  by  Pope  Adrian  to 
Henry  11.^  The  earliest  documentary 
mention  of  it  seems  to  be  the  letter  of 
Canute  (103 1),  sent  from  Rome  to  the 
English  clergy  and  laity.^  Among  the 
"  dues  which  we  owe  to  God  according  to 
ancient  law,"  the  king  names  "the  pennies 
which  we  owe  to  Rome  at  St.  Peter's," 
{denarii  quos  Romce  ad  Sanctum  Petrum 
deb  emus),  whether  from  towns  or  vills." 
It  may  hence  be  considered  certain  that 
the  tax  was  deemed  one  of  ancient  stand- 
ing in  the  time  of  Canute,  but  its  exact 
origin  is  variously  related.  West  Saxon 
writers  ascribe  the  honor  (for  it  was 
regarded  as  an  honor  by  our  forefathers) 
of  its  institution  to  kings  of  Wessex ; 
Matthew  Paris,  who  represents  merchant 

1  Matt.  Paris,  ed.  Wats,  p.  95.  But,  as  is  well  known, 
the  genuineness  of  this  bull  is  now  disputed  (see  the  last 
volume  of  the  Analecta  Pontificia). 

2  Flor.  of  Wore.  a.  1031. 


traditions,  gives  it  to  Offa,  king  of  Mercia. 
Malmesbury  makes  Ethelwulf,  the  father 
of  Alfred,  the  founder ;  so  that  the  same 
king  who  instituted  tithes  would  on  this 
view  have  established  "  Peter's  Pence." 
But  a  writer  very  little  later  than  Malmes- 
bury —  Henry  of  Huntingdon  —  attributes 
the  grant  to  Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  who 
"  gave  to  the  Vicar  of  St.  Peter,  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  a  fixed  rent  for  every 
house  in  his  kingdom  forever."  Matthew 
Paris,  in  his  "  Two  Offas "  (printed  by 
Wats),  gives  the  Mercian  tradition  in  an 
expanded  form.  Offa,  visiting  Rome  in 
great  state,  besides  other  munificent  offer- 
ings, burdens  his  kingdom  with  the  "  Rom- 
scot,"  which  is  to  be  paid  to  the  Roman 
Church  for  the  support  of  the  English  school 
and  hostel  at  Rome.  It  was  to  be  one 
silver  penny  (argentus)  for  every  family 
occupying  land  worth  thirty  pence  a  year. 
On  the  other  hand,  Layamon,  the  poet 
(writing  about  1209,  among  West  Saxon 
traditions),  ascribes  the  institution  to  Ina, 
a  king  of  Wessex.  No  certain  conclusion 
can  be  arrived  at ;  but,  on  the   whole,  it 


HISTORY  OF  PETER'S  PENCE. 


27 


seems  probable  that  the  "  Rom-scot " 
owed  its  foundation  to  Offa,  with  whose 
prosperous  and  successful  reign  the  initia- 
tion of  the  thing  would  be  more  in  keeping 
than  with  the  troubled  times  of  Ethel- 
wulf,  although  the  latter  may  well  have 
consented  to  extend  that  which  had  been 
before  only  a  Mercian  impost  to  the  West 
Saxon  part  of  his  dominions. 

The  "alms,"^  sent  by  Alfred  to  Pope 
Marinus,  who  then  "freed"  the  English 
school  at  Rome,  were  probably  nothing 
more  than  arrears  of  Peter's  pence,  the 
receipt  of  which  made  it  possible  for  the 
Pope  to  free  the  inhabitants  in  the  English 
quarter,  and  the  pilgrims  resorting  to  it 
for  hospitality,  from  all  tax  and  toll. 
Geoffrey  Gaimar^  is  responsible  for  the 
curious  statement,  that  in  consideration 
of  the  Peter's  pence  (the  "  dener  de  la 
meison  " )  given  by  Canute,  the  Pope  made 
him  his  legate,  and  ordered  that  no  Eng- 
lishman charged  with  crime  should  be 
imprisoned  abroad,  or  exiled,  but  should 
"  purge  himself  in  his  own  land." 

1     Sax.  Chr.  883. 

»    See  Mon.  Hist.  Brit. p.  821. 


It  is  probable  that  there  was  at  all  times 
great  irregularity  in  the  payment  of  the 
Rom-scot.  It  is  recorded  to  have  been 
sent  to  Rome  in  1095,  by  the  hands  of  the 
Papal  nuncio,  after  an  intermission  of 
many  years.  Again,  in  1123,^  we  read  of 
a  legate  coming  into  England  after  the 
Rom-scot.  From  1534  it  ceased  to  be 
rendered. 

The  tribute,  or  cess,  of  1,000  marks 
(700  for  England,  300  for  Ireland),  which 
King  John  bound  himself  and  his  heirs  to 
pay  to  the  Roman  See,  in  recognition  of 
the  feudal  dependence  of  his  kingdom,  was 
of  course  wholly  distinct  from  the  Peter's 
pence.  After  being  paid  by  Henry  III. 
and  Edward  II.,  but  withheld  by  Edward 
I.  and  Edward  III.,  it  was  formally 
claimed  with  arrears,  in  1366,  by  Urban 
V. 

The  Peters  pence  of  modern  days  is  a 
voluntary  contribution  made  by  the  faith- 
ful, and  taken  up  under  the  direction  of 
their  bishop,  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff. 

1    Sax.  Chr  on. 


'^^^^^-^^^ 


%t5;j^%?:5^s^- 


CHAPTER     V. 


$:  ^:  'i?:  %•':  iv  {•':  *  *  i?>  i?>  *•?>  <?>  *•?>  ^V  ^?>  <?>  ^?J  ^?>  * 
•••  •!•;  {•;  {•;  •!•;  'S*  '.*':  •?•  i?j  •!•;  •?•'  •?•   •?•'  *•?•  *•?•  "S*  •?•*  •?•*  *•?• 


BOY  is  usually  sent  to  school  in 
order  that  he  may  obtain,  with 
greater  ease  and  fewer  inter- 
ruptions than  would  be  pos- 
sible at  home,  knowledge  which 
would  be  serviceable  to  him 
in  after  life.  This  is  a  motive  which  acts 
on  parents  independently  of  State  insti- 
gation ;  it  filled  the  school  of  Flavins  at 
Venusia  with  "  big  boys,  the  sons  of  big 
centurions,"^  and  took  Horace  to  that 
superior  establishment  at  Rome  which 
received  the  sons  of  "knights  and  sen- 
ators." To  these  voluntary  schools,  which 
doubtless  existed  in  every  part  of  the 
Roman  empire,  and  were  closely  connec- 
ted with  the  movement  of  Pagan  society, 
it  does  not  appear  that  Christian  parents 
in  the  first  three  centuries  sent  their  sons. 
The  earliest  Christian  school  of  which  we 
have  a  distinct  account  —  that  of  Pantaenus 
at  Alexandria  (a.  d.  i8o) — was  one  for 
religious  and  catechetical  instruction 
{hieron   logon  katechesedti)?     The   earliest 

1  Hor.  5a/.  I.  6,  73. 
a  Eus.  His  .  Eccl. 


State  provision  for  secondary  instruction 
was  made  by  the  Emperor  Vespasian,^  who 
established  a  group  of  "imperial  schools  " 
at  all  the  great  provincial  towns  ;  Besan- 
con,  Aries,  Cologne,  Rheims,  and  Treves 
are  particularly  mentioned.  In  these 
schools  rhetoric,  logic,  and  Latin  and 
Greek  literature  were  well  taught,  and 
many  a  Christian  apologist  owed  to  them 
the  mental  culture  which  he  employed 
after  his  conversion  in  the  service  of 
Christ.  When  the  empire  had  become 
Christian,  these  schools  still  retained  the 
old  methods  and  subjects  of  instruction,  and 
even,  to  a  great  extent,  the  old  spirit.  St. 
Jerome,  who  had  himself  been  educated 
in  one  of  them,  was  alive  to  the  perilous 
nature  of  this  influence,  and  interdicted 
the  reading  of  the  Pagan  authors  to  ali 
those  under  his  direction  who  were  in 
training  for  the  religious  life.  Every  bish- 
op's residence  was  from  the  first  more  or 
less  definitely  a  school,  in  which  clerics 
were  trained  for  the  ecclesiastical  life. 
Similarly,  after  the  commencement  of  the 

1  J.  B.  Mullinger,  TheSchools  of  the  Great  (1877),  p.  12. 


28 


ORIGIN  OF  SCHOOLS. 


29 


monastic  life  under  St.  Antony  and  St. 
Hilarion,  the  monastery,  besides  subserv- 
ing the  ends  of  self-discipline  and  continual 
intercession,  became  a  school  for  training 
monks.  This  was  especially  seen  in  the 
monasteries  in  Gaul  which  followed  the 
rule  of  the  Abbot  Cassian  of  Marseilles. 
Early  in  the  fifth  century,  the  invasions 
of  the  barbarians  began ;  for  four  centuries 
Western  Europe  weltered  in  chaos,  and 
the  institutions  of  civilized  life  perished. 
In  the  cities  of  Gaul,  as  the  Franks 
pressed  southwards,  the  old  municipal 
schools  —  the  schools  of  the  Rhetoricians 
and  the  Grammarians  —  dwindled  and 
were  dispersed.  Lay  life  became  barbar- 
ous ;  and  the  arts  of  barbarism — which 
chiefly  fighting,  destruction,  and 
do  not  stand  in  the 
need  of  schools.  But  in  the  wreck  the 
episcopal  and  monastic  schools  survived, 
and,  through  the  degradation  of  lay  life, 
became  ever  more  attractive.  In  the 
island  of  Lerins,  the  abbot  Honoratus, 
about  400,  founded  a  celebrated  monastery, 
the  school  of  which  was  known  as  the 
Studiuin  Insiilanum.  Ireland,  soon  after 
its  conversion  by  St.  Patrick,  was  dotted 
over  with  monastic  schools,  in  which  such 
learning  as  was  then  accessible  was  prose- 
cuted with  remarkable  success. 

The  suppression  of  the  schools  of 
Athens  by  order  of  Justinian  (529) 
sounded  the  knell  of  the  educational 
institutes  of  antiquity.  These  schools 
were,  in  fact,  a  university,  although  that 
name  was  of  later  introduction.  They 
had  never  been  able  to  shake  off  the  Pagan 


ire 


coarse  indulgence 


modes  of  thought  which  gave  birth  to 
them,  and  now  the  advancing  tide  of 
Christian  ideas  engulfed  them,  without 
being  able  for  a  long  time  to  supply  their 
place.  A  few  months  after  the  suppres- 
sion, St.  Benedict  founded  the  abbey  of 
Monte  Cassino,  and  the  schools  for  the 
erection  of  which  his  rule  provides  were 
soon  spread  over  Western  Europe.  These 
gradually  produced  a  race  of  teachers  and 
students  whose  higher  and  wider  views 
suggested  the  resuscitation  of  academic 
life.  It  is  sufficient  to  mention  the  names 
of  lona,  Lindisfarne,  Canterbury,  York, 
Fulda,  Rheims,  Corbie,  Fleury,  and 
Seville  —  not  as  being  all  of  Benedictine 
origin,  but  as  among  the  best  schools  to 
be  found  in  the  troubled  period  from  the 
fifth  to  the  tenth  century. 

The  great  organizing  mind  of  Charle- 
magne endeavored  to  make  use  of  educa 
tion,  as  of  all  other  forces  within  his  reach, 
for  restoring  civilization  in  the  West.  He 
invited  Alcuin,  the  Scholasticus  of  York, 
as  the  best  known  teacher  in  Europe,  to 
his  court  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  gave  into 
his  charge  the  palace  school.  Conscien- 
tious and  painstaking,  Alcuin  was  yet 
essentially  born^\  there  is  something 
cramped  and  unsatisfactory  in  his  way  of 
handling  all  the  subjects  of  his  narrow 
curriculum.  The  age  of  universities  was 
not  yet.  Charlemagne,  and  his  son  after 
him,  were  perpetually  urging  the  bishops 
to  improve  their  schools.  Rabanus 
Maurus,  a  pupil  of  Alcuin,  made  the 
school  of  Fulda  illustrious  ;  that  of  Corbie, 
in  the  same    age,    produced    Paschasiu« 


30 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Radbert.  The  trivium  and  quadrivium  — 
the  invention  of  which  is  ascribed  by  some 
io  Martianus  Capella,  a  Carthaginian 
professor  of  rhetoric,  by  others  to  St. 
Augustine  —  supplied  the  cadre  of  the 
most  advanced  instruction  for  several 
centuries.  Between  850  and  1000,  the 
inroads  of  the  Normans  and  Danes  again 
made  havoc  of  all  that  had  been  hitherto 
done  in  France  and  England  to  promote 
education.  The  Normans,  however,  when 
once  solidly  converted,  became  the  most 
active  propagators  of  all  civilizing  ideas 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The 
Norman  school  of  Bee,  founded  in  the 
eleventh  century  by  the  Abbot  Herluin, 
:iumbered  among  its  teachers  Lanfranc 
and  St.  Anselm.  In  schools  of  this  class, 
where  knowledge  was  sought  at  first  hand, 
and  philosophy  disdained  conventional 
methods,  university  ideals  began  to 
emerge.  In  the  twelfth  century,  at  Paris, 
commences  the  history  of  modern  univer- 
sities. After  the  establishment  of  these 
foci  of  superior  teaching,  the  secondary 
school  became,  in  theory,  on  the  one  hand 
a  stage  of  preparation  for  the  university, 
on  the  other  a  place  of  the  final  training 
for  those  who  had  to  begin  work  early. 
But  for  a  long  time  first  of  these  two 
aspects  of  a  secondary  school  overpowered 
the  other.  William  of  Wykeham,  bishop 
of  Winchester,  founded  there,  in  1373,  the 
school  which  still  exists,  expressly  in 
order  to  feed  the  college  (New  College) 
which  he  was  establishing  at  Oxford. 
The  Winchester  foundation  was  for  a 
warden  and   ten  fellows,   three   chaplains 


and  three  clerks  in  orders,  an  informatut 
or  head  master,  a  hostiarius  or  second 
master,  seventy  scholars  who  were  to  be 
"poor  and  in  need  of  help,"  and  sixteen 
choristers.^  Imitating  this  example, 
Henry  VI.  founded  the  school  at  Eton  in 
1440,  as  a  nursery  to  King's  College, 
Cambridge.  The  later  public  schools  of 
England  —  Westminster,  Rugby,  Harrow, 
etc. —  have  been  founded,  speaking  gene- 
rally, upon  the  model  of  these  two,  but 
without  the  same  close  connection  with 
the  universities. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  seventh  century, 
the  necessity  of  separating  primary  or 
elementary  instruction  from  secondary 
began  to  make  itself  felt.  The  greater 
complexity  and  variety  of  employments, 
and  the  increased  application  of  science  to 
all  the  useful  arts,  make  it  desirable,  if  not 
indispensable,  that  the  laboring  class  also 
should  at  least  be  instructed  in  letters  and 
in  the  art  of  calculation.  Primary  instruc- 
tion on  a  large  scale  was  first  tried  (1684) 
by  the  Ven.  de  la  Salle,  the  founder  of  the 
Christian  Brothers.  The  new  grade  had 
its  two  aspects  —  that  by  which  it  was  a 
stage  of  preparation  for  the  secondary 
school,  and  that  by  which  it  gave  a  final 
training.  Up  to  very  recent  times  the 
former  aspect  was  little  regarded  ;  but,  at 
present,  the  advantage  of  making  free  and 
easy  communications  by  which  the  best 
scholars  can  pass  from  the  primary  to  the 
secondary,  and  from  that  to  the  superior 
grade  of  instruction,  is  clearly  perceived 
by  educationists. 

1   The  Public  Schools,  1867. 


ORIGIN  OF  SCHOOLS. 


3i 


All  English  schools  before  the  Refor- 
mation had  a  Catholic  character.  That 
being  withdrawn  from  them  by  the  change 
of  religion,  and  the  laws  prohibiting  the 
erection  of  new  schools  under  Catholic 
teachers,  those  who  adhered  to  the  old 
faith  were  put  to  great  straits  for  several 
generations  in  order  to  get  their  children 
educated  under  any  tolerable  conditions. 
A  single  sample  of  Protestant  legislation 
will  show  what  difficulties  had  to  be  faced. 
By  the  ii  and  12  Will.  III.  c.  iv.  "if  any 
Papist,  or  person  making  profession  of  the 
Popish  religion,  shall  keep  school,  or  take 
upon  himself  the  education  or  government 
or  boarding  of  youth,  he  shall  be  adjudged 
to  perpetual  imprisonment  in  such  place 
within  this  kingdom  as  the  King  by  advice 
of  his  Privy  Council  shall  appoint."^ 
Unless  foreign  education  were  sought, 
obscure  private  schools,  such  as  those  of 
which  we  obtain  a  glimpse  in  the  accounts 
of  the  early  life  of  Pope,  were  the  only 
available  resort.  The  first  school  of  a 
higher  class  was  that  established  at  Sedg- 
ley  Park  (it  had  previously  existed  in  a 
humble  way  at  Newcastle-under-Lyne)  by 
Bishop  Challoner  in  1763.  Ushaw,  which, 
as  Crook  Hall,  was  founded  in  1794; 
Stonyhurst,  dating  from  the  same  year ; 
St.  Edmund's,  founded  in  1795  ;  Down- 
side, in  1798;  Oscott,  in  1808;  and 
Edgbaston,  in  1858 — with  Ampleforth, 
Beaumont,  and  Woburn  Park  —  are  our 
principal  Catholic  secondary  schools  at 
present. 

1  Hook's  Church  Dictionary,  "  Schools." 


The  monitorial  system  of  Bell  and  Lan- 
caster, by  means  of  which  it  was  con- 
sidered that  primary  instruction  could  be 
much  extended  at  little  expense  by  setting 
the  elder  children  as  "monitors"  to  teach 
the  rudiments  to  the  younger,  was  brought 
out  in  1797.  The  primary  schools  of 
Prussia,  organized  under  Hardenberg  with 
great  skill  and  thoroughness,  drew  general 
attention;  and  in  1833  the  first  public 
grant,  20,000/.,  in  aid  of  the  elementary 
education  of  the  people,  was  voted  by 
Parliament,  and  its  administration  con- 
fided to  a  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council, 
The  system  of  aiding  local  efforts  thus 
introduced  has  received  an  enormous 
development  and  undergone  numerous 
changes  of  detail,  but  in  its  substantial 
features  it  remains  unaltered  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  In  the  Anglican  communion, 
the  organ  through  which  State  help  was 
dispensed  was  the  "  National  Society  for 
the  Education  of  the  Poor  in  the  Principles 
of  the  Established  Church,"  founded  in 
18 12.  The  corresponding  organ  for  the 
Dissenters  was  the  "  British  and  Foreign 
School  Society."  For  Catholics  was 
established,  in  1847,  ^^^  "Catholic  Poor 
School  Committee,"  which,  by  maintain- 
ing efficient  training-schools  for  masters 
and  mistresses,  enables  Catholic  managers 
to  obtain  their  fair  share  of  the  Parliamen- 
tary grant  for  elementary  education. 

In  Ireland  the  penal  laws  rendered  the 
erection  of  Catholic  schools  impossible 
until  about  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  the 
ill  success  of  the  war  against  the  Ameri- 
can   colonists    compelled   certain    relaxa- 


3» 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


tions.  A  secondary  school  for  forty- 
boarders  was  founded  at  Burrell's  Hall, 
Kilkenny,  in  1783,  under  Drs.  Lanigan 
and  Dunne.1  It  throve  exceedingly,  and 
was  transformed  in  1836  into  St.  Kieran's 
College,  under  which  name  it  still  exists. 
Of  more  recent  foundation  are  Carlow  and 
Thurles  Colleges,  and  the  Jesuit  Colleges 
of  Clongowes  and  Tullabeg.  These  insti- 
tutions, though  without  State  aid  or 
inspection,  are  already  more  flourishing 
than  the  Royal  and  Charter  Schools  — 
founded  in  the  bad  times  in  order  to  pre- 
serve and  extend  Protestant  ascendency 
—  could  ever  boast  of  being. 

The  National  Board  of  Education  —  in 
the  schools  of  which  a  combined  literary 
instruction  was  to  be  given  to  children  of 
all  creeds  during  certain  hours  in  the  day, 
while  separate  religious  teaching  might 
be  given  to  those  whose  parents  desired  it 
before  or  after  those  hours,  and  also  on 
one  particular  day  of  the  week  —  was 
organized  through  the  exertions  of  Mr. 
Stanley,  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland  (after- 

1  Trans,  of  the  Ossory  Archceological  Society,  i2>Z2,  vol. 
i.  part  2. 


wards  Earl  of  Derby),  in  1831.  The 
bishops  accepted  this  arrangement,  not  as 
the  best,  but  as  the  best  obtainable,  meas- 
ure ;  and  under  it,  notwithstanding  the 
difficulties  caused  by  extreme  poverty, 
elementary  school  training  has  penetrated 
into  every  corner  of  Ireland. 

An  Act  for  the  enforcement  of  general 
education,  and  authorizing  the  formation 
of  School  Boards,  and  the  levying  of  rates, 
in  all  places  where  voluntary  effort  should 
appear  to  be  insufficient  for  the  need,  was 
brought  in  by  Mr.  Forster  in  1870,  and 
became  law.  Great  efforts  have  been 
made  by  the  Catholic  body  in  England, 
and  hitherto  with  a  large  measure  of  suc- 
cess, to  provide  schools  under  certificated 
teachers  (and  therefore  qualified  to  partici- 
pate in  the  educational  grant)  sufficient 
for  the  reception  of  all  the  Catholic 
children  in  the  country.  Whether  these 
efforts  will  prevail,  or  the  Board  schools, 
from  which  definite  religious  teaching 
is  excluded,  will  more  and  more  bring 
the  elementary  instruction  of  the  people 
under  their  control,  is  a  question  still 
uncertain. 


^ 

"^1^ 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Ifistoiiy  o]|  5i|eemasoni|y. 


REEMASONRY  is  the  system 
of  the  Freemasons,  a  secret 
order  and  pantheistic  sect, 
which  professes,  by  means  of 
a  symbolical  language  and 
certain  ceremonies  of  initiation 
and  promotion,  to  lay  down  a  code  of 
morality  founded  on  the  brotherhood  of 
humanity  only.  Some  writers  apply  the 
term  Freemasonry  not  only  to  Aie  Free- 
masons proper,  but  also  to  all  secrc.i  organ- 
izations which  seek  to  undermine 
Christianity  and  the  political  and  social 
institutions  that  have  Christianity  for 
their  basis. 

The  origin  of  Freemasonry  is  disputed. 
The  Freemasons  themselves,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  their  rituals,  assume  the  sect  to 
have  begun  its  existence  at  the  building  of 
Solomon's  Temple  :  but  serious  Masonic 
writers,  as  well  as  all  writers  of  repute, 
declare  this  to  be  merely  a  conventional 
fiction.  Nor  is  any  more  value  to  be 
attached  to  the  attempts  that  are  occasion- 
ally made  to  find  a  link  between  the  Pagan 


mysteries  and  Freemasonry.  Some 
writers  trace  Freemasonry  to  the  heresies 
of  Eastern  origin  that  prevailed  during  the 
early  and  middle  ages  in  certain  parts  of 
Europe,  such  as  those  of  the  Gnostics, 
Manicheans,  and  Abigenses,  some  of  whose 
mischievous  tenets  are,  no  doubt,  apparent 
in  the  sect.  The  suppressed  order  of  the 
Knights  Templars,  too,  has  been  taken 
to  have  been  the  source  of  the  sect ;  and 
this  theory  may  have  some  countenance 
in  the  facts  that  a  number  of  the  Knights 
in  Scotland  illicitly  maintained  their  organ- 
ization after  the  suppression,  and  that  it 
was  from  Scotland  that  Freemasonry  was 
brought  into  France  at  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century. 

But  it  seems  more  in  consonance  with 
many  known  historical  facts  to  trace  the 
sect  to  the  mediaeval  guild  of  stonemasons 
who  were  popularly  called  by  the  very 
name  of  Free  Masons.  During  the  mid- 
dle ages  the  various  trades  were  formed, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Church,  into 
guilds   or  close   protective    societies.     In 


34 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


general  no  one  was  permitted  to  follow  a 
trade  for  wages  or  profit,  as  apprentice, 
journeyman,  or  master,  until  he  had  been 
made  free  of  the  guild  representing  that 
trade.  Each  guild  had  its  patron  saint, 
and  several  guilds,  it  is  certain,  had  each 
its  peculiar  ritual,  using  its  own  tools  and 
technical  language  in  a  symbolical  way  in 
the  ceremonies  of  initiation  and  promotion 
—  that  is  to  say,  in  entering  an  apprentice, 
and  at  the  end  of  his  time  declaring  him  a 
worthy  fellow-journeyman  or  craftsman, 
etc.  The  guild  of  Free  Masons  was  sin- 
gular in  this  ;  that  it  was  a  migratory  one, 
its  members  travelling  under  their  masters 
in  organized  bodies  through  all  parts  of 
Europe,  wherever  their  services  were 
required  in  building.  When  first  referred 
to,  they  are  found  grouped  about  the 
monasteries,  especially  about  those  of  the 
Benedictines.  The  earliest  form  of  initia- 
tion used  by  the  guild  is  said  to  have  been 
suggested  by  the  ritual  for  the  reception 
of  a  Benedictine  novice.  * 

The  South  of  France,  where  a  large 
Jewish  and  Saracenic  element  remained, 
was  a  hotbed  of  heresies,  and  that  region 
was  also  a  favorite  one  with  the  guild  of 
Masons.  It  is  asserted,  too,  that  as  far 
back  as  the  twelfth  century  the  lodges  of 
the  guild  enjoyed  the  special  protection  of 
the  Knights  Templars.  It  is  easy  in  this 
way  to  understand  how  the  symbolical 
allusions  to  Solomon  and  his  Temple 
might  have  passed  from  the  Knights  into 
the  Masonic  formulary.  In  this  way,  too, 
might  be  explained  how,  after  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  order  of  the  Temple,  some  of 


the  recalcitrant  Knights,  maintaining  their 
influence  over  the  Free  Masons,  would  be 
able  to  pervert  what  hitherto  had  been  a 
harmless  ceremony  into  an  elaborate  ritual 
that  should  impart  some  of  the  errors  of 
the  Templars  to  the  initiated.  A  docu- 
ment was  long  ago  published  which  pur- 
ports to  be  a  charter  granted  to  a  lodge 
of  Free  Masons  in  England  in  the  time  of 
Henry  VII.,  and  it  bears  the  marks  in  its 
religious  indifference  of  a  suspicious  like- 
ness between  Freemasonry  then  and  now. 
In  Germany  the  guild  was  numerous,  and 
was  foimally  recognized  by  a  diploma 
granted  in  1489  by  the  Emperor  Maxi-  , 
milian.  But  this  sanction  was  finally 
revoked  by  the  Imperial  Diet  in  1707. 

So  far,  however,  the  Free  Masons  were  ''■ 
really  working  stonemasons ;  but  the  so- 
called  Cologne  Charter  —  the  genuine- 
ness of  which  seems  certain  —  drawn  up 
in  1535  at  a  reunion  of  Free  Masons 
gathered  at  Cologne  to  celebrate  the  open- 
ing of  the  cathedral  edifice,  is  signed  by 
Melanchthon,  Coligny,  and  other  similar 
ill-omened  names.  Nothing  certain  is 
known  of  the  Free  Masons  —  now  evi-  ■ 
dently  become  a  sect  —  during  the  seven- 
teenth century,  except  that  in  1646  Elias 
Ashmole,  an  Englishman,  founded  the 
order  of  Rose  Croix,  Rosicrucians,  or 
Hermetic  Freemasons— a  society  which 
mingled  in  a  fantastic  manner  the  jargon 
of  alchemy  and  other  occult  sciences  with 
pantheism.  This  order  soon  became  affili' 
ated  to  some  of  the  Masonic  lodges  in 
Germany,  where  from  the  time  of  the 
Reformation  there  was  a  constant  found- 


HISTORY  OF  FREEMASONRY. 


35 


ing  of  societies,  secret  or  open,  which 
undertook  to  formulate  a  philosophy  or  a 
religion  of  their  own. 

As  we  know  it  now,  however.  Free- 
masonry first  appeared  in  1725,  when 
Lord  Derwentwater,  a  supporter  of  the 
expelled  Stuart  dynasty,  introduced  the 
order  into  France,  professing  to  have  his 
authority  from  a  lodge  at  Kilwinning, 
Scotland.  This  formed  the  basis  of  that 
variety  of  Freemasonry  called  ■  the  Scotch 
Rite.  Rival  organizations  soon  sprang 
up.  Charters  were  obtained  from  a  lodge 
at  York,  which  was  said  to  have  been  of 
very  ancient  foundation.  In  1754  Marti- 
nez Pasquales,  a  Portuguese  Jew,  began  in 
some  of  the  French  lodges  the  new 
degree  of  "  conens,"  or  priests,  which  was 
afterwards  developed  into  a  system  by  the 
notorious  Saint-Martin,  and  is  usually 
referred  to  as  French  Illuminisw.  But  it 
remained  for  Adam  Wefsnaupt,  Professor 
of  Canon  Law  at  the  University  of  Tngol- 
stadt,  in  Bavaria,  to  give  a  definiLr  shape 
to  the  anti-Christian  tendencies  of  Free- 
masonry. In  1776,  two  years  after  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  the  Univer- 
sity, he  brought  together  a  number  of  his 
pupils  and  friends,  and  organized  the  order 
of  the  Illuminati,  which  he  established  on 
the  already  existing  degrees  of  Free- 
masonry. The  avowed  object  of  the 
Illuminati  was  to  bring  back  mankind  — 
beginning  with  the  Illuminated — to  their 
primitive  liberty  by  destroying  religion, 
for  which  this  newest  philosophical  inven- 
*ion  was  to  be  substituted,  and  by 
re  shaping  ideas  of  property,  society,  mar- 


riage, etc.  One  of  the  Illuminati,  a 
Sicilian,  Joseph  Balsamo,  otherwise  Cag- 
liostro,  organized  what  he  called  Cabalis- 
tic Freemasonry,  under  the  name  of  the 
Rite  of  Misraim.  He  it  was  who  in  1783 
predicted,  as  the  approaching  work  of  the 
Freemasons,  the  overthrow  of  the  French 
monarchy.  Indeed,  Freemasonry  was 
very  active  in  the  French  Revolution,  and 
assisted  in  bringing  about  many  of  the 
calamities  which  accompanied  the  great 
upturning  of  society. 

Freemasonry  in  the  meantime  had 
split  up  into  numerous  sects,  or  "  rites,"  all 
working  to  the  common  effort  of  destroy- 
ing a  belief  in  the  divine  revelations 
of  Christianity.  In  1781  a  great  assembly 
of  all  the  Masonic  rites  was  held  at 
Wilhelmsbad,  in  Hanover,  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
which  refused  to  recognize  Weishaupt's 
system,  but  at  the  same  time  permitted 
the  most  mischievous  tenets  of  Illuminism 
to  be  engrafted  on  the  higher  degrees  of 
Freemasonry,  especially  of  the  so-called 
Scotch  Rite.  About  this  time  the 
Scotch  Rite  was  established  at  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  by  some  officers  of  the  French 
auxiliary  army.  The  York  rite  had  been 
introduced  into  the  United  States  by  Eng- 
lish colonists. 

Freemasonry  in  Continental  Europe  has 
been  the  hatching-ground  of  most  of  the 
revolutionary  societies,  many  of  which 
were  affiliated  to  the  higher  Masonic 
degrees.  In  France  the  sect  was  officially 
recognized  by  the  government  of  Napoleon 
III.,  but  advanced  Freemasons  bore  this 


36 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


unwillingly,  as  it  involved  restraint.  An 
avowed  belief  in  God  was  required  for 
initiation,  but  this  requirement,  through 
the  efforts  of  M.  Mac6,  of  the  University, 
was  finally  abolished  in  the  convention 
of  Freemasons  held  at  Paris,  Sept.  14, 
1877. 

A  recent  French  writer  maintains  that 
Freemasonry  is  unknown  to  most  of  the 
craft  —  managed  by  five  or  six  Jews,  who 
bend  its  influence  in  every  possible  way 
to  the  furtherance  of  the  anti-Christian 
movement  that  passes  under  the  name 
of  Liberalism.  Throughout  Continental 
Europe,  in  the  Spanish-American  States, 
and  in  Brazil,  Freemasonry  has  of  late 
years  again  become  very  active.  The  war 
against  the  Catholic  Church  in  Germany 
had  no  more  bitter  supporter  than  Free- 
masonry. If  the  Culturkampf  was  not 
direct  from  the  lodges,  at  least  nearly 
all  its  leaders  were  Freemasons.  Dur- 
ing "the  Commune"  of  Paris,  in  1871, 
Masonic  lodges  took  part  as  a  body  in  the 
insurrection,  marching  out  to  the  fight 
with  their  red  banners.  In  France  and 
Belgium  the  lodges  have  officially  com- 
manded their  members  to  assist  the  Ligue 
de  r Enseignement  —  a  league  intended  to 
bring  about  the  complete  secularization 
of  the  primary  public  schools. 

In  the  English-speaking  countries,  how- 
ever. Freemasonry  has  hitherto  protested 
its  respect  for  government  and  established 
society,  and  it  has  not  had  any  immediate 
action  on  politics,  its  members  being 
usually  found  as  numerous  in  one  political 
party  as  another.     But  it  has  never  failed 


indirectly  to  use  its  influence  for  the 
advancement  of  its  members  over  others. 
English-speaking  Freemasons  have  usually 
been  accustomed  to  regard  the  pantheism 
of  their  rituals  as  an  amusing  mummery 
rather  than  as  a  reality.  These  Free- 
masons usually  disown  for  their  order 
any  aims  but  those  of  a  convivial  and 
mutual  benefit  society,  but  no  one  can  fail 
to  see  that  indifferentism  in  religion  at 
least  is  one  of  the  necessary  results  of 
English-speaking  Fremasonry  at  its  best. 
But  the  constant  influx  into  the  English- 
speaking  countries  of  Jews  and  Continen- 
tal Freemasons  must  necessarily  impreg- 
nate the  order  with  all  the  poison  of  the 
Continental  sect. 

Freemasonry  is  essentially  opposed  to 
the  belief  in  the  personality  of  God,  whose 
name  in  the  Masonic  rituals  veils  the  doc- 
trine of  blind  force  only  governing  the 
universe.  It  is  also  essentially  subversive 
of  legitimate  authority,  for  by  professing 
to  furnish  man  an  all-sufficient  guide  and 
help  to  conduct,  it  makes  him  independent 
of  the  Church,  and  by  its  everywhere 
ridiculing  rank  in  authority  it  tends,  in 
spite  of  its  occasional  protests  of  loyalty, 
to  bring  all  governments  into  contempt. 

The  sect  has  been  repeatedly  con- 
demned by  learned  and  respectable  men 
of  all  countries,  Protestant  and  Catholic. 
Five  bulls  have  been  directed  against  it 
by  name,  viz. :  "  In  eminenti,"  Clement 
XII.,  1738;  "Providas,"  Benedict  XIV., 
175 1  ;  "  Ecclesiam  Jesu  Christi,"  Pius 
VII.,  1 821;  "Qui  graviora,"  Leo  XII., 
1826;  "Quanta  cura,"  Pius  IX.,  1864. 


CHAPTER     VII, 


HISTORY  Of  eAl2ll2EO. 


^ 


i^ 


HE  object  of  the  present 
article  is,  not  to  write  a  Life 
of  Galileo,  but  to  give  an 
account,  as  clear  as  our  limits 
will  permit,  of  the  two  con- 
demnations of  the  doctrine  of 
the  immobility  of  the  sun  and  the  rotation 
of  the  earth,  pronounced  by  the  Congre- 
gations of  the  Holy  Office  (Roman  Inqui- 
sition) and  the  Index,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  teaching  and  writing  of  Galileo 
m  1616  and  1633.  After  the  most 
material  facts  have  been  narrated  without 
comment,  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine 
three  separate  points :  i.  What  was  the 
precise  nature  of  the  condemnation  pro- 
nounced ?  2.  What  was  the  character  of 
the  considerations  which  appeared  to  the 
Pope  and  the  cardinals  to  justify  them  in 
pronouncing  it  ?  3.  Was  Galileo,  as  some 
writers  have  maintained,  really  put  to  the 
torture  ? 

In  161 3  the  great  astronomer,  who  had 
long  inclined  to  the  heliocentric^  system 

1  The  terms  "heliocentric"  and  "  geocentric,"  as  denoting 
the  systems  which  assume  the  sun  or  the  earth  respectively  to 
be  the  fixed  centre  round  which  the  planets  revolve,  are 
borrowed  from  two  articles  in  the  Dublin  Review  (believed 


of  Copernicus,  published  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  his  friend  the  Padre  Castelli, 
in  which  he  says  that  it  is  not  the  object 
of  God  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  teach  us 
science  and  philosophy,  and  that  the 
received  Ptolemaic  system  could  no  more 
be  reconciled  to  the  text  of  Scripture  than 
the  Copernican.  Some  time  afterwards, 
in  161 5,  he  wrote  a  much  longer  and  more 
important  letter  to  the  Grand  Duchess 
Christina  of  Tuscany,  in  which  he  is  said  ^ 
to  have  endeavored  to  accommodate  to  the 
Copernican  theory  the  various  passages  in 
Scripture  which  seem  to  be  inconsistent 
with  it.  This  letter  was  not  published  till 
1636,  but  its  tenor  appears  to  have  become 
known  to  many  persons.  Galileo  visited 
Rome  towards  the  end  of  16 15,  and  was 
shortly  summoned  before  the  Congregation 
of  the  Holy  Office.  The  original  minutes, 
showing  exactly  what  occurred,  have  been 
published  by  M.  de  I'Epinois.^  On  Feb- 
ruary  25,  161 6,  Cardinal   Milan    reported 

to  be  by  Dr,  Ward),  of  which  we  hare  made  free  use  in  the 
present  paper  :  one  is  headed  "  Copernicanism  and  Pope  Paul 
v."  (April,  1871);  the  other,  "Galileo  and  the  Pontifical 
Congregations"  (July,  1871). 

1  Hallam,  Lit.  of  Europe,  iii.  413. 

2  Les  Piices  du  Proces  de  Galilee,  Rome,  Paris,  1877. 


37 


38 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


to  the  Congregation  that  the  Pope  (Paul 
V.)  had  ordered  that  Cardinal  Bellarmine 
should  call  Galileo  before  him,  and  should 
"  warn  him  to  abandon  the  said  opinion 
[of  the  immobility  of  the  sun,  etc.],  and 
if  he  refused  to  obey,  the  Father  Commis- 
sary .  .  .  was  to  lay  a  command  upon 
him  to  abstain  altogether  from  teaching 
or  defending  a  doctrine  and « opinion  of 
this  kind,  or  from  dealing  with  it  [in  any 
way]."  If  he  was  refractory,  he  was  to 
be  imprisoned —  "  carceretur."  The  min- 
utes of  the  following  day  show  how  all  this 
was  done,  and  an  injunction,  as  above,  laid 
upon  Galileo;  "in  which  command  the 
said  Galileo  acquiesced,  and  promised  to 
obey  it."  The  prohibition  of  the  Pope 
was  identical  in  intention  ^  with  that  con- 
tained in  a  decree  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Index  dated  a  week  later,  March  5, 
16 16.  This  decree  first  condemns  five 
theologico-political  works,  and  then  goes 
on  to  say  that  it  has  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Sacred  Congregation  "that 
the  well  known  doctrine — of  Pythagorean 
origin  and  wholly  repugnant  to  the  sacred 
Scriptures  —  concerning  the  mobility  of 
the  earth  and  the  immobility  of  the  sun," 
formerly  taught  by  Copernicus  and  Diego 
of  Astorga,  "  was  now  being  spread  abroad 
and  embraced  by  many ;  .  .  .  therefore, 
lest  such  an  opinion  should  insinuate  itself 
any  more,  to  the  destruction  of  Catholic 
truth,  it  gave  sentence  "  that  the  books  of 

1  This  is  certain ;  for  Bellarmine,  in  the  certificate  which  he 
gave  to  Galileo  in  1616  —  of  which  we  shall  again  have  occasion 
to  speak  —  says  that  "  the  declaration  made  by  the  Pope,  and 
published  by  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Index  [italics 
ours],  was  notified  to  him,"  etc. 


Copernicus  and  Diego  "  should  be  sus- 
pended [from  circulation]  till  they  were 
corrected,"  that  the  work  of  a  certain 
Foscarini  upholding  the  same  opinion 
should  be  altogether  prohibited  and  con- 
demned, "  and  that  all  other  books  teach 
ing  the  same  thing  were  to  be  similarly  J 
prohibited." 

That  this  decree  was  sanctioned  and 
confirmed  by  the  Pope  it  is  impossible  to 
doubt.  The  writer  of  the  article  Galileo 
in  the  "Encyclopaedia  Britannica"  main- 
tains that  its  responsibility  rests  with  a 
disciplinary  congregation  in  no  sense  rep- 
resenting the  Church,  and  that  it  was 
never  confirmed  by  the  Pope.  This  view 
is  untenable  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in 
any  decree  of  one  of  the  Sacred  Congre- 
gations confirmed  and  ordered  to  be  pub- 
lished by  the  Pope,  it  is  the  Pope  himself 
who  speaks  —  not  the  cardinals  merely  — 
if  not  always  in  his  capacity  of  Universal 
Doctor,  yet  always  in  that  of  Supreme 
Pastor  or  ruler.  That  the  decree  was  not 
confirmed  by  Paul  V.  there  is  not,  so  far  as 
we  know,  the  smallest  shred  of  evidence 
for  maintaining ;  and  the  onus  probandi 
rests  on  those  who  make  an  assertion  so 
improbable. 

Galileo  was  thus  estopped  by  a  decision 
in  which  he  had  acquiesced,  and  which  he 
had  promised  not  to  infringe,  from  publish, 
ing  anything  more  on  the  Copernican 
theory.  Some  years  passed  ;  Urban  VIII. 
ascended  the  Papal  chair  in  1623;  he  was  an 
enlightened  man,  of  considerable  learning, 
and,  as  Cardinal  Barberini,  had  had  much 
friendly    intercourse    with    Galileo.     The 


HISTORY  OF  GALILEO. 


39 


philosopher  visited  Rome  in  1624,  and  was 
received  with  great  warmth  and  kindness 
by  the  Pope.  Soon  after  this  he  began  to 
return  to  the  forbidden  subject ;  in  an 
essay  on  sun-spots  he  assumed  the  fact  of 
the  sun's  immobility.  In  his  famous 
Dialogo  on  the  "  System  of  the  World," 
published  at  Florence  in  February,  1632, 
he  spoke  out  still  more  plainly.  The 
dialogue  is  carried  on  between  three 
persons,  Salviati,  Sagredo,  and  Simplicio  ; 
the  last  being  a  well-meaning  ignoramus, 
who  supports  the  Ptolemaic  side  by  argu- 
ments manifestly  futile.  At  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  work  the  question  is  in  words 
left  open  ;  but  the  whole  effect  of  the 
treatise  is  said  to  be  that  of  a  powerful  and 
vehement  defence  of  the  Copernican 
theory.  The  book  reached  Rome  at  the 
end  of  February,  1632,  and  caused  great 
excitement.  The  Pope  was  very  angry; 
he  said  that  Galileo  had  been  ill-advised  ; 
that  great  mischief  might  be  done  to 
religion  in  this  way,  greater  than  was  ever 
done  before.!  Riccardi,  the  Master  of  the 
Apostolic  Palace,  whose  license  Galileo 
had  obtained  for  the  printing  of  the  book 
by  representations  which  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  quite  straightforward,  com- 
plained that  arguments  which  Urban  him- 
self had  used  to  Galileo  against  the 
Copernican  theory  were  in  the  Dialogo 
placed  in  the  mouth  of  Simplicio,  a  ridicu- 
lous personage.  The  authority  of  Aris- 
totle was  in  that  age  inconceivably  great, 
and  Aristotle  had  believed  the  earth  to  be 
immovable.     The     Peripatetics  —  so     his 

1  L'  Epinois,  La  Question  de  GaliU*,  p.  114. 


followers  were  called  —  flocked  around  the 
Pope,  urged  against  Galileo  the  breach  of 
his  promise,  and  the  insulting  neglect  of 
the  prohibition  of  1616,  and  pressed  for 
the  condemnation  both  of  the  book  and  its 
author.  Urban,  still  desirous  of  keeping 
the  case  out  of  the  Inquisition,  appointed 
a  commission  of  theologians  to  examine 
and  report  on  the  book.  Their  report  was 
submitted  in  September,  1632;  it  was 
highly  unfavorable  to  Galileo.  The  Pope 
then  wrote  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany, 
in  whose  service  Galileo  was  at  the  time, 
saying  that  the  case  must  go  before  the 
Inquisition,  and  that  the  accused  must 
come  to  Rome  and  stand  his  trial.  After 
a  considerable  delay,  which  produced  a 
stern  letter  from  Urban  (December  30, 
1632)  to  the  effect  that  if  Galileo  could 
travel  at  all  he  was  to  be  sent  up  to  Rome 
in  chains,  the  philosopher  departed  from 
Florence  and  arrived  in  Rome  about  the 
middle  of  February,  1633,  taking  up  his 
abode  at  the  Tuscan  embassy.  The  trial 
came  on  in  April ;  for  ten  days  after  its 
commencement  Galileo  was  committed  to 
the  house  of  the  fiscal  of  the  Holy  Office ; 
but  on  his  complaining  that  from  his  feeble 
state  of  health  he  could  ill  bear  the  confine- 
ment, he  was  allowed  to  return  to  the 
Tuscan  embassy. 

The  minutes  of  the  Holy  Office  show 
that  Galileo  was  examined  on  April  1 2  and 
30,  May  10,  and  June  21.  The  report  of 
the  commissioners,  one  of  whom  was 
Melchior  Inchofer,  told  heavily  against 
him.  Melchior  said  that  the  author  of 
the  Dialogo  did  not  put  the  case  in  favor 


40 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


of  the  immobility  of  the  sun  "  hypothetice," 
but  "theorematice,"  and  that  his  having 
written  in  Italian,  so  that  "vulgares  etiam 
homines "  might  read  it,  made  the  matter 
worse.  The  disobedience  to  the  command 
issued  by  the  Holy  Office  in  1616  was  also 
much  dwelt  upon  ;  to  which  Galileo  could 
only  reply  by  putting  in  the  certificate 
which  he  had  obtained  at  the  time  from 
Bellarmine,!  and  pleading  that  as  the  latter 
had  not  in  this  expressly  referred  to  the 
injunction  not  to  write  any  more  on  the 
question,  he  had  forgotten  all  about  it.  It 
is  probable  that  this  was  not  believed,  and 
that  some  intention  other  than  one  purely 
scientific  was  ascribed  to  him,  as  account- 
ing for  his  open  disregard  of  the  prohibi- 
tion of  16 16.  We  read  in  the  minutes  for 
June  16,  1633,  that  the  Pope  ordered  that 
Galileo  should  be  questioned  "  concerning 
his  intention,  a  threat  even  of  torture 
being  used  to  him ;  and  that  if  he  persisted 
in  his  statement  (e^  si  sustinuerit)  his 
abjuration  having  been  first  taken,  he  was 
to  be  condemned,"  etc. 

On  June  21  he  was  examined  according 
to  this  instruction.  Being  asked  whether 
he  had  not  held  the  opinion  [of  the  immo- 
bility of  the  sun]  since  the  decree  of  161 6, 
he  said,  "  I  do  not  hold  and  have  not  held 
this  opinion  of  Copernicus  since  it  was 
intimated  to  me  by  authority  {con  precetto) 

i  The  certificate  ends  thus — after  stating  that  Galileo  had 
made  no  abjuration,  nor  been  put  to  penance — "  but  only  the 
declaration  made  by  the  Pope  and  published  by  the  Sacred  Con- 
gregation of  the  Index  was  solemnly  notified  to  him,  in  which 
it  is  contained  that  the  doctrine  attributed  to  Copernicus  that 
the  earth  moves  around  the  sun,  and  that  the  sun  remains  in  the 
centre  of  the  world  without  moving  from  east  to  west,  is  con- 
trary to  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  therefore  cannot  be  defended 
or  held.    In  testimony  whereof,"  etc. 


that  I  must  abandon  it ;  for  the  rest,  I  am 
here  in  your  hands ;  you  must  do  what  yoi 
please."  He  was  then  warned  to  spea 
the  truth,  otherwise  the  torture  would 
applied.  He  answered,  "  I  am  here  to! 
make  my  submission,  and  I  have  not  hel^ 
this  opinion  since  the  decision  was  giver 
as  I  have  said."  He  was  then  allowed  t(j 
withdraw.  The  sentence  was  pronounce 
the  next  day  in  the  convent  of  the  Mil 
erva.  A  full  narrative  of  what  passed  maf 
be  read  in  a  letter  addressed  by  the  Care 
nal  di  S.  Onofrio  on  July  2,  1633,  to  tl 
Inquisition  of  Venice.^  The  sentenc 
opened  with  the  words,  "  Whereas  thoi 
Galileo,"  etc.,  and  after  reciting  the  pre 
ceedings  of  161 5  and  1616,  stated  that  the 
Holy  Office  appointed  theologians  on  that 
occasion  as  qualificators,  who  reported  tc 
this  effect : — 

1.  That  the  sun  is  the  centre  of  the 
world  and  immovable  is  a  proposition| 
absurd  and  false  in  philosophy,  and  for* 
mally  heretical,  as  being  expressly  contrarj 
to  Holy  Scripture. 

2.  That  the  earth  is  not  the  centre  oi 
the  world,  nor  immovable,  but  that  11 
moves  even  with  a  diurnal  motion,  is 
like  manner  a  proposition  absurd  and  fals^ 
in  philosophy,  and,  considered  in  theology| 
at  least  erroneous  in  faith.  The  accuse 
is  reminded  that,  after  Bellarmine  had 
advised  and  admonished  him,  the  thei 
commissary  of  the  Inquisition  told  hii 
that  he  could  not  defend  nor  teach  thai 
doctrine  any     more,    either   orally  or  i»| 

1  Printed  in  Venturi's  Memorie  e  Lettere  Ineditt  (Modems  i  \ 
1818). 


HISTORY  OF  GALILEO. 


41 


writing.     In   publishing   the  Dialogo     he 
had  manifestly  disobeyed  the  precept,  and 
in   consequence   of    the   publication,    the 
tribunal  understood,  the  said  opinion  was 
spreading  more  and  more.     He  had  acted 
disingenuously  in  saying  nothing  about  the 
precept  when  he  applied  for  the  license  to 
print.     Mistrusting  him,  the  tribunal  had 
thought  it  right  to  proceed  to  the  rigorous 
cxamen    ("  rigoroso  esame")   in    which   he 
had  answered   as  a  Catholic  should  ("  ris 
pondesti  cattolicamente  ").  "  We  therefore," 
[  proceeds   the  tribunal,   "  say,   pronounce, 
I  declare,  etc.,  that  you,  Galileo,  have  made 
[  yourself  vehemently  suspect  of  heresy  to 
i  this  Holy  Office —  i,  e.  of  having  believed 
and  held  a  doctrine  false  and  contrary  to 
the   sacred   and   divine    Scriptures."     He 
i  had  therefore  incurred   all  the  usual  pen- 
ialties;  nevertheless   the    tribunal     would 
absolve  him  if  he  abjured  and  detested  the 
said  errors.     But  as   a  warning  to  others, 
i  they  ordered:  i,  that  his  Dialogo  should 
be  prohibited  ;  2,  that  he  should  be  "  for- 
mally "  imprisoned  ^  during  the  pleasure  of 
the    Holy   Office ;  3,  that    he   should   say 
once  a  week  for  three  years  to   come,  the 
.  seven   penitential   psalms.       Galileo  then 
abjured     the     condemned     opinion,^  and 
swore  never  to  promote  it  in  future,  and  to 
denounce  to'the  Holy  Office  any  whom  he 
might  find  maintaining  it. 

Harsh  as  this  sentence  sounds,  the  fact 
is  that  Galileo  was  treated  with  little  that 


1  Under  restraint,  but  not  in  a  material  prison. 

-  The  clever  fiction  which  makes  him  say  at  this  pointy 
Eppur  si  muove  ("  And  yet  it  [the  earth]  does  move  "),  first 
appeared,  according  to  the  writer  in  the  Enc.  Brit,  in  an 
Historical  Dictionary  published  at  Caen  in  1789. 


can  be  called  severity  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  resided  at  first  at  Siena, 
afterwards  in  his  own  villa  at  Arcetri,  near 
Florence.  He  was  so  far  under  restraint 
that  he  was  not  allowed  to  go  into  the 
city,  nor  to  remove  elsewhere  without 
permission  ;  but  within  his  own  house  and 
grounds  he  seems  to  have  been  left  entirely 
free.  Milton  visited  him  at  Arcetri  in 
1638  or  1639.  "  There  [I  e.  in  Italy]  I 
found  and  visited  the  famous  Galileo, 
grown  old,  a  prisoner  to  the  Inquisition."' 
Perhaps  Milton  did  not  mean  to  mislead, 
but  the  common  inference  drawn  from  his 
words  has  been,  that  he  found  Galileo 
immured  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion,2  instead  of  living  as  a  private 
gentleman  in  his  own  country  house.  The 
philosopher  died  at  an  advanced  age  at 
Arcetri  in  1642. 

Such,  in  brief  outline,  were  the  facts  of 
this  celebrated  condemnation.  Before 
considering  the  motives  actuating  those 
who  pronounced  it,  let  us  examine  what 
the  sentence  itself  amounted  to.  Did  the 
Roman  Pontiff,  at  any  stage  of  these 
proceedings,  pronounce  «r  cathedra  that 
the  theory  of  Copernicus  was  wrong,  and 
that  the  earth  was  the  fixed  centre  of  the 
world  1  The  writer  in  the  "  Dublin 
Review  "  already  referred  to,  appears  to  us 
to  make  it  quite  plain  that  the  Roman 
Pontiff  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  Whether 
the  decrees  of  Pontifical  congregations  on 
matters   of  doctrine,  in  which   there  is  a 

1  Areopagiiica. 

2  Thus  Dr.  Johnson  says  in  his  Life  of  Milton,  "  He  had 
perhaps  given  some  offence  by  visiting  Galileo,  tAen  a  prisoner 
in  the  Inquisition  f  italics  ours]  for  philosophical  heresy." 


42 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


clause  expressly  asserting  the  Papal 
sanction,  are  or  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
ex  cathedfa  and  infallible  judgments,  is  a 
point,  according  to  the  reviewer,  on  which 
theologians  are  not  entirely  agreed  ;  but 
no  one,  he  adds,  has  ever  doubted  that 
decrees  not  containing  this  clause  are  not 
to  be  regarded  as  decisions  ex  cathedra. 
Now,  the  decree  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Index  of  March  5,  1616,  does  not 
contain  the  clause ;  it  cannot,  therefore, 
be  regarded  as  defining  ex  cathedra. 

What,  then,  does  the  decree  decide  or 
do  ?  It  decides  that  the  theory  of 
Copernicus  is  "  false "  and  "  entirely 
contrary  to  Scripture,"  and  that  the  books 
which  teach  it  are  to  be  prohibited.  To 
this  must  be  added  the  language  used  by 
the  Holy  Office  in  the  preamble  of  their 
sentence,  as  given  in  a  previous  paragraph. 
It  is  abundantly  clear  that  both  Pontifical 
congregations  held  that  the  opinion  about 
the  earth's  motion  now  universally  received 
was  false  and  contrary  to  Scripture,  and 
that  no  Catholic  could  hold  it  without 
falling  into  heresy.  The  reviewer  main- 
tains that  it  was  natural  and  inevitable 
that  they  should  so  regard  it,  seeing  that 
the  obvious  sense  of  Scripture  is  unques- 
tionably opposed  to  the  Copernican  theory, 
and  only  "some  overwhelming  scientific 
probability"  (p.  159)  could  render  it 
legitimate  to  override  the  obvious  in  favor 
of  an  unobvious  sense.  Later  researches 
have  supplied  this  overwhelming  proba- 
bility, and  consequently  all  Catholics  now 
"admit  that  the  Holy  Ghost  for  wise 
purposes     ....     permitted  the  sacred 


writers  to  express  themselves  in  language 
which  was  literally  true  as  understood  by 
them^  but  was  figurative  in  the  highest 
degree  as  intended  by  Him.''  {lb) 

The  reviewer  moreover  contends  that, 
although  all  Catholics  were  bound  to 
assent  to  the  decrees,  they  were  not 
thereby  obliged  to  hold  the  geocentric 
theory  as  an  article  of  divine  faith  —  z.  e. 
with  an  assent  excluding  all  doubt.  To 
maintain  the  contradictory  of  this  propo- 
sition would  be  absurd,  since  the  heliocen- 
tric theory  was  allowed  to  be  proposed 
hypothetically,  but  the  Church  would  never 
for  a  moment  allow  even  the  hypothetical 
maintenapce^  of  an  opinion  contrary  to  an 
article  of  faith.  For  instance,  what  impos- 
sibility is  greater  than  that,  since  1854, 
the  Church  should  allow  any  Catholic 
theologian  to  maintain,  as  a  hypothesis, 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception is  untrue?  But  that  the  helio- 
centric theory  might  be  hypothetically 
propounded  after  the  decree  of  161 6  is 
indisputable.  For,  first,  Galileo  deposed 
before  the  Holy  Oflfice  in  1633^  that  in  1616 
Cardinal  Bellarmine  spoke  approvingly, 
both  as  to  him  and  Copernicus,  of  their 
holding  the  opinion  of  the  movement  of 
the  earth  ^^  ex  suppositione  and  not  abso- 
lutely." Secondly,  the  same  Bellarmine 
declared  in  1620,  "that  if  a  scientific 
proof  of  Copernicanism  were  discovered, 
Scripture  should  then  be  Copernically 
interpreted  "^;  and  the  theologian,  Amort, 

1  Except  for  the  purpose  of    a  reductio  ad  absurdum^ 
which  of  course  is  not  here  in  question. 

2  L'Epinois,  Les  Piices,  etc.,  p.  6a 
8  Dub.  Rev.,  vol.  Ixix.,  p.  164. 


HISTORY  OF  GALILEO. 


43 


writing  in  1734,  expressed  himself  to  the 
same  effect.^  Thirdly,  the  report  of  Mel- 
chior  Inchofer  speaks  of  "  the  reasons  by 
which  Galileo  assertively,  absolutely,  and 
not  hypothetically  .  .  .  maintains  the 
motion  of  the  earth  " ;  whence  it  may  be 
inferred  to  maintain  it  hypothetically 
would  not  have  been  censurable. '^ 

II.  The  meaning  and  effect  of  the  decrees 
being  what  we  have  described,  the  ques- 
tion arises.  Was  there  any  urgent,  and  at 
the  same  time  justifiable,  motive  for  issu- 
ing them  at  all .''  After  all,  it  may  be  said, 
the  opinion  condemned  by  the  decrees  has 
come  to  be  universally  believed  ;  was  it 
not  therefore  a  mistake,  to  say  the  least, 
to  attempt  thus  to  suppress  it }  Has  not 
the  logic  of  events  proved  that  course  to 
be  wrong  }  Such  questions  as  these  will 
be  differently  answered,  according  to  the 
varying  estimates  which  people  may  form 
of  the  value  of  a  stable  religious  convic- 
tion. The  Pope  and  the  cardinals  believed, 
in  1616,  that  if  every  one  might  freely 
teach,  at  universities  or  by  printed  books, 
that  the  earth  revolved  round  the  sun,  a 
great  weakening  of  religious  faith  would 
ensue,  owing  to  the  apparent  inconsistency 
of  such  teaching  with  a  number  of  well- 
known  passages  in  the  Bible.  They 
might  remember  that  Giordano  Bruno,  an 
ardent  Copernican,  had  also  taught  panthe- 
ism with  equal  ardor.  The  standing  dan- 
ger on  the  side  of  Protestantism  was,  they 
might  think,  sufficiently  formidable,  with- 
out the  addition  to  it  —  while  it  could  still 

^  lb.,  p.  162. 

2  L'Epinob,  p.  76. 


be  staved  off  —  of  a  danger  on  the  side  of 
physical  science.  At  the  present  day  the 
youth  of  Italy  listen  to  infidel  lectures  and 
read  bad  books  without  restriction  ;  one 
single  book  of  this  kind,  Kenan's  Vie  de 
JhuSy  is  said  to  have  caused  loss  of  faith 
to  innumerable  readers  in  Spain  and  Italy. 
With  loss  of  faith  there  comes  too  often, 
as  we  all  know,  a  shipwreck  in  morals. 
Are  the  young  Italians  of  to-day,  whom 
no  one  thinks  of  shielding  from  the 
knowledge  of  attacks  on  Christianity,  mor- 
ally purer  and  intellectually  stronger  than 
their  partially  protected  predecessors  of 
the  seventeenth  century  }  We  are  not  in  a 
position  to  answer  the  question  ;  but  those 
who  believe  that  the  case  is  not  so,  but 
much  otherwise,  may  well  approve  the 
solicitude  of  the  rulers  of  the  Church  at 
the  former  period  —  when  the  repression 
of  bad  books  was  still  possible  —  to  pro- 
tect the  Christian  faith  of  the  rising  gen- 
eration of  Italians.  Few  Catholics  would 
hesitate  to  say,  even  now,  that  it  would  have 
been  to  the  unspeakable  advantage  of  Euro- 
pean society  and  individual  souls,  if  the  bad 
book  by  Renan  just  adverted  to  had  been 
summarily  suppressed  at  its  birth,  and  the 
writer  imprisoned,  at  least  "formally."  Far 
be  it  from  us  so  to  disparage  the  honored 
name  of  Galileo  as  to  suggest  for  a 
moment  that  the  two  cases  are  parallel. 
Galileo  was  a  Christian  all  along,  and 
could  no  more  have  written  the  sentimen- 
tal impieties  of  the  Vie  de  J^sus  than 
could  Urban  VIII.  himself.  Still  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Pope  and  cardi- 
nals, beside  thinking  his  personal  behavior 


44 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


censurable,  because  he  had  broken  a  dis- 
tinct promise  and  disregarded  a  solemn 
warning,  believed  that  the  interests  of 
religion  required  that  Copernicanism 
should  be  no  otherwise  taught  than  as  a 
scientific  hypothesis.  The  decrees,  it  is 
true,  say  nothing  as  to  a  hypothetical  pro- 
pounding ;  to  them  the  Copernican  theory 
is  simply  false.  But  this  is  the  usual  style 
of  all  disciplinary  tribunals.  The  words 
of  Bellarmine,  before  quoted,  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  the  Church's  mind,  and  an 
important  step  towards  their  realization 
was  taken  when,  in  1757, —  the  Newtonian 
philosophy,  which  involves  the  centrality 
of  the  sun,  having  been  favorably  received 
at  Rome, —  Benedict  XIV.  suspended  the 
decree  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Index 
above  described.^ 

III.     One    more    question    remains  — 
whether  Galileo  was  or  was  not  tortured  in 

1  There  need  be  no  question  as  to  the  sincerity  of  the  Pope 
and  cardinals  in  repudiating  Copernicanism.  So  far  as  was 
then  known,  the  appearances  of  nature  might  be  equally  well 
explained  on  either  theory,  and  Scripture  in  its  obvious  mean- 
ing agreed  with  one  and  not  with  the  other.  Neither  Bacon, 
nor  Tycho  Brahe,  nor  Descartes,  accepted  the  Copernican 
theory.  Milton,  in  the  "  Paradise  Lost,"  wavers  between  the 
two  systems. 


the  course  of  his  examination.  It  is 
extremely  painful  to  read  of  torture  being 
even  threatened  to  a  man  so  warmly  loved 
by  a  host  of  friends,  and  to  whom  science 
was  under  such  profound  obligations. 
However,  one  may  feel  reasonably  confi- 
dent that  it  was  no  more  than  a  threat. 
M.  L'Epinois  {La  Question  de  Galilee,  p. 
104)  enters  fully  into  the  question,  and 
shows  (i)  that  no  one  in  the  seventeenth 
century  ever  said  or  thought,  so  far  as 
appears,  that  Galileo  had  been  actually 
tortured  ;  (2)  that  a  special  "  interlocutory 
sentence"  of  the  judge  must  have  been 
given  before  the  application  of  the  torture, 
and  that  of  such  sentence  there  is  no 
trace ;  (3)  that  even  if  such  sentence  had 
been  given,  Galileo  might  have  legally 
appealed  against  it  on  the  ground  of  age 
and  ill-health,  and  that  his  appeal  must 
have  been  allowed.  For  these  and  several 
other  reasons  which  we  have  not  space  to 
analyze,  L'Epinois  considers  that  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  doubt  that  the  torture, 
though  threatened,  was  not  actually 
administered. 


Copyright,  ltS9. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy, 


€f)e  Cruciftjrion 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


WWW 


Hi^tofJ  of  the  Ifi^h  CathoIiG  dhiii<cfi. 


IJJiJJJlLIIJlL 


•*->^ 


(Fl^^^-** 


'N  the  fifth  century  Ireland  was 
divided,  as  it  was  for  centuries 
afterwards,  into  several  small 
kingdoms.  Some  unknown 
preachers  must  have  found 
their  way  into  the  country 
even  before  the  mission  of  Palladlus,  and 
converted  some  of  the  natives  to  the 
faith  of  Christ,  for  St  Prosper  in  his 
chronicle  (published  about  434),  writes 
that  Palladius  was  sent  by  Pope  Celestine 
in  431  "ad  Scotos  in  Christum  credentes^^ 
to  the  Scots  believing  in  Christ.  The 
terms  Scotia  and  Scots  originally  belonged 
to  Ireland  and  the  Irish.  This  mission 
of  Palladius,  who  was  deacon  of  the 
Roman  Church,  did  not  last  long,  and 
bore  little  fruit.  So  much  we  learn  from 
the  Book  of  Armagh  (written  before 
700),  with  the  additional  fact  that  Pal- 
ladius died  in  Britain  on  his  return  from 
Ireland. 

The  general  conversion  of  the  Irish 
nation  was  reserved  for  St.  Patrick,  who 
was  probably  born  at  the  place  now  called 


Kilpatrick  on  the  Clyde,^  whence  he  was 
carried  as  a  slave  into  the  north  of  Ireland 
while  still  a  youth.  The  degradation  and 
darkness  of  the  inhabitants  profoundly 
impressed  his  pure  and  generous  heart, 
and  from  the  time  when  he  regained  his 
liberty,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  devo- 
ted himself  to  the  divine  service  and  the 
task  of  spreading  the  doctrines  of  salvation. 
After  going  through  a  course  of  study  at 
Marmoutier  and  Lerins,  he  repaired  to 
Rome.  We  next  hear  of  him  as  accom- 
panying St.  Germanus  and  St.  Lupus  on 
their  anti-Pelagian  mission  to  Britain. 
Being  selected  by  St.  Germanus  to  preach 
the  faith  in  Ireland,  he  went  first  —  if  we 
may  accept  the  testimony  of  Probus^  —  to 
Rome  to  obtain  the  apostolic  blessing. 
Celestine  dying  soon  after,  Patrick  left 
Rome  and  journeyed  towards  Ireland. 
Hearing  on  his  way  of  the  death  of  Palla 


1  Dr.  Moran,  Bishop  of  Ossory,  who  formerly  leaned  tj 
the  opinion  that  the  place  was  near  Boulogne  in  France,  hai 
lately  written  convincingly  in  favor  of  the  Scottish  site. 

2  Probus  wrote  a  Life  of  St.  Patrick  in  the  tenth  century; 
see  O'Curry's  Materials  of  Ancient  Irish  History. 


46 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


dius,  he  went  to  St..  Amatorex,  who 
ordained  him  bishop.  Landing  in  Ireland 
in  432,  he  attended  the  assembly  of  the 
Irish  kings  and  chieftains  held  on  the  hill 
of  Tara  in  that  year.  His  reception  was 
not  very  encouraging ;  however,  he  con- 
verted several,  and  among  others  the  father 
of  St.  Benignus,  his  immediate  successor 
in  the  see  of  Armagh. 

St.  Patrick  fixed  his  principal  residence 
at  Armagh,  which  became  the  primatial 
see  of  the  island.  In  the  course  of  his 
long  career,  extending  beyond  sixty  years, 
he  visited  and  converted  the  greater  part 
of  Ireland,  and  established  bishoprics  in 
all  the  provinces.  Among  his  chief  com- 
panions and  assistants  were  Auxilius, 
Isserninus,  and  Secundinus.  The  Irish 
people  received  the  gospel  with  extraordi- 
nary readiness.  St.  Patrick  left  few  writ- 
ings behind  him  ;  his  "  Confession,"  a 
kind  of  autobiography,  is  his  chief  work. 
We  have  also  his  circular  letter  against 
Coroticus,  and  the  canons  of  a  synod  which 
he  held  with  Auxilius  and  Isserninus, 
about  453,  to  regulate  church  discipline. 
In  his  "  Confession,"  he  does  not  mentioa 
the  Pope  or  the  Holy  See,  and  Beda,  in 
his  "  Ecclesiastical  History,"  is  silent 
about  St.  Patrick's  mission.  Hence  Prot- 
estant writers  have  inferred  that  he  had 
no  mission  from  Rome,  and  preached  a 
Christianity  of  his  own,  distinct  from  that 
of  the  Popes  ;  in  short,  that  he  was  a  kind 
of  Protestant.  This  hypothesis  has  been 
exploded  by  Dr.  Lanigan,  Bishop  Moran, 
and  others,  who  show  that  although  St. 
Patrick,  having   a  special  object   in  view 


when  he  wrote  the  "Confession,"  says 
nothing  in  it  about  Rome,  yet  the  history 
of  the  early  Irish  Church  is  unintelligible 
unless  we  assume  a  close  and  filial  rela- 
tion to  the  Holy  See  to  have  existed  from 
the  first.  Within  a  century  after  St.  Pat 
rick,  St.  Columbanus,  the  great  Irish  mis- 
sionary of  the  sixth  century,  said  to  the 
Pope,  "  The  Catholic  faith  is  held  unshaken 
by  us,  as  it  was  delivered  to  us  by  you, 
the  successors  of  the  holy  apostles."^ 
Another  theory  was  put  forward  by  the 
learned  Usher,  the  Protestant  Archbishop 
of  Armagh :  it  was  that  Ireland  did  not 
owe  her  Christianity  to  Rome,  nor  even  to 
St.  Patrick,  since  she  already  possessed 
a  hierarchy  at  the  time  when  the  saint 
arrived.  But  when  the  names  of  the 
bishops  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  this 
hierarchy  —  Ailbe,  Declan,  Ibar,  Kieran, 
etc. —  came  to  be  examined.  Dr.  Lanigan 
was  able  to  prove  that  they  were  all  pos- 
terior in  date  to  St.  Patrick.^ 

With  respect  to  Beda,  alrtiough  it  is 
true  that  he  does  not  mention  St.  Patrick 
in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  the  circum- 
stance—  singular  as  it  must  be  admitted 
to  be  —  may  perhaps  be  explained  on  the 
ground  that  he  chose  to  confine  himself 
strictly  to  the  religious  concerns  of  the 
Angles  and  Saxons.  It  is  impossible  to 
infer  from  it  that  Beda  passed  over  the 
conversion  of  Ireland  in  silence,  because 
he,  a  zealous  adherent  of  Rome,  disap- 
proved of  a  work  effected  independently 
of  Rome.     Had  he  so  felt,  he  would  have 

1  Moran,  Essays  on  the  Early  Irish  Church,  p.  4. 
'^  Ibid.,  p.  40. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  IRISH  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


47 


studiously  avoided  speaking  of  St.  Patrick 
in  his  other  writings,  as  well  as  in  his 
history.  But  the  fact  is  that  in  both  his 
"  Martyrologies,"  Beda  does  give  the 
name  of  St.  Patrick.  In  the  prose  one, 
under  March  17,  he  says,  "  In  Scotia,  the 
birthday  of  the  holy  Patricius,  bishop  and 
confessor,  who  first  in  that  country 
preached  the  gospel  of  Christ."  In  his 
metrical  martyrology,  under  the  same  day, 
he  says,  "Patricius,  the  servant  of  the 
Lord,  mounted  to  the  heavenly  court." 

The  death  of  the  apostle  of  Ireland 
occurred  in  493.  The  present  sketch  of 
the  history  of  the  Church  in  Ireland  from 
that  time  to  our  own  day  will  be  divided 
into  three  periods  :  i,  that  of  sanctity, 
learning,  and  missionary  energy  (493-8CXD) ; 
2,  that  of  invasions  and  usurpation  (809- 
1530);  3>  that  of  persecution  (i 530-1829). 
The  period  commencing  at  the  last-named 
date  will  be  regarded  by  our  descendants, 
if  present  appearances  may  be  trusted,  as 
an  era  of  restoration. 

I.  The  Irish  saints  are  divided  by  the 
national  hagiographers  into  three  classes. 
In  the  first,  which  consists  of  those  of  the 
earliest  Christian  age  down  to  about  530, 
the  principal  figures  are  those  of  St.  Pat- 
rick himself,  St.  Brigid  of  Kildare,  St.  Ibar, 
St.  Declan,  and  St.  Kieran.  The  second 
class,  from  530  to  600,  contains  St  Coem- 
man  or  Kevin,  the  two  Brendons,  Jarlath 
of  Tuam,  and  the  great  St.  Clumboa  or 
Columbkill.  The  third  class,  whose 
period  is  from  6cxD  to  about  660,  contains 
St.  Maidoc,  the  first  bishop  of  Ferns ;  St. 
Colman   of  Lindisfarne,    Ultan,    Fursey, 


etc.  The  first  class,  in  the  words  of  the 
ancient  authority  quoted  by  Dr.  Lanigan,^ 
"blazes  like  the  sun,  the  second  like  the 
moon,  the  third  like  the  stars  .... 
the  first  most  holy,  the  second  very  holy, 
the  third  holy." 

That  learning,  in  all  the  branches  then 
known,  was  eagerly  followed  by  Irish  stu- 
dents from  the  time  of  the  conversion,  is 
a  fact  of  which  there  is  abundant  evidence. 
A  copious  literature  sprang  up,  consisting 
of  monastic  rules,  tracts  on  ritual  and 
discipline,  homilies,  prayers,  hymns,  gen- 
ealogies, martyrologies  in  prose  and  verse, 
and  lives  of  saints.  This  literature,  as  was 
to  be  expected,  was  partly  composed  in 
the  vernacular  and  partly  in  Latin  ;  but 
the  bulk  of  it  was  in  the  Gaelic.  The 
extant  remains  are  still  considerable ;  that 
they  are  not  yet  more  copious  is  explained 
by  Professor  O' Curry  in  a  remarkable 
passage,  which  will  be  cited  in  a  different 
connection  further  on. 

The  English  Beda  bears  ungrudging 
testimony  to  the  high  character  of  the 
Irish  missionaries  who  had  labored  in 
Northumbria,  and  to  the  general  belief  in 
the  excellence  of  the  Irish  schools.  "  The 
whole  solicitude  of  those  teachers,"  he 
says,  "was  to  serve  God,  not  the  world; 
their  one  thought  was  how  to  train  the 
heart,  not  how  to  satisfy  the  appetite."^ 
The  special  excellence  of  the  Irish  schools 
was  the  interpretation  of  Scripture ;  thus 
about  650,  Agilbert,  a  French  bishop, 
resided  a  long  time  in  Ireland,  "  for  the  sake 

1  History  of  the  Church  of  Ireland,  \\.  330. 

2  Hist.  Eccl.  iii.  26. 


48 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


of  reading  the  Scriptures."^  Some  years 
latter  (664)  it  became  a  common  practice 
with  the  Northumbrian  Thanes  to  visit 
Ireland,  either  with  a  view  to  greater 
advance  in  the  spiritual  life,  or  for  the 
sake  of  biblical  knowledge,  ''divines 
lectionis.'"  These  last  would  go  from 
place  to  place,  attending  the  cells  of  the 
different  masters  ;  and  so  generous  were 
the  natives,  that  they  provided  for  them 
all,  "  their  daily  food  free  of  cost,  books 
also  to  read,  and  gratuitous  teaching. "^ 

The  missionary  energy  of  the  Irish 
Church,  commencing  with  a  little  island 
off  the  coast  of  Mull,  which  it  made  a 
basis  for  further  operations,  ended  by 
embracing  France,  Switzerland,  and  Italy 
within  the  scope  of  its  charity.  St. 
Columba,  of  whom  Montalembert  in  his 
^' Monks  of  the  West,"  has  given  to  the 
world  a  graphic  portraiture,  founded  the 
monastery  of  Hy  or  lona  in  563,  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  the  conversion  of  the  Picts 
dwelling  in  the  north  of  Scotland.  For 
more  than  230  years  lona  continued  to 
flourish,  and  was  a  centre  of  pure  religion, 
education,  art,  and  literature  to  all  the 
surrounding  countries.  Here,  as  in  a 
"sacred  storehouse,"^  rest  the  bones  of 
not  a  few  Irish,  Scottish,  and  Norwegian 
kings.  It  was  devastated  by  the  Danes  in 
795,  and  the  monks  were  dispersed  a  few 
years  later.  From  lona  the  monk  Aidan, 
at  the  invitation  of  king  Oswald,  came 
into   Northumbria,  the   Angles   of  which 


1  Ibid.  iii.  7. 

*  Ibid.  iii.  27. 

8  Shaksp.  Macbeth,  Act  II.  sc.  4. 


were  still  mostly  Pagans,  and  founded  in 
633  a  monastery  on  the  isle  of  Lindis- 
fame,  of  which  he  became  the  first  bishop. 
To  him  and  his  successors  the  conversion 
of  the  northern  English  was  chiefly  due. 
Lindisfarne  in  its  turn  became  a  great 
school  of  sacred  learning  and  art,  and  its 
bishopric  ultimately  grew  into  the  palatine 
see  of  Durham.  In  East  Anglia  the  Irish 
St.  Fursey  assisted  Felix  the  Burgundian 
in  the  conversion  of  the  natives ;  in 
Wessex  the  Irish  Maidulf  founded  the 
great  convent  of  Malmesbury.  In  the 
sixth  and  seventh  centuries  Irish  mission- 
aries were  active  in  France ;  Fridolin 
restored  religion  at  Poictiers,  and  recov- 
ered the  relics  of  St.  Hilary  ;  St.  Fursey 
founded  a  monastery  at  Lagny ;  St. 
Fiacre  settled  at  Paris  ;  and  Columbanus 
founded  in  Burgundy  the  historic  monas'^ 
tery  of  Luxeuil.  In  Switzerland  the  name 
of  the  town  and  canton  of  St.  Gall  perpet- 
uates the  memory  of  an  Irish  anchorite, 
who  in  613  planted  a  cross  near  a  spring 
in  the  heart  of  a  dense  forest,  south  of  the 
lake  of  Constance,  and  by  despising  the 
world  drew  the  world  to  him.  Bobbio,  in 
Italy,  was  the  last  foundation  and  resting- 
place  of  St.  Columbanus.  In  Germany, 
the  Irish  Fridolin,  the  hero  of  many  a 
tender  Volkslied  and  wild  legend,  was 
probably  the  first  apostle  of  the  Alemanni 
in  Baden  and  Suabia.^ 

The  well-known  controversy  respecting 
the  right  observation  of  Easter,  which 
raged  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries 
between  those  who  had  received  a  Roman 

1  Art.  "  Fridolin,"  by  Hefele,  in  Wetzer  and  Welte. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  IRISH  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


49 


and  an  Irish  training  respectively,  turned 
on  the  fact  that  the  Irish  Church,  from 
its  isolation  in  the  far  west,  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  communication  with  the  centre 
of  unity,  had  fallen  somewhat  behindhand 
in  ecclesiastical  science,  and  not  adopted 
the  improved  methods  of  calculation 
which  had  come  into  force  in  Latin 
Christendom  generally. ^  After  there  had 
been  time  for  a  full  discussion  and 
comparison  of  views,  the  Irish  gradually 
came  round  to  the  better  practice.  At  a 
synod  held  at  Old  Leighlin,  in  630,  a 
letter  having  come  from  Honorius  I.,  the 
Roman  cycle  and  rules  for  computing 
Easter  were  adopted  in  all  the  south  of 
Ireland.^  At  lona  and  in  the  north  of 
Ireland  the  necessary  change  was  deferred 
for  many  years.  Adamnan,  Abbot  of  Hy, 
labored  hard  between  701  and  704  to 
introduce  the  Roman  Easter,  and  met 
with  considerable  success.  But  the  deci- 
sive adoption  of  it  at  Hy  is  said  to  have 
been  due  to  the  persuasions  of  St.  Egbert 
about  716.' 

II.  Period  of  Invasions. — The  Danes 
(called  "  Ostmen  "  by  the  Irish),  appeared 
on  the  Irish  coasts  about  the  end  of  the 
eighth  century.  Wherever  they  came  they 
desecrated  churches,  burnt  monasteries, 
destroyed  books,  pictures,  and  sculptures, 

1  The  erroneous  practice  was  not  that  of  the  Quartodeci- 
mans  [  Easter  Cycle],  for  the  Irish  always  waited  for 
Sunday  before  celebrating  the  feast ;  it  consisted  in  keeping 
Easter  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  twentieth  day  of  the 
month,  instead  of  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  twenty-first ;  the 
consequence  being  that  when  Sunday  fell  on  the  fourteenth, 
Easter  began  to  be  kept  on  the  evening  of  the  thirteenth  day, 
that  is,  before  the  occurrence  of  the  Paschal  full  moon. 

2  Lanigan  ii.  389. 

8  Bed.  Hist.  Eccl.  5.  22. 


murdered  priests,  monks,  and  poets.  To 
the  ferocity  of  the  wild  beasts  they  joined 
the  persevering  energy  of  the  Teuton ; 
their  arms  were  better  than  those  of  the 
Irish,  and  perhaps  they  had  more  skill  in 
handling  them.  Confusion  and  lamenta- 
tion were  soon  in  every  part  of  the  island. 
Men,  after  a  while,  seeing  the  continued 
success  of  these  odious  Pagans,  began  to 
doubt  of  Providence,  and  to  grow  slack  in 
faith.  Sauve  qui  petit  became  the  general 
feeling,  and  the  generosity  towards  the 
Church  of  the"  converts  of  the  age  of  St. 
Patrick  underwent  a  selfish  but  not  unnat- 
ural reaction  in  their  descendants.  "  When 
foreign  invasion  and  war  had  cooled  down 
the  fervid  devotion  of  the  native  chiefs,  and 
had  distracted  and  broken  up  the  long 
established  reciprocity  of  good  offices 
between  the  Church  and  the  State,  as  weU 
as  the  central  executive  controlling 
power  of  the  nation,  the  chief  and  the 
noble  began  to  feel  that  the  lands  which 
he  himself  or  his  ancestors  had  offered  to 
the  Church,  might  now,  with  little  impro- 
priety, be  taken  back  by  him,  to  be  applied 
to  his  own  purposes,  quieting  his  con- 
science by  the  necessity  of  the  case."^ 
The  beautiful  Glendalough,  founded  by 
St.  Kevin  about  549,  being  near  the  sea, 
was  peculiarly  exposed  to  Danish  assault; 
but  not  one  of  the  principal  monasteries — 
Armagh,  Kildare,  Clonmacnc'se,  Slane, 
etc., — escaped  destruction  at  one  time  or 
other.  Dublin  — of  which  the  Irish  name 
is  "Ath-cliath" — became  a  Danish  city. 
From    time    to   time   the    invaders  were 

1  O'Curry,  Materials,  etc  p.  343. 


50 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


heavily  defeated  —  as  in  the  battle  of 
Clontarf  (1014)  when  the  victorious  Brian 
Boru  fell  in  the  hour  of  victory.  Gradu- 
ally they  adopted  Christianity,  lost  their 
national  language,  and  were  blended  with 
the  natives,  never  having,  as  in  England, 
succeeded  in  subjecting  the  whole  island 
to  their  rule. 

In  the  course  of  the  twelfth  century, 
the  power  of  the  O' Neils  of  Ulster,  who 
had  for  a  long  period  been  overlords  of  the 
whole  of  Ireland,  declined,  and  the  O'Con- 
nors of  Connaught  attempted  to  take  their 
place.  But  it  was  a  weak  and  wavering 
sovereignty,  and  the  kings  of  the  five 
petty  kingdoms  were  continually  plotting, 
combining,  and  making  war  one  against 
another.  A  state  of  general  insecurity  and 
lawlessness  was  the  natural  result ;  and 
though  the  faith  of  the  people  remained 
intact,  moral  disorder  in  every  form  was 
rampant,  and  the  discipline  of  the  Church 
was  often  set  at  nought.  The  clergy, 
probably  for  the  sake  of  greater  stability 
and  safety,  tended  to  cluster  together 
under  some  monastic  rule ;  and  the  laity, 
abandoned  to  themselves,  fell  a  prey  to 
gross  superstitions  and  excesses.  The 
Popes,  by  sending  legates,  and  writing 
admonitory  letters  from  time  to  time, 
attempted  to  reform  the  state  of  society.  In 
the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century  a  power- 
ful influence  for  good  was  exerted  by  the 
admirable  sanctity  of  St.  Malachy,  who 
died  at  Clairvaux  under  the  eyes  of  St. 
Bernard,  in  1 148,  and  whose  life  was  writ- 
ten by  his  great  friend.  The  state  of  things 
at  Armagh,  when  Malachy  was  elected  to 


the  primacy  in  1125,  is  a  good  illustration 
of  the  disorder  which  pervaded  the  Irish 
Church.  A  certain  powerful  family  had 
for  more  than  two  hundred  years  claimed 
the  primatial  chair  as  a  hereditary  posses- 
sion ;  for  fifteen  generations  they  had 
made  good  their  claim  ;  and  of  these  fifteen 
occupants  of  the  see  only  six  were  in  holy 
orders,  the  rest  being  married  laymen, 
who,  though  they  did  not  presume  to 
exercise  the  Episcopal  functions,  enjoyed 
the  title  and  emoluments  of  the  bishopric.^ 
Celsus,  the  last  of  the  series,  being  a  good 
man,  procured  the  election  of  St.  Malachy 
as  his  successor ;  but  the  family  resented 
this  intrusion  on  their  "  rights,"  and  pre- 
sented to  the  see  one  of  themselves, 
Murchadh  by  name,  upon  the  death  of 
Celsus.  For  the  sake  of  peace  St. 
Malachy  waited  for  five  years  before  enter- 
ing Armagh ;  on  the  death  of  Murchadh, 
in  1 1 33,  he  was  peaceably  installed.  In 
1 138  the  saint  visited  Rome,  where  Pope 
Innocent  II.  received  him  with  the  highest 
honor,  and  appointed  him  his  legate  in 
Ireland.  His  zeal,  but  still  more  his 
saintly  example,  effected  a  salutary  change 
in  the  northern  parts  of  Ireland,  where, 
having  obtained  leave  to  resign  the  pri- 
macy, he  spent  the  last  ten  years  of  his 
life  as  bishop  of  the  small  see  of  Down. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Henry  II. 
had  obtained  the  approbation  of  Pope 
Adrian  IV.,  an  Englishman,  for  his  project 
of  entering  Ireland,  ostensibly  with  a  view 
to  extirpating  vice  and  ignorance  among 
the  natives,  and  attaching  the  island  more 

1  Lingard,  Hist,  of  Eng.  ii.  89. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  IRISH  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


51 


closely  to  the  see  of  St.  Peter.  Of  this 
bull  Henry  made  no  use  for  many  years, 
and  the  actual  invasion  of  Ireland  by 
Strongbow  and  other  Norman  knights  was 
in  a  manner  accidental.  For  several  gene- 
rations things  went  on  much  as  before  ;  the 
English  power  was  confined  to  the  "  Pale  " 
or  strip  of  country  on  the  eastern  coast ; 
in  the  rest  of  Ireland  the  native  princes, 
though  they  often  recognized  an  ill-defined 
overlordship  in  the  English  kings,  reigned 
practically  after  their  own  fashion.  Out- 
side the  Pale,  Brehon,  not  feudal  law,  pre- 
vailed. One  benefit,  at  least,  resulted : 
the  Normans  were  great  builders ;  and 
noble  churches  of  stone  soon  covered  the 
land.  It  is  true  that  in  this  reform  they 
were  preceded  by  St.  Malachy,  who  had 
built  a  church  of  stone  at  Bangor,  near 
Carrickfergus,  to  the  great  amazement  of 
the  natives,  who  had,  till  then,  seen  only 
their  own  ingeniously  constructed  edifices 
of  timber  and  wickerwork. 

Three  great  Irish  synods  were  held  in 
the  twelfth  century.  At  the  first,  that  of 
Kells  (11 52),  at  which  a  Roman  cardinal 
presided,  the  metropolitan  dignity  of  the 
three  sees  of  Cashel,^  Dublin,  and  Tuam 
was  solemnly  recognized  ;  but  the  primacy 
over  the  whole  island  was  still  reserved  to 
Armagh.  At  the  second,  that  of  Cashel 
(1172),  held  immediately  after  the  inva- 
sion, Church  property  was  declared  to  be 
exempt  from  the  exactions  of  the  chief- 
tains, the  regular  payment  of  tithes  was 

1  Cashel  was  already  regarded  as  a  metropolitan  see  as 
early  as  11 11,  and  its  bishops  exerted  corresponding  powers  to 
8  jme  extent;  in  1140  it  was  formally  recognized  as  such  by 
Innocent  II.  at  the  request  of  St.  Malachy  (Lanigan,  iv.  20). 


enjoined,  and  it  was  ordered  that  all  mat- 
ters of  ritual  should  be  arranged  in  future 
"agreeably  to  the  observance  of  the 
Church  of  England"  —  in  other  words, 
according  to  Roman  usage.  The  third 
synod,  that  of  Dublin  (1186),  passed  sev- 
eral canons  of  ritual;  it  is  chiefly  noted 
for  a  sermon,  preached  before  it  by  Gerald 
de  Barri,  or  Cambrensis,  in  which,  while 
praising  the  orthodoxy  and  the  continency 
of  the  Irish  clergy,  he  lamented  that  too 
many  of  them  were  addicted  to  intem- 
perance. 

Many  of  the  English  and  Normans 
who  settled  in  Ireland  after  the  invasion 
adopted  by  degrees  the  dress,  customs, 
and  laws  of  the  natives,  and  became  no 
less  intractable  than  they  in  their  attitude 
towards  the  English  government.  An 
effort  was  made  to  stop  this  process  by 
the  Statute  of  Kilkenny  (1367),  which 
made  it  treasonable  for  those  of  English 
descent  to  marry,  or  enter  into  the  rela- 
tion of  fosterage,  or  contract  spiritual 
aflfinity  with  the  natives ;  and  forbade  to 
the  same  class,  on  pain  of  forfeiture  of 
property,  the  adoption  of  an  Irish  name, 
or  the  use  of  the  Irish  language,  dress,  or 
customs.  But  this  statute  was  to  a  great 
extent  inoperative,  and  from  the  date  of 
its  enactment  to  the  time  of  Henry  VIII. 
there  were  two  parties  in  continual  oppo- 
sition to  the  government,  the  "English 
rebels,"  and  the  "  Irish  enemies."  The 
demarcation  between  English  and  Irish, 
which  the  civil  government  thus  did  its 
utmost  to  maintain,  was  partially  intro- 
duced, and  with  the  most  unhappy  results. 


52 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


into  the  administration  of  Church  affairs. 
In  the  counties  of  the  Pale  it  was  scarcely 
possible  for  an  ecclesiastic  of  Irish  race  to 
obtain  preferment.  The  invasion  by  the 
Scots  under  Edward  Bruce,  in  13 15, 
though  ultimately  defeated,  caused  great 
confusion,  and  called  forth  during  its  con- 
tinuance many  tokens  of  sympathy  from 
the  Irish  clergy.  This,  says  Mr.  Malone, 
was  made  a  pretext  for  "  throwing  off  the 
mask,"^  and  under  color  of  disloyalty 
Irishmen  were  excluded  from  all  the 
higher  dignities  and  benefices.  Yet  it 
would  appear  that  this  exclusion  could  not 
have  extended  much  beyond  the  Pale  ;  for 
if  we  examine  the  lists  of  bishops  occupy- 
ing the  Irish  sees  in  1350,  we  find  that 
out  of  thirty-three  names,  eighteen  are 
certainly  Irish,  thirteen  English,  while 
two  may  be  doubtful.  All  through  this 
time  of  confusion  and  disunion  a  strong 
religious  feeling  was  abroad,  animating 
the  men  of  both  races  alike,  and  directing 
them  to  common  objects.  In  the  thir- 
teenth century  we  hear  of  170  monas- 
teries being  founded;  about  55  in  the 
fourteenth,  and  about  60  in  the  fifteenth. 
Two  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to 
found  universities, —  one  at  Dublin  (1320), 
by  Archbishop  Bicknor ;  the  other  at 
Drogheda,  by  the  parliament  which  sat 
there  in  1465. 

III.  Period  of  Persecution. — By  the 
aid  of  Brown,  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
an  Englishman  who  had  embraced  the 
Lutheran  opinions,  Henry  VIII.  had  some 
success  in  imposing   his   doctrine   of  the 

1  Church  History  of  Ireland,  ch.  ix. 


royal  supremacy  on  the  Irish  clergy. 
Under  Mary  all  progress  in  this  direction 
was  reversed.  Soon  after  the  accession  of 
Elizabeth,  in  1560,  a  packed  Parliament 
was  convened  at  Dublin  which  passed  an 
Act  of  Uniformity,  declaring  the  royal 
supremacy  over  the  Church,  and  imposing 
the  Protestant  Prayer-book.  By  many 
Protestant  writers  ^  it  has  been  maintained 
that  the  bishops,  with  the  exception  of 
two,  either  approved  of  or  acquiesced  in 
the  new  order  of  things,  and  that  the 
people  for  many  years  frequented  the 
churches  where  the  English  service  was 
performed.  The  falsehood  of  all  such 
statements  has  been  exposed  by  the 
Bishop  of  Ossory.2  The  real  state  of  the 
case  appears  to  have  been  this.  The 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  Curwin,  conformed 
to  Protestantism,  and  O'Fihel,  Bishop  of 
Leighlin,  did  the  same.  The  conduct  of 
four  bishops  (Ossory,  Ferns,  Cork,  and 
Clonfert)  is  more  or  less  suspicious.  The 
remainder  of  the  Irish  hierarchy,  viz.,  the 
Archbishops  of  Cashel  and  Tuam  (the 
see  of  Armagh  was  vacant),  two  bishops 
holding  sees  in  the  Pale  (who  were 
deprived  by  the  government),  and  sixteen 
other  bishops  of  suffragan  sees,  remained 
faithful  to  their  canonical  obligations.  As 
these  bishops  died,  or  as,  in  the  course  of 
the  Elizabethan  wars,  the  government  was 
able  to  consolidate  its  power  in  the 
remoter  parts  of  Ireland,  the  cathedrals, 
Church  lands,  and  other  Church  property 

1  Bishop  Mant,  Dean  Murray,  etc. 

2  Episcopal  Succession  in  Ireland.  See  also  an  article  » 
the  Contemporary  Review^  for  May,  1880,  on  "  Dr  Littledale,* 
etc 


HISTORY  OF  THE  IRISH  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


53 


were  made  over  to  Protestant  bishops  and 
ministers  appointed  under  the  Act  of  Uni- 
formity. The  Catholic  Bishop  of  Kil- 
more,  Richard  Brady,  was  expelled  from 
the  sec  so  late  as  1585.  The  Holy  See 
did  all  that  it  could  to  support  the 
oppressed  Church  of  Ireland,  and  animate 
the  clergy  to  meet  their  sufferings  with  an 
unbending  fortitude.  A  nuncio  was  sent 
to  reside  at  Limerick,  money  and  arms 
were  liberally  provided,  the  intervention  of 
Spain  solicited,  and  Irish  ecclesiastics 
visiting  Rome  welcomed  and  assisted. 
Except  in  the  case  of  Dublin,  the  seat  of 
the  Anglo-Irish  government,  where  the 
see  was  left  vacant  for  many  years  from 
the  absolute  impossibility  of  any  prelate 
residing  there  in  safety,  the  successions  of 
bishops  in  all  the  Irish  sees  appear  to  have 
been  regularly  maintained  through  all  the 
period  of  persecution. 

The  cause  of  learning,  to  which  the 
Irish  Church  has  been  ever  devoted,  could 
not  but  suffer  in  this  prolonged  conflict. 
Before  the  change  of  religion  in  England 
there  had  been  some  encouraging  signs  of 
progress  in  the  reconciliation  of  the  races 
through  the  influence  of  a  common  inter- 
est in  intellectual  pursuits.  Among  the 
distinguished  Oxford  students  of  the  first 
thirty  years  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a 
considerable  proportion  were  Irishmen,^ 
and  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  had  peace 
and  religious  unity  been  preserved,  this 
resort  to  the  English  universities  would 
have  gone  on  increasing  until  it  bore  its 


1  See  the    list  in    Wood's  Athenot    Cxon.      Wood  does 
not  go  farther  back  than  1500. 


natural  fruit  in  the  establishment  of  a 
great  university  on  Irish  soil.  The  change 
of  religion  in  England  cut  off  the  supply 
of  Irish  students ;  Catholicism  became  a 
persecuted  creed ;  and  the  effect  on  learn- 
ing—  its  professors,  seats,  implements, 
and  productions  —  may  be  understood 
from  the  following  vigorous  passage: 
"From  about  the  year  1530,  in  the  reign 
of  the  English  king  Henry  VIII.,  to  the 
year  1793,  the  priests  of  Ireland  were 
ever  subject  to  persecution,  suppression, 
dispersion,  and  expatriation,  according  to 
the  English  law ;  their  churches,  monas- 
teries, convents,  and  private  habitations 
were  pillaged  and  wrested  from  them ; 
and  a  vandal  warfare  was  kept  up  against 
all  that  was  venerable  and  sacred  of  the 
remains  of  ancient  literature  and  art  which 
they  possessed.  When,  therefore,  we  make 
search  for  the  once  extensive  monuments 
of  learning  which  the  ecclesiastical  libra- 
ries contained  of  old,  we  must  remember 
that  this  shocking  system  continued  for 
near  300  years  ;  and  that  during  all  that 
long  period  the  clergy  —  the  natural  repos- 
itories of  all  the  documents  which  belonged 
to  the  history  of  the  Church  —  were  kept 
in  a  continual  state  of  insecurity  and 
transition,  often  compelled  to  resort  to 
the  continent  for  education,  often  forced 
to  quit  their  homes  and  churches  at  a 
moment's  notice,  and  fly  for  their  lives,  in 
the  first  instance  to  the  thorny  depths  of 
the  nearest  forest  or  the  damp  shelter  of 
some  dreary  cavern,  until  such  time,  if 
ever  it  should  come,  as  they  could  steal 
away  to   the  hospitable  shores   of    some 


54 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Christian     land     on     the      continent     of 
Europe."^ 

Under  James  I.  and  Charles  I.,  the 
Catholic  clergy  having  been  now  stripped 
of  all  their  property,  and  the  laity  of  a 
considerable  portion  of  theirs,  some  tol- 
eration was  extended  by  the  government 
to  Catholic  worship.  The  terrible  rising 
of  1 64 1  was  the  commencement  of  a  war 
of  eleven  years,  ending  with  the  surrender 
of  Galway  in  1652.  Innocent  X.  sent  the 
Archbishop  of  Fermo  (Rinuccini)  as  his 
nuncio  to  Ireland  in  the  autumn  of  1645, 
with  considerable  supplies  of  arras  and 
money.  Unfortunately  dissension  arose 
in  the  national  ranks  ;  a  moderate  section 
of  the  clergy,  with  most  of  the  Catholic 
gentry  and  laity,  were  for  aiding  the  king 
against  the  Parliament,  and  not  exacting 
from  him  very  stringent  conditions ; 
but  the  bulk  of  the  population,  supported 
by  the  nuncio  and  the  inferior  clergy,  were 
for  turning  the  war  into  a  struggle  for 
complete  religious  freedom  and  national 
independence.  Cromwell  transported  his 
victorious  army  to  Ireland  in  1649,  and  by 
several  successful  sieges,  followed  by 
bloody  military  executions,  broke  the 
strength  of  the  resistance.  The  conquest 
of  the  island  was  completed  by  his  lieuten- 
ants. The  sufferings  of  the  Irish  clergy 
during,  and  still  more  after,  the  war,  were 
indescribable.  Bishop  O'Brien  of  Emly 
was  executed  by  Ireton's  order  (165 1) 
after  the  fall  of  Limerick.  Bishop  Egan 
of  Ross  was  murdsred  by  Ludlow's  sol- 
diers in   1650.     In  the  same  year  Bishop 

1  O'Curry's  Materials,  etc.,  p.  355. 


McMahon  of  Clogher,  being  in  command 
of  a  body  of  Irish  troops,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Puritans,  and,  though  quarter  had 
been  promised,  was  hanged.  A  letter  of 
Dr.  Burgatt,  afterwards  Archbishop  of 
Cashel,  written  in  r667,  says  that  in  the 
persecution  begun  by  Cromwell  "  more  than 
300  [clergy]  were  put  to  death  by  the 
sword  or  on  the  scaffold  .  .  .  .  ; 
more  than  looo  were  sent  into  exile,  and 
among  these  all  the  surviving  bishops," 
except  the  Bishop  of  Kilmore,  who  was 
too  old  to  move.^  The  Puritan  sol- 
diers put  every  priest  to  death  whom  they 
fell  in  with;  and  yet  so  close  a  tie  of 
affection  bound  the  clergy  to  their  native 
land  and  their  people,  that  even  in  1658, 
about  the  worst  time  of  all,  there  were 
upwards  of  1 50  priests  in  each  province.^ 
The  regular  clergy  were  no  better  off; 
the  Acts  of  the  General  Chapter  of  the 
Dominican  Order  held  at  Rome  in  1656, 
mention  that  out  of  600  friars  who  were  in 
the  island  in  1646  not  a  fourth  part 'were 
left,  and  of  forty-three  convents  of  the 
order,  not  one  remained  standing.^  All 
these  horrors  the  Puritans  pretended  to 
justify,  as  done  in  retaliation  for  the  mas- 
sacre of  Protestants  in  1641.  That  a  great 
number  of  persons  were  cruelly  put  to 
death  at  the  time  of  that  rising  is  unde- 
niable ;  but,  as  Lingard  points  out,*  the 
main  object  pursued  was  not  the  murder 
of  the  Protestants,  but  the  recovery  of  the 

1  Moran,  Hist.  Sketch  of  the  Persecutions  under  CromweR 
(1862)/.  82. 

2  lb.  p.  98. 

8  Moran,  of.  cit.  p.  74. 

*  Hist,  of  Eng.  vii.  app.  note  nnn. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  IRISH  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


55 


confiscated  lands.  He  significantly  adds, 
"  That  they  [the  Irish]  suffered  as  much 
as  they  inflicted  cannot  be  doubted." 

The  exiles,  both  priests  and  laity,  were 
cast  on  the  French  coast  in  a  state  of  such 
utter  destitution,  that,  but  for  prompt  and 
ample  relief,  many  must  have  perished. 
Happily  a  saint  was  at  hand  to  help  them. 
St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  filled  with  compassion 
for  these  victims  of  war  and  fanaticism, 
collected  money  and  clothing  for  them, 
and  provided  them  all  with  homes  and 
shelter ;  he  even  sent  considerable  sup- 
plies to  Ireland.^  The  Bishop  of  Ossory 
also  gives  detailed  proof  of  the  unwearied 
solicitude  of  the  Holy  See,  for  many  years 
after  the  Cromwellian  invasion,  in  pro- 
curing succors  of  every  kind  for  the 
Irish  Catholics,  and  itself  aiding  them  with 
money  to  the  utmost  of  its  power.^ 

The  Act  of  Settlement  (1660)  legalized 
the  Cromwellian  spoliations ;  but  the 
Catholic  worship  was  tolerated  all  through 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.  At  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  Irish  espoused  the  cause  of  their 
king,  who,  whatever  quarrel  the  English 
might  have  with  him,  had  done  Ireland  no 
wrong.  Neither  the  letter  nor  the  spirit 
of  the  constitution  enjoined  that  the  Irish 
Parliament  and  people  should  change  their 
king  whenever  it  might  suit  the  English 
people  to  change  theirs.  But,  in  the 
absence  of  effectual  aid  from  abroad,  the 

1  Moran,  op.  cit.  p.  52. 

2  About  1688,  72,000  francs  a  year  were  supplied  by  Rome 
for  the  support  of  the  Irish  secular  clergy  and  laity.  In  1699 
the  Pope  seat  to  James  II.,  at  St.  Germain's,  58,000  francs  for 
the  Irish  eclesiastics  exiled  that  year.  From  about  1750  to 
iSoo  the  Popes  sent  the  Irish  bishops  a  hundred  Roman 
crowns  a  year  in  aid  of  Catholic  poor  schools. 


superior  resources  of  the  stronger  nation 
crushed  the  resistance  of  the  weaker  ;  and 
I  a  period  commenced  ior  the  Irish  Church 
and  people  sadder  than  any  that  had  pre- 
ceded it.  The  writings  of  Burke,  and  — 
among  recent  publications  —  Mr.  Lecky's 
"History  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  paint 
in  detail  the  picture  of  Ireland  ruined  and 
outraged  by  the  penal  laws.  Whatever 
iniquitous  law  and  crafty  administration 
could  devise  to  destroy  the  faith  of  the 
people  was  tried  during  the  gloomy  century 
which  began  at  the  Revolution,  but  all  to 
no  effect.  The  ill  success  of  the  American 
war  compelled  the  English  government 
to  propose  the  first  relaxation  of  the  penal 
laws  in  1778.  From  that  time  the  Irish 
Church  has  been  step  by  step  regaining 
portions  and  fragments  of  the  rights  of 
which  she  was  deprived  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  Protestant  Church  was  dis- 
established in  1869.  The  last  twenty 
years  have  seen  the  island  covered  with 
beautiful  religious  edifices  —  cathedrals, 
parish-churches,  convents,  colleges,  etc. 
Of  such  a  people  it  may  be  justly  said,  "  In 
much  experience  of  tribulation  they  have 
had  abundance  of  joy,  and  their  very  deep 
poverty  hath  abounded  unto  the  riches  of 
their  simplicity."^ 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Irish  sees, 
of  which  four  are  metropolitan  and  twenty- 
four  suffragan : — 

Province  of  Armagh. 

Armagh.  Meath.  Derry. 

Clogher.  Dromore.  Raphoe. 

Down  and  Connor.  Ardagh.  Kilmore. 

1  X  Cor.  viii.  2. 


56 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Dublin. 


Province  of  Dublin. 

Ossory. 

Ferns. 


Kildare  and  Leighlin. 


Province  of  Cashel. 

Cashel  and  Emly.  Waterford  and  Lismore. 

Cork.  Cloyne.  Killaloe. 

Limerick.  Ross.  Kerry. 


Province  of  Tuam. 

Tuam. 

Elphin. 

Achonry. 

Galway. 

Kilmacduagh  and  Kilfenora. 
Killala. 

Clonfert 

Mitred  Abbot :  The  most  Rev.  the  Abbot  of  Mount  Melleray, 
Cappoquin. 

(Lanigan,  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of 
Ireland,"  1829;  Plowden,  "Historical 
Review  of  the  State  of  Ireland,"  1803  ; 
Malone,  "Church  History  of  Ireland,"  3d 
edition,  1880;  Moran  [Bishop  of  Ossory], 
"  Spicilegium  Ossoriense  "  ;  "  Essays  on 
the  Origin,  Doctrine,  and  Discipline  of  the 
early  Irish  Church,"  1864;  "Historical 
•Sketch  of  the  Persecutions  suffered  by 
the  Catholics  of  Ireland  under  Cromwell 
and  the  Puritans  "  [1862].) 

Origir\   arvd    History  of    tKe 
IrisK  College  at  Rome. 

The  munificent  Pontiff  to  whom  the 
English  College  owed  its  foundation  — 
Gregory  XIII.  —  contemplated  a  similar 
institution  for  Ireland ;  but  on  mature 
consideration  he  judged  that  whatever 
portion  of  the  Papal  revenues  could  be 
spared  to  aid  that  injured  people  would  be 
better  spent  in  sending  them  money  and 
arms,  at  a  time  when  they  were  engaged 
in  a  deadly   struggle   with  their   English 


oppressors,  than  in  any  other  way.  His 
original  desire  was,  however,  carried  out 
by  his  nephew,  the  Cardinal  Ludovico 
Ludovisio,  who  in  1628  founded  a  college 
near  the  Piazza  Barberini  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  Irish  theological  students,  who  were 
afterwards  to  return  to  their  own  land,  and 
do  their  best  to  keep  alive  the  flame  of 
religion  among  their  persecuted  country- 
men. The  celebrated  Irish  Franciscan^ 
Fr.  Luke  Wadding,  the  historian  of  his 
order,  was  the  first  rector  of  the  college, 
which  opened  with  six  students,  and  a 
a  dotation  of  fifty  scudi  per  month.  Car 
dinal  Ludovisio  by  his  will  bequeathed  to 
it  a  large  vineyard  at  Castel  Gandolfo,  and 
a  thousand  scudi  of  annual  rent ;  he 
further  directed  that  its  management 
should  be  transferred  to  the  hands  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  A  permanent  site  for 
the  college  was  found  near  the  convent  of 
the  Dominican  nuns  of  the  Annunziata. 
The  students  attended  lectures  at  the 
CoUegio  Romano  [Roman  College]. 

The  college  remained  under  Jesuit  man- 
agement till  1773,  when  the  order  was  sup- 
pressed ;  from  that  time  to  the  date  of  the 
French  invasion  —  when  it  shared  in  the 
general  ruin  which  fell  on  all  the  Roman 
colleges  —  it  was  governed  by  an  Irish 
rector  assisted  by  three  or  four  secular 
priests  of  that  nation.  In  1826  it  was 
restored  by  Leo  XII, ,  who  placed  it  in  a 
suitable  building  near  the  church  of  S. 
Lucia  de'  Ginnasi,  with  Mgr.  Blake  for  its 
first  rector.  Soon  afterwards  it  was 
arranged  that  the  Cardinal  Prefect  of  Propa- 
ganda pro  tern,  should  always  be  the  pro- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  IRISH  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


57 


tector  of  the  college.  Card,  Cappellari, 
afterwards  Gregory  XVI.,  who  thus 
became  their  protector,  conceived  a  singu- 
lar affection  for  this  Irish  community,  and 
loaded  it  with  favors.  In  1836  he  paid  a 
formal  visit  to  the  college,  while  Paul 
Cullen,  afterwards  Cardinal  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  was  rectcr  ;  and  in  the  same  year, 
he  made   over  to   it   the   monastery  and 


church  of  S.  Agata  alia  Suburra.  As 
another  proof  of  his  regard,  he  granted 
to  the  students  the  privilege  of  carrying  in 
the  annual  procession  of  Corpus  Christi 
the  staves  of  the  baldacchino  under  which 
the  Pope  carries  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
from  the  end  of  the  colonnade  in  the 
piazza  of  St.  Peter's  to  the  great  gate  of 
the  Accoramboni  palace. 


J 
1 


^^ 


Qjtee\jvO 


'1^^^ 


++++  +  +  4-+++++  +  ++++++++  +  +  ++++  +++++++++-*-4-* 


■<in(n|n|n|n|e+++-iininih+4-4-  +  +++  +  ■*-4-  +  -iii-  +  4-  +  +  +  ++-*- •*•*■■♦••♦•++ 


r 


^-^^ 


Jfistoiiy  0^  tt|E  Inquisition. 


'N  no  age  of  Christianity  has  the 
Church  had  any  doubt  that  in 
her  hands,  and   only   in   hers, 
was    the  deposit    of   the   true 
^^^  faith   and    religion   placed   by 

Jesus  Christ,  and.  that,  as  it  is 
her  duty  to  teach  this  to  all  nations,  so  she 
is  bound  by  all  practicable  and  lawful 
means  to  restrain  the  malice  or  madness 
of  those  who  would  corrupt  the  message  or 
resist  the  teacher.  Some  have  maintained 
that  no  means  of  coercion  are  lawful  for 
her  to  use  but  those  which  are  used  in 
the  internal  forum  [Forum  Internum] 
and  derive  their  sanction  from  anticipated 
suffering  in  the  next  world.  The  power 
of  the  Church,  according  to  Fleury,^  is 
"purely  spiritual,"  and  he  held  with  Mar- 
silius  that  the  Pope  could  employ  no  coac- 
tive  punishment  of  any  kind  unless  the 
emperor  —  i,  e.  the  civil  power  —  gave  him 
leave.  From  such  a  view  it  logically 
follows  that  St.  Paul  ought  to  have  asked 
the  permission  of  Sergius  Paulus  before 
striking  Elymas  the    sorcerer  with  blind- 

1  Fleury,  Dernier  Discours,  ch.  14. 


ness  !  The  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
canonists  take  the  opposite  view  —  namely, 
that  the  Church  can  and  ought  to  visit 
with  fitting  punishment  the  heretic  and 
the  revolter ;  and  since  the  publication 
of  the  numerous  encyclical  letters  and 
allocutions  of  the  late  Pope  treating  of  the 
relations  between  Church  and  State,  and 
the  inherent  rights  of  the  former,  the  view 
of  Fleury  can  no  longer  be  held  by  any 
Catholic. 

For  many  ages  after  the  conversion  of 
Constantine  it  was  easier  for  the  Church 
to  repress  heresy  by  invoking  the  secular 
arms  than  by  organizing  tribunals  of  her 
own  for  the  purpose.  Reference  to  eccle- 
siastical history  and  the  codes  of  Justinian 
and  Theodosius  shows  that  the  emperors 
generally  held  as  decided  views  on  the 
pestilent  nature  of  heresy,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  extirpating  it  in  the  germ  before  it 
reached  its  hideous  maturity,  as  the  Popes 
themselves.  They  were  willing  to  repress 
it ;  they  took  from  the  Church  the  defini- 
tion of  what  it  was  ;  and  they  had  old- 
estabUshed  tribunals   armed  with  all  the 


68 


HISTORY  OF   THE  INQUISITION. 


59 


terrors  of  the  law.  The  bishops,  as  a  rule, 
had  but  to  notify  the  appearance  of  heretics 
to  the  lay  power,  and  the  latter  hastened 
to  make  inquiry,  and,  if  necessary,  to 
repress  and  punish.  But  in  the  thirteenth 
century  a  new  race  of  temporal  rulers 
arose  to  power.  The  emperor  Frederic 
II.  perhaps  had  no  Christian  faith  at  all ; 
John  of  England  meditated,  sooner  than 
yield  to  the  Pope,  openly  to  apostatise  to 
Islam  ;  and  Philip  Augustus  was  refractory 
towards  the  Church  in  various  ways. 
The  Church  was  as  clear  as  ever  upon  the 
necessity  of  repressing  heretics,  but  the 
weapon  —  secular  sovereignty —  which  she 
had  hitherto  employed  for  the  purpose, 
seemed  to  be  breaking  in  her  hands.  The 
time  was  come  when  she  was  to  forge  a 
weapon  of  her  own  ;  to  establish  a  tribunal 
the  incorruptness  and  fidelity  of  which 
she  could  trust ;  which,  in  the  task  of 
detecting  and  punishing  those  who  misled 
their  brethren,  should  employ  all  the 
minor  forms  of  penal  repression,  while 
still  remitting  to  the  secular  arm  the  case 
of  obstinate  and  incorrigible  offenders. 
Thus  arose  the  Inquisition.  St.  Dominic 
is  said  by  some  to  have  first  proposed  the 
erection  of  such  a  tribunal  to  Innocent 
III.,  and  to  have  been  appointed  by  him 
the  first  inquisitor.^  Other  writers  trace 
the  origin  of  the  tribunal  to  a  synod  held 
at  Toulouse  by  Gregory  IX.  in  1229,  after 
the  Albigensian  crusade,  which  ordered 
that  in  every  parish  a  priest  and  several 
respectable  laymen  should  be  appointed  to 
search  out  heretics  and  bring  them  before 

1     Ferraris,  "  Inquisitionis  S.  Officium." 


the  bishops.^  The  task  of  dealing  with 
the  culprits  was  diflficult  and  invidious,  and 
the  bishops  ere  long  made  over  their  respon- 
sibility in  the  matter  to  the  Dominican 
order.  Gregory  IX.  appointed  none  but 
Dominican  inquisitors  ;  Innocent  IV.  nom- 
inated Franciscans  also,  and  Clement  VII. 
sent  as  inquisitor  into  Portugal  a  friar  of 
the  order  of  Minims.  But  the  majority  of 
the  inquisitors  employed  have  always  been 
Dominicans,  and  the  commissary  of  the 
Holy  Office  at  Rome  belongs  ex  officio  t(? 
this  order. 

The  Congregation  of  Cardinals  of  the 
Holy  Inquisition  was  first  erected  by 
Paul  III.  (1542),  and  remodelled  by  Six- 
tus  V.  about  forty  years  later. 

"  It  is  composed  of  twelve  cardinals ; 
of  a  commissary  ....  who  discharges  the 
functions  of  a  judge  ordinary;  of  a  coun- 
sellor or  assessor,  who  is  one  of  the  presi- 
dents of  the  Curia ;  of  consultors,  selected 
by  the  Pope  himself  from  among  the 
most  learned  theologians  and  canonists; 
qualificators,  who  gave  their  opinions  on 
questions  submitted  to  them  ;  an  advocate 
charged  with  the  defence  of  persons 
accused ;  and  other  subordinate  officials. 
The  principal  sittings  of  the  congregation 
are  held  under  the  immediate  presidency 
of  the  Pope. "2  This  supreme  court  of 
inquisition  proceeds  against  any  who  are 
delated  to  it,  and  in  former  times  used  to 
hear  appeals  from  the  sentences  of  similar 
courts  elsewhere,  and  to  depute  inquisitors 
to  proceed  to  any  place  where  they  might 

1  Mohler,  Kirchengeschichte,  ii.  651. 

2  De  Moy,  in  Wetzer  and  Welte. 


6o 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


appear  to  be  needed.  The  duties  and 
powers  of  inquisitors  are  minutely  laid 
down  in  the  canon  law,  it  being  always 
assumed  that  the  civil  power  will  favor, 
or  can  be  to  compelled  to  favor,  their 
proceedings.  Thus  it  is  laid  down,  that 
they  "  have  power  to  constrain  all  mag- 
istrates, even  secular  magistrates,  to. 
cause  the  statute  against  heretics  to  be 
observed,"  and  to  require  them  to  swear  to 
do  so ;  also  that  they  can  "  compel  all 
magistrates  and  judges  to  execute  their 
sentences,  and  these  must  obey  on  pain  of 
excommunication "  ;  also  that  inquisitors 
in  causes  of  heresy  "  can  use  the  secular 
arm,"  and  that  "all  temporal  rulers  are 
bound  to  obey  inquisitors  in  causes  of 
faith.  "1  No  such  state  of  things  as  that 
here  assumed  now  exists  in  any  part  of 
Europe  ;  nowhere  does  the  State  assist 
the  Church  in  putting  down  heresy  ;  it  is 
therefore  superfluous  to  describe  regula- 
tions controlling  jurisdiction  which  has 
lost  the  medium  in  which  it  could  work 
and  live. 

The  canon  law  also  assumes  that  all 
bishops,  being  themselves  inquisitors  ex  vi 
termini  into  the  purity  of  the  faith  in  their 
respective  dioceses,  will  co-operate  with  the 
official  inquisitors.  Each  may  inquire 
separately,  but  the  sentence  ought  to  pro- 
ceed from  both  ;  if  they  disagree,  reference 
must  be  made  to  Rome.  The  proceedings 
taken  against  the  Lollard  followers  of 
Wyclif  by  Archbishops  Arundel  and  Chi- 
cheley  between  1382  and  1428,^  illustrate 

1  Ferraris, /<?<;.  cit.  §§  33-37.  ' 

S  Lewis'  Life  of  Wyclif,  p.  126. 


both  the  points  noticed  above  :  i.  That  the 
civil  power  in  pre-reformation  times  was 
wont  to  give  vigorous  aid  to  the  bishops 
in  extirpating  heresy  ;  2.  That  the  bishops 
themselves  could  and  did  exercise  strin- 
gent inquisitorial  powers  apart  from  the 
appointment  of  special  inquisitors. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Papal  inquisitors 
were  ever  commissioned,  eo  nomine,  in 
England.  In  France  the  Inquisition  was 
established  in  pursuance  of  the  decrees  of 
the  synod  of  Toulouse  (1229)  already 
referred  to.  Its  tribunals  were  converted 
into  State  courts  by  Philip  the  Fair,  who 
made  use  of  them  to  condemn  and  ruin 
the  Templars.  In  this  condition  they 
remained  till  the  Reformation.  In  1538 
the  Grand  Inquisitor,  Louis  de  Rochette, 
was  convicted  of  Calvinism  and  burnt ; 
soon  afterwards  the  powers  of  these  courts 
were  transferred  to  the  parliaments,  and 
finally  to  the  bishops  (1560).  In  Germany, 
Conrad  of  Marburg,  a  man  of  a  harsh  and 
inflexible  temper,  the  confessor  of  St. 
Elizabeth,  attempted  to  establish  an  inqui- 
sition in  the  thirteenth  century ;  he  was 
assassinated,  and  the  tribunal  never  gained 
a  footing  in  the  country.  [On  the  Spanish 
Inquisition,  see  the  next  article.] 

JKe    SparvisK    Ir\q\jisitior\ 
Explairved. 

It  was  founded  by  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella at  Seville  in  148 1,  the  first  judges 
of  the  tribunal  being  two  Dominicans. 
The  clergy  and  many  of  the  laity  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  INQUISITION. 


6l 


Csstilian  kingdom  had  for  some  time 
pressed  the  adoption  of  some  such  measure 
in  order  to  check  the  profanations  and 
frauds  which  the  sham  conversion  to 
Christianity  of  a  large  number  of  Jews 
and  Moors  had  occasioned.  Even  the 
Episcopal  thrones  of  Spain  are  said  to 
have  been  not  always  preserved  from 
the  intrusion  of  these  audacious  hypo- 
crites. Torquemada,  another  Dominican, 
appointed  in  1483,  was  Grand  Inquisitor 
for  fifteen  years.  Under  him  three  new 
tribunals  of  the  Holy  Office  were  erected, 
at  Cordova,  Jaen,  and  Villa  Real ;  after- 
wards a  fifth  was  added  at  Toledo.  These 
tribunals  were  always  popular  with  the 
lower  orders  and  the  clergy  in  Spain,  but 
terrible  in  the  eyes  of  the  nobles  and  the 
rich  middle  class,  who  believed  that  they 
were  often  used  by  the  government  as 
engines  of  political  repression  in  order  to 
diminish  their  influence.  Ranke  calls  the 
Spanish  Inquisition  "  a  royal  tribunal,  fur- 
nished with  spiritual  weapons."  In  1492 
an  edict  was  issued  for  the  banishment 
from  Spain  of  all  Jews  refusing  to  embrace 
Christianity,  chiefly  on  account  of  their 
alleged  incorrigible  obstinacy  in  persisting 
in  the  attempt  to  convert  Christians  to  their 
own  faith  and  instruct  them  in  their  rites.^ 
About  a  hundred  thousand  went  into  ban- 
ishment, and  an  equal  or  greater  number 
are  supposed  to  have  remained  in  Spain, 
where  their  merely  nominal  Christianity 
and  secret  addiction  to  their  ancestral 
doctrines  and  usages  gave  employment  to 
the  Inquisition  for  centuries. 

1  Prescott's  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  ii.  122. 


The  history  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
was  written  by  Llorente,  who  was  secretary 
to  the  tribunal  of  Madrid  from  1790  to 
1792.  Hence  he  has  been  supposed  to 
have  possessed  great  opportunities  for 
obtaining  exact  information  ;  and  his  state- 
ment, that  during  its  existence  of  330 
years  the  Spanish  Inquisition  condemned 
30,000  persons  to  death,  has  been  quoted 
with  credulous  horror  in  every  corner  of 
the  civilized  world.  Dr.  Hefele,  now 
bishop  of  Rottenburg,  has  examined  with 
great  care  and  ability^  the  real  worth  of 
the  above  statement,  and  the  question  of  the 
credit  due  to  Llorente.  First,  there  is  the 
general  fact  of  the  greater  relative  severity 
of  penal  justice  in  all  countries  alike,  till 
within  quite  recent  times.  The  Carolina, 
or  penal  code  in  force  under  Charles 
v.,  condemned  coiners  to  the  flames,  and 
burglars  to  the  gallows.  Burying  alive 
and  other  barbarous  punishments  were 
sanctioned  by  it,  none  of  which  were 
allowed  by  the  Inquisition.  In  England, 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  persons  refusing 
to  plead  could  be,  and  were,  pressed  to 
death.  The  last  witch  burned  in  Europe 
was  sentenced  in  the  canton  Glarus  by  a 
Protestant  tribunal  as  late  as  1785. 
Secondly,  Llorente  omits  to  draw  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  Spanish  kings  obliged 
the  Inquisition  to  try  and  sentence 
persons  charged  with  many  other  crimes 
besides  heresy  —  e.  g.  with  polygamy, 
seduction,  unnatural  crime,  smuggling, 
witchcraft,  sorcery,  imposture,  personation, 

1  In  his  Life  of  Cardinal  Ximenes,  translated  by  Cano^ 
Dalton,  i860. 


62 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


etc.  A  large  portion  of  criminals  of  this 
kind  would,  down  to  the  present  century, 
have  been  sentenced  to  death  on  convic- 
tion in  any  secular  tribunal  in  Europe. 
Thirdly,  Llorente  does  not  pretend  to  base 
the  above  statement  as  to  the  number 
executed  by  the  Inquisition  on  written 
documents,  but  on  calculations  of  his  own 
making,  in  some  of  which  he  can  be 
proved  to  be  inexpert  and  inexact. 
Fourthly,  Hefele  gives  a  list  of  palpable 
misstatements  and  exaggerations  which  he 
has  detected  in  Llorente's  volumes. 
Fifthly,  the  man's  career,  when  closely 
examined,  does  not  invite  confidence.  At 
the  end  of  the  last  century  he  was  a  liberal 
ecclesiastic,  imbued  with  French  ideas, 
and  on  intimate  terms  with  Freemasons. 
In  1806,  at  the  instigation  of  Godoy,  he 
wrote  a  book  against  the  fueros,  or  ancient 
privileges,  of  the  Basque  provinces.     He 


accepted  employment  from  the  usurping' 
government  of  Joseph  Bonaparte.  Ban- 
ished from  Spain  on  the  fall  of  Joseph,  he 
escaped  to  Paris,  and  published  his 
"History  of  the  Inquisition "  in  1814.  He 
next  translated  the  abominable  novel, 
"  Faublas,"  into  Spanish  ;  and,  being  exiled 
from  France  in  1822,  died  at  Madrid  the 
next  year. 

"  The  celebrated  Autos-da-Fd  ( i.  e.  Acts 
of  the  confession  of  the  faith),"  says 
Mohler,!  "  were  as  a  rule  bloodless.  But 
few  inquisitorial  processes  terminated 
with  the  death  of  the  accused."  The 
auto,  speaking  generally,  was  a  form  of 
reconciling  culprits  to  the  Church. 
Nevertheless,  the  severities  practised  by^ 
the  tribunals  were  such  that  Rome 
frequently  interfered.  The  Spanish  Inqui- 
sition'was  abolished  in  18 13. 

1  Kirckengeschichte,  ii.  655. 


«*•'.         •'•'•         •*•'•         •'•*•         •*•'• 


•••         ••• 


••>         ••« 


••-•         ••-• 


►"!. 
'»■» 


^           ^           :^           ^k:.           ;^kt           :^ 
^1^           "^           ^            W           ^           W 

CHAPTER     X. 

S  Histarv  sf  the  Oraterv  sf  St.  Bhilip 

••      •■■iisiia'i«iiaiiBiifliiaiiitii(tBiiBiiaiigitBiiaiiBiiaMBiiaiiaMiiiaiiBiia(tBiiiiiBiisitBiiBnBiiaiirfiiMtiiBiiBiiBMMMtMBiiiMijiininanaMiiinnBt 

Meri.  1 

^             jj^               -jjfc.              j^              ^             ^ 
^"             "W               ^^              "^              ^5?^             ^^ 

.HILIP  NERI,  a  native  of 
Florence,  remarkable  from  his 
childhood  upward  for  the  sin- 
gular beauty  and  purity  of  his 
character,  came  to  reside  at 
Rome,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
iw  1533'  For  some  years  he  was  tutor  to 
the  children  of  a  Florentine  nobleman 
living  in  Rome.  His  Hfe  was  one  of 
habitual  self-denial,  penance,  and  prayer. 
A  thirst  for  doing  good  consumed  him  ; 
and  by  degrees  he  gathered  round  him  a 
number  of  men,  young  and  old,  whom  he 
animated  by  his  discourses  to  a  greater 
zeal  for  God  and  hatred  of  evil,  and  to  a 
more  exact  regularity  of  life  than  they  had 
known  before.  This  he  did  while  still  a 
layman  ;  but  on  the  advice  of  his  con- 
fessor he  received  holy  orders,  and  was 
ordained  priest  in  155 1.  For  a  short  time 
after  his  ordination  he  received  in  his 
own  chamber  those  whom  he  had  won  to 
God,  and  instructed  them  on  spiritual 
things  ;  then,  during  seven  years,  in  a 
larger  room.  Out  of  these  colloquies  was 
gradually  perfected   the   plan   of   evening 


exercises,  which  is  to  this  day  practised 
by  the  congregation, —  plain  sermons 
being  preached,  hymns  sung,  and  popular 
devotions  used,  in  a  regular  order,  on 
every  week-day  evening  except  Saturday, 
The  number  of  persons  attending  the 
exercises  still  increasing,  he  obtained 
(1558),  from  the  administration  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Jerome,  leave  to  build  over 
one  of  the  aisles  of  that  Church  a  chapel, 
to  which  he  gave  the  modest  name  of  an 
"  oratory,"  whence  arose  the  name  of  the 
congregation.  About  this  time  many 
persons  afterwards  eminent  in  the  church 
and  the  world  joined  him,  among  whom 
were  Caesar  Baronius,  the  ecclesiastical 
historian,  and  Francis  Maria  Tarugi, 
afterwards  Cardinals,  Lucci,  Tassone,  etc. 
Six  years  later,  the  Florentines  living  in 
Rome  having  requested  him  to  undertake 
the  charge  of  the  Church  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  which  they  had  just  built,  the 
saint  (1564)  caused  Baronius  and  others 
of  his  followers  to  remove  thither  and  to 
receive  ordination.  From  this  date  the 
commencement    of     the    congregation   is 


6j. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


reckoned.  Their  numbers  increasing,  it 
seemed  desirable  to  the  Fathers  to  have  a 
house  of  their  own.  The  old  church  of 
the  Vallicella,  situated  in  the  heart  of 
Rome,  was  ceded  to  them  in  1575  ;  and 
St.  Philip  at  once  caused  the  present 
magnificent  church,  called  the  "  Chiesa 
Nuova,"  to  be  commenced  on  the  site. 
The  Fathers  removed  to  the  Vallicella  in 
1577  on  the  completion  of  the  church; 
St.  Philip  joined  them  in  1583,  Gregory 
XIII.  had  approved  and  confirmed  the 
erection  of  the  congregation  in  1575. 
The  constitutions  of  the  society  —  which 
St.  Philip  desired  should  be  composed  of 
simple  priests,  without  vows,  but  agreeing 
to  a  rule  of  life  — ■  were  approved  by  Paul 
V.  in  1612.  St.  Philip  died  in  1595,  was 
beatified  in  161 5,  and  canonized  in  1622. 
The  rule  of  the  congregation  from  the 
first  was  that  each  house  should  be 
independent,  the  only  exception  being 
made  in  favor  of  certain  Italian  oratories 
(Naples,  San  Severino,  and  afterwards 
Lanciano),  which  were  at  first  admin- 
istered by  the  mother  house  at  Rpme. 

The  Oratory  was  introduced  into  Eng- 
land in  1847  by  Dr.  (now  Cardinal)  New- 
man, who,  during  his  long  sojourn  in 
Rome  following  upon  his  conversion,  had 
studied  closely  the  work  of  the  holy 
founder  and  become  deeply  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  his  institute.  The  first  house 
was  at  Mary  Vale,  i.  e.  Old  Oscott,  and 
was  transferred,  after  a  temporary  sojourn 
at  St.  Wilfrid's,  Staffordshire,  to  Alcester 
Street,  Birmingham,  in  January,  1849. 
A  short  time  later  a  house  was  opened  at 


King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  by 
F.  Faber,  with  several  other  Fathers  who 
belonged  to  the  Birmingham  congrega- 
tion, and  were  still  subject  to  Father 
Newman.  In  October,  1850,  the  London 
house  was  released  from  obedience  to  Bir- 
mingham, and  erected  into  a  congregation 
with  a  superior  of  its  own.  It  was  finally 
transferred  to  Brompton,  where  it  is  now 
erecting  a  large  domed  church.  The  Ora- 
tory at  Birmingham  has  remained  under 
the  direction  — ever  since  his  elevation  to 
the  purple  —  of  its  illustrious  founder,  and 
has  become  a  great  centre  for  the  midland 
counties  of  Catholic  preaching  and  educa- 
tion. 

The  following  passage  embodies  a  por- 
tion of  the  cardinal's  conception  of  St. 
Philip's  work.  "He  was  raised  up," 
writes  Cardinal  Newman,  "  to  do  a  work 
almost  peculiar  in  the  Church."  Instead 
of  combating  like  Ignatius,  or  being  a 
hunter  of  souls  like  St.  Cajetan,  "  Philip 
preferred,  as  he  expressed  it,  tranquilly  to 
cast  in  his  net  to  gain  them  ;  he  preferred 
to  yield  to  the  stream  and  direct  the  cur- 
rent —  which  he  could  not  stop  —  of 
science,  literature,  art,  and  fashion,  and  to 
sweeten  and  sanctify  what  God  had  made 
very  good  and  man  had  spoilt.  And  so 
he  contemplated  as  the  idea  of  his  mis- 
sion, not  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  nor 
the  exposition  of  doctrine,  nor  the  catechel- 
ical  schools ;  whatever  was  exact  and 
systematic  pleased  him  not ;  he  put  from 
him  monastic  rule  and  authoritative  speech, 
as  David  refused  the  armor  of  his  king. 
No  ;  he  would  be  but  an  ordinary  individ- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ORATORY  OF  ST.  PHILIP  NERI. 


65 


ual  priest  as  others ;  and  his  weapons 
should  be  but  unaffected  humility  and 
unpretending  love.  All  he  did  was  to  be 
done  by  the  light,  and  fervor,  and  con- 
vincing eloquence  of  his  personal  charac- 
ter and  his  easy  conversation.  He  came 
to  the  Eternal  City  and  he  sat  himself 
down  there,  and  his  home  and  his  family 
gradually  grew  up  around  him  by  the 
spontaneous  accession  of  materials  from 
without.  He  did  not  so  much  seek  his 
own  as  draw  them  to  him.  He  sat  in  his 
small  room,  and  they  in  their  gay  worldly 
dresses,  the  rich  and  the  well-born  as  well 
as  the  simple  and  the  illiterate,  crowded  into 
it,  .  .  .  And  they  who  came  remained 
j^'azing  and  listening  till,  at  length, 
first  one  and  then  another  threw  off  their 
bravery,  and  took  his  poor  cassock  and 
girdle  instead  ;  or,  if  they  kept  it,  it  was 
to  put  hair-cloth  under  it,  or  to  take  on 
them  a  rule  of  life,  while  to  the  world  they 
looked  as  before." 

^istor^  of  tHe  ©euotloH  t©  t^e 
^Qersd  ^eiart  ©f  Jesas. 

The  special  and  formal  devotion  to  the 
Heart  of  Jesus,  which  is  now  so  popular  in 
the  Church,  owes  its  origin  to  a  French 
Visitation  nun,  the  Blessed  Margaret  Mary 
Alacoque,  who  lived  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  Her  biogra- 
phers relate  that  our  Lord  Himself 
appeared  to  her  and  declared  that  this 
worship  was  most  acceptable  to  Him ;  and 
her  director,  the  famous  Jesuit,  Father  de 
la  Colombi^re,  preached  the   devotion   at 


the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  zealously 
propagated  it  elsewhere.  The  most  popu- 
lar book  in  defence  of  the  new  devotion 
was  that  of  Father  Gallifet,  S,  J.,  "De 
Cultu  SS.  Cordis  Jesu  in  variis  Christiani 
orbis  partibus  jam  propagato."  It  was 
published  with  a  dedication  to  Benedict 
Xni,  and  with  the  approval  of  Lambertini 
(afterwards  Benedict  XIV,) ;  the  French 
translation  appeared  in  1745,  at  Lyons. 
On  February  6,  1765,1  Clement  XIII, 
permitted  several  churches  to  celebrate 
the  feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  which 
was  extended  in  1856  to  the  whole  church. 
It  is  generally  kept  on  the  Friday  after 
the  Octave  of  Corpus  Christi.  In  Eng- 
land, Italy,  France,  Netherlands,  Germany, 
Spain,  and  Portugal,  indeed,  throughout 
the  Catholic  world,  the  devotion  and  the 
feast  found  a  ready  and  enthusiastic 
acceptance.  However,  the  worship  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  encountered  keen  opposi- 
tion, particularly  from  the  Jansenists. 
They  who  practised  it  were  nicknamed 
"  Cardiolatrae,"  or  "  Cordicolae,"  and 
were  charged  with  Nestorianism,  as  if 
they  worshipped  a  divided  Christ,  and 
gave  to  the  created  humanity  of  Christ 
worship  which  belonged  to  God  alone. 
The  Jansenist  objections  were  censured 
as  injurious  to  the  Apostolic  See,  which 
had  approved  the  devotion,  and  bestowed 
numerous  indulgences  in  its  favor  by  Pius 
VI.  in  his  condemnation  of  the  Jansenist 
synod  of  Pistoia.  This  condemnation  was 
issued  in  the  bull  "Auctorem  fidei,"  bear- 

1  The  Congregation  of  Rites  had  refused   to  sanction  "^t 
feast  in  1697  and  1729. 


66 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


ing  date  August  28,  1694.  A  further 
approval  of  the  devotion  was  implied  in 
the  beatification  of  Margaret  Mary  Ala- 
coque  in  1864. 

The  bull  "  Auctorem  fidei "  contains  the 
following  explanation  of  the  principle  on 
which  the  devotion  rests,  an  explanation 
which  is  at  once  authoritative  and  clear. 
The  faithful  worship  with  supreme  adora- 
tion the  physical  Heart  of  Christ,  con- 
sidered "not  as  mere  flesh,  but  as  united 
to  the  Divinity."  They  adore  it  as  "  the 
Heart  of  the  Person  of  the  Word  to 
which  it  is  inseparably  united."  It  is  of 
course  absurd  to  speak  of  this  principle 
as  novel ;  it  is  as  old  as  the  belief  in  the 
hypostatic  union,  and  it  was  solemnly 
defined  in  431  at  the  Council  of  Ephesus. 
All  the  members  of  Christ,  united  to  the 
rest  of  His  sacred  humanity  and  to  the 
eternal  Word,  are  the  object  of  divine 
worship.  If  it  be  asked  further,  why  the 
heart  is  selected  as  the  object  of  special 
adoration,  the  answer  is,  that  the  real  and 
physical  heart  is  a  natural  symbol  of 
Christ's  exceeding  charity,  and  of  his 
interior  life.  Just  as  the  Church  in  the 
middle  ages  turned  with  singular  devotion 
to  the  Five  Wounds  as  the  symbol  of 
Christ's  Passion,  so  in  these  later  days  she 
bids  us  have  recourse  to  His  Sacred  Heart, 
mindful  of  the  love  wherewith  He  loved 
us  "even  to  the  end."  Nothing  could  be 
made  of  the  fact,  if  it  were  a  fact,  that 
the  devotion  actually  began  with  Blessed 
Margaret  Mary,  for  though  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  cannot  change,  she  may  and 
does  from   time  to   time    introduce  new 


forms  of  devotion.  But  the  special 
devotion  to  the  Heatt  of  our  Saviour  is  as 
old  at  least  as  the  twelfth  century,  while 
early  in  the  sixteenth  the  Carthusian 
Lansberg  recommended  pious  Christians 
to  assist  their  devotion  by  using  a  figure 
of  the  Sacred  Heart.  ^ 

(An  account  of  the  theology  of  the 
devotion  will  be  found  in  Card.  Franzelin, 
"  De  Incarnatione,"  and  of  the  propagation 
of  the  devotion  in  the  admirable  Life  of 
Blessed  Margaret  Mary  by  F.  Tickell,  S.  J. 
Both  the  doctrines  and  the  history  are 
exhaustively  treated  by  Nilles,  '' De 
Rationibus  Festorum  Sacratissimi  Cordis 
Jesu  et  Purissimi  Cordis  MaricB^  1873.) 

^aered  l^eart  ©f  ipar^j. 

The  principles  on  which  the  devotion 
rests  are  the  same  {mutatis  mutandis)  as 
those  which  are  the  foundation  of  the 
Catholic    devotion   to  the   Sacred   Heart 

Just  as  Catholics  worship  the  Sacred 
Heart  because  it  is  united  to  the  Person  of 
the  Word,  so  they  venerate  (with  hyper- 
dulia)  the  heart  of  Mary  because  united  to 
the  person  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  In  each 
case  the  physical  heart  is  taken  as  a  natural 
symbol  of  charity  and  of  the  inner  life, 
though  of  course  the  charity  and  virtues  of 
Mary  are  infinitely  inferior  to  those  of  her 
Divine  Son. 


1  See  F.  Ryder's  quotations  {Catholic  Controversy,  pp.  148, 
149)  from  the  Vitis  Mystica,  a  series  of  meditations  printed 
among  the  works  of  St.  Bernard,  c.  iii.  8,  and  from  Laa»' 
pergius,  Divini  Amoris  Pharetra,  ed.  1572,  p.  78. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART  OF  MARY. 


67 


The  devotion  to  the  Immaculate  Heart 
was  first  propagated  by  John  Eudes, 
founder  of  a  congregation  of  priests  called 
after  him  Eudistes.  Eudes  died  in  1680. 
The  Congregation  of  Rites  in  1669,  and 
again  in  1726,  declined  to  sanction  the 
devotion.  However,  a  local  celebration 
of  the  feast  was  permitted  (but  without 
proper  Mass  and  office)  by  Pius  VI.  in 
1799  ;  and  in  1855  Pius  IX.  extended  the 
feast  —  which  is  kept  with  a  special  Mass 
and  office,  either  on  the  Sunday  after 
the  Octave  of  the  Assumption  or  on  the 
third  Sunday  after  Pentecost  —  to  the 
whole  Church.  The  Arch-confraternity 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  established  sorne 
twenty  years  earlier  at  the  church  of 
Notre  Dame  des  Victoires,  in  Paris,  did 
much  to  spread  the  devotion  and  make  it 
popular. 

{Nilles,  "  De  Rationibiis  Festorum  SS. 
Cordis Jesu  et  Purissimi  Cordis  Marice") 

TKe  Orig'iA  of  Bells. 

Nothing  certain  is  known  as  to  the  date 
of  their  introduction,  which  has  been 
attributed  sometimes  to  St.  Paulinus  of 
Nola,  sometimes  to  Pope  Sabinian.  During 
the  heathen  persecution  it  was  of  course 
impossible  to  call  the  faithful  by  any  signal 
which  would  have  attracted  public  notice. 
After  Constantine's  time,  monastic  com- 
munities used  to  signify  the  hour  of  prayer 
by  blowing  a  trumpet,  or  by  rapping  with 
a  hammer  at  the  cells  of  the  monks. 
Walafrid  Strabo,  in  his  celebrated  book  on 


the  divine  offices,  written  about  t?U;  middle 
of  the  ninth  century,  speaks  of  f;hc  use  of 
bells  as  not  very  ancient  in  his  time,  and 
as  having  been  introduced  from  Italy 
However,  we  learn  from  the  history  of  St. 
Lupus  of  Sens  that  church-bells  were 
known  in  France  more  than  two  centuries 
before  Strabo's  time..  For  long  the 
Eastern  Church  employed  instead  of  bells, 
clappers,  such  as  we  still  use  on  Good 
Friday,  and  bells  were  not  known  among 
the  Orientals  till  the  ninth  century.  Even 
then  their  use  cannot  have  become 
universal  among  them,  for  Fleury  mentions 
the  ringing  of  church-bells  as  one  of  the 
customs  which  the  Maronites  adopted 
from  the  Latins  on  their  reunion  with  the 
Catholic  Church  in  11 83.  The  classical 
words  for  bell  are,  kodon  and  tintinnabu- 
lum.  From  the  seventh  ceptury  onwards, 
we  find  the  names  campana  (from  the 
Campanian  metal  of  which  they  were  often 
made)^,  nola  (from  the  town  where  their 
use  is  said  to  have  been  introduced),  and 
clocccB  (French  cloche).  Originally,  church- 
bells  were  comparatively  small.  Large 
ones  of  cast  metal  first  appear  in  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  ;  those  of 
the  greatest  size,  in  the  fifteenth.  In  the 
tenth  century  the  custom  began  of  giving 
bells  names. 

Before  the  Church  sets  aside  bells  for 
sacred,  she  blesses  them  with  solemn 
ceremonies.  The  form  prescribed  in  the 
Pontifical  is  headed  "  the  blessing  of  a 
bell,"  though  it  is  popularly  called  "  the 
baptism  of  a  bell,"  a  title  by  which  the 
office  is  mentioned  as  early  as  the  eleventh 


68 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


century.  The  bishop  washes  the  bell  with 
blessed  water,  signs  it  with  the  oil  of  the 
sick  outside,  and  with  chrism  inside,  and 
lastly,  places  under  it  the  thurible  with 
burning  incense.  He  prays  repeatedly 
that  the  sound  of  the  bell  may  avail  to 
summon  the  faithful,  to  excite  their  devo- 
tion, to  drive  away  storms,  and  to  terrify 
evil  spirits.  This  power  of  course  is  due 
to  the  blessings  and  prayers  of  the  Church, 
not  to  any  efficacy  superstitiously  attribu- 
ted to  the  bell  itself.  Thus  consecrated, 
bells  become  spiritual  things,  and  cannot 
be  rung  without  the  consent  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities. 


Hitherto,  we  have  been  treating  of  the 
large  church-bell.  Small  bells  are  also 
used  during  Mass,  and  are  rung  by  the 
server  at  the  Sanctus  and  Elevation. 
The  object  of  this  rite  is  to  excite  the 
attention  and  devotion  of  the  faithful 
The  practice  of  ringing  the  bell  at  the 
Elevation  was  introduced  after  the  custom 
of  elevating  the  Host  had  become  common 
in  the  Church.  The  Elevation  bell  is 
mentioned  by  William  of  Paris.  This 
bell  is  not  rung  when  Mass  is  said  before 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed,  nor 
again  in  private  chapel  of  the  Apostolic 
palace  if  the  Pope  says  or  hears  Mass. 


I- 


Copyright,  1889. 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 


^u  ftanti^  f abier. 


N  exhaustive  essay,  "  Christen- 
verfolgungen,"  etc.,  on  this 
subject  has  lately  appeared  in 
the  "  Real  -  Encyklopadie  of 
Christian  Antiquities,"  edited 
by  Dr.  Kraus.  The  limits  of 
the  present  work  permit  us  only  to  give 
a  brief  general  outline  of  the  principal 
facts. 

During  the  first  century  Christianity 
was  to  a  great  extent  confounded  with 
Judaism  in  the  eyes  of  the  Roman  officials, 
and  since  the  latter  was  a  religio  licita,  the 
former  shared  the  same  privilege.  The 
persecutions  under  Nero  and  Domitian 
were  local  and  occasional ;  no  systematic 
design  of  extirpating  Christianity  dictated 
them.  Gradually,  partly  because  the  Jews 
took  pains  to  sever  their  cause  from  that 
of  the  Christians,  partly  because,  in  pro- 
portion as  Christianity  was  better  under- 
stood, the  universality  of  its  claim  on  human 
thought  and  conduct,  and  its  essential 
incompatibility  with  pagan  ideas,  came 
out  into  stronger  relief,  the  antagonism 
grew  sharper,  and  the  purpose  of  repres- 


sion more  settled.  Charges,  various  in 
their  nature,  were  brought  against  the 
Christians ;  they  were  treasonable  men 
{majestatis  ret)  who  denied  to  the  empe- 
rors a  portion  of  their  attributes  and 
dignity ;  they  were  atheists,  who,  so  far 
from  honoring  the  gods  of  the  empire, 
declared  that  they  were  devils  ;  they  were 
dealers  in  magic ;  lastly,  they  practised  a 
foreign  and  unlawful  religion  (^religio  peri- 
grina  illicita).  Possessed  by  such  concep- 
tions, a  high  Roman  official,  especially  if 
he  were  a  man  of  arbitrary  or  brutal 
character,  or  if  Christians  were  indiscreet, 
could  not  lack  pretext  in  abundance  for 
persecution,  even  before  any  general  edict 
of  proscription  had  appeared.  The  rescript 
of  Trajan  (98-117)  directed  the  policy  of 
the  government  for  a  hundred  years. 
"  Search,"  he  said,  "  is  not  to  be  made  for 
Christians ;  if  they  are  arrested  and 
accused  before  the  tribunals,  then  if  any 
one  of  them  denies  that  he  is  a  Christian, 
and  proves  it  by  offering  sacrifice  to  our 
gods,  he  is  to  be  pardoned."  The  implica- 
tion was,  of  course,  that  those  who  avowed 


70 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


their  Christianity  and  refused  to  sacrifice 
were  to  be  executed,  as  the  adherents  of 
an  unlawful  religion.  All  through  the 
second  century,  the  popular  sentiment, 
whenever  a  Christian  was  put  on  his  trial, 
raged  against  the  accused ;  the  mob,  still 
for  the  most  part  pagan,  believed  every 
wild  and  monstrous  calumny  that  was 
afloat  against  the  sect.  "If  the  Tiber 
overflows,"  says  Tertullian,  "if  the  Nile 
does  not  overflow,  if  there  is  a  drought, 
an  earthquake,  a  scarcity,  or  a  pestilence, 
straightway  the  people  cry,  'The  Chris- 
tians to  the  lions.*  "  This  popular  aversion 
is  noticed  in  the  reports  of  the  persecution 
in  Asia  Minor,  in  which  St.  Polycarp  suf- 
fered (probably  about  155,  under  Antoni- 
nus Pius),  and  of  the  terrible  slaughter  of 
Christians  at  Lyons  and  Vienna  under 
Marcus  Aurelius.  In  202  Severus  issued 
a  formal  edict  forbidding  conversions  either 
to  the  Jewish  or  the  Christian  religion 
under  heavy  penalties.  The  persecution 
which  ensued  lasted  ten  or  eleven  years ; 
but  from  about  212  to  the  reign  of  Decius 
(249-251)  was  a  time  of  comparative  peace, 
and  Christians  multiplied  in  every  direc- 
tion. Even  upon  the  general  population 
an  impression  was  by  this  time  made ; 
and  the  attitude  of  the  mob,  in  the  perse- 
cutions of  Christians  which  happened 
after  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  was 
at  first  apathetic,  then  respectful,  finally, 
even  compassionate.  Under  Decius,  who 
was  an  enthusiast  for  the  ancient  glories 
of  the  republic  and  empire,  the  systematic 
general  persecutions  began,  which  aimed 
at   stamping   out   Christianity   altogether. 


Fabian,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  St. 
Agatha  in  Sicily,  were  among  the  victims 
of  the  Decian  storm.  Fortunately  it  was 
short ;  but  when  it  had  passed  over,  the 
number  of  the  lapsi,  or  those  who  in 
various  degrees  had  given  way  under  the 
pressure,  was  found  to  be  very  great. 
Under  Callus  there  was  peace,  but  Vale- 
rian (257)  renewed  the  persecution.  The 
martyrdoms  of  St.  Lawrence,  St.  Cyprian, 
and  St.  Fructuosus  of  Tarragona,  date 
from  about  this  time.  Again.,  from  260 
(in  which  year  an  edict  of  Gallienus 
declared  Christianity  to  be  a  legal  reli- 
gion) to  300,  the  government  left  the 
Christians  undisturbed  except  ire  a  few 
months  (270)  under  Aurelian.  In  303,  the 
terrible  persecution  of  Diocletian  was 
ushered  in  by  the  destruction  of  the  great 
church  at  Nicomedia.  On  the  next  day 
appeared  an  edict,  ordering  that  all  build- 
ings used  for  religious  worship  by  the  Chris- 
tians should  be  destroyed,  and  that  their 
sacred  books  should  be  given  up  to  the 
authorities  and  burnt.  Christians  them- 
selves were  declared  to  be  outlawed  and 
civilly  dead  ;  they  were  to  have  no  remedy 
in  the  courts  against  those  who  did  them 
wrong ;  and  they  were  to  be  subject,  in 
every  rank,  to  torture.  A  second  edict 
ordered  that  all  bishops  and  priests  should 
be  imprisoned  ;  a  third,  that  such  prisoners 
should  be  compelled  by  every  possible 
means  to  offer  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  The 
extreme  violence  of  this  persecution  did 
not  last  beyond  two  years,  but  in  that 
time  the  blood  of  martyrs  flowed  abun- 
dantly in  Palestine,  Italy,  Gaul,  Spain,  and 


PERSECUTIONS  OF  THE   CHRISTIANS. 


71 


Britain.  A  detailed  account  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  Christians  in  Palestine  may 
be  read  in  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of 
Eusebius.  For  some  years  after  the 
abdication  of  Diocletian  (305)  civil  war 
desolsied  the  empire ;  but,  after  the  fall  of 
Maxentius,  Constantine,  and  Licinius, 
about  the  beginning  of  313,  was  published 
the  famous  edict  of  Milan,  by  which 
complete  toleration  was  given  to  the 
Christians,  and  Christianity  was  placed 
on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality  with  what 
had  been  till  now  the  State  religion.  This 
edict  was  published  some  months  later  at 
Nicomedia,  so  that  both  in  East  and  West 
the  period  of  martyrdom  was  closed. 

The  persecution  of  Julian  (361--363)  — 
although  martyrdoms  were  not  wanting, 
e.  g.  those  of  SS.  John  and  Paul  —  con- 
sisted rather  in  a  studied  exclusion  of 
Christians  from   the  favor  of  the   Court 


and  government,  together  with  a  prohibi. 
tion  of  teaching  rhetoric,  literature,  and 
philosophy  *;ba»  'n  ">ctual  Taeasures  o' 
coercion. 

The  cruel  persecution  of  the  Catholics 
in  Africa  by  their  Vandal  conquerors, 
under  Geiseric  {Genseric),  Hunneric,  and 
his  successors  (439-523),  was  motived 
partly  by  the  hatred  and  contempt  which 
these  Teutons  bore  to  all  of  Roman  blood 
or  nurture,  partly  by  the  inevitable  antag* 
onism  between  the  Arian  heresy  which 
they  professed  and  the  Catholic  creed, 
and  partly  by  the  policy  of  humbling  and 
weakening  those  whom  they  could  not 
hope  to  attach  sincerely  to  their  govern- 
ment. 

The  persecutions  of  the  Spanish  Catho- 
lics by  the  Arian  Visigothic  kings,  Euric 
and  Leovigild,  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centu* 
ries,  were  of  no  great  intensity. 


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8«-- 


V 


^ 


CHAPTER     XII. 


■=^8!'==::::^ 


-4^    STATIONS.    4- 


'--SSss*^*^ 


c^g^i^iS"^' 


NAME  given  to  the  fast  kept 
on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays, 
In  the  Roman  Church  the  fast 
was  one  of  devotion,  not  of 
precept,  and  it  ended  at  none 
—  i.  e.  three  o'clock  (TertuU. 
"De  Jejun."  2).  Tertullian  ("De  Orat." 
19)  explains  the  word  from  the  military 
usage ;  the  Stations  were  days  on  which 
the  Christian  soldiers  stood  on  guard 
and  "watched  in  prayer."  It  was  charac- 
teristic of  the  Montanists  to  prolong  the 
fast  of  the  Stations  till  the  evening  ("  De 
Jejun."  10).  Prudentius  ("  Peristeph."  vi. 
52  seq)  relates  of  the  martyr  Fructuosus 
that  he  refused  the  cup  offered  him 
because  it  was  a  Station,  and  the  ninth 
hour  had  not  come.  In  the  East,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  fast  of  the  Stations  was 
obligatory  ("  Apost.  Const."  v.  20;  "Canon 
Apost."  69'^;  Epiphan.  "Haer."  75  n.  3). 
In    the   West   the  fast   on   Wednesdays, 

1  We  follow  Thomassin  in  his  interpretation  of  the  fourth 
canon.  The  passage  in  the  Constitutions  {pasan  tetrada 
kai  pasan  paraskeuen  frostassomen  hutnin  nesteuein)  is,  as 
it  seems  to  us,  decisive  against  the  view  of  Hefele  {Concil.  vol. 
L  p.  821)  and  others.     Tetras  often  means  "  the  fourth  day." 


never  obligatory,  died  out  altogether,  while 
that  on  Friday  became  obligatory  about 
the  end  of  the  ninth  century.  The  Greeks, 
on  the  other  hand,  still  maintain  the  fast 
of  Wednesdays  and  Fridays.  (Thomassin» 
"Trait6  des  Jeunes,"  P.  ii.  ch.  15.) 

(2)  The  word,  in  another  sense,  still 
holds  its  place  in  the  Roman  Missal. 
Many  of  our  readers  must  have  noticed 
the  words  ^' Staiio  ad  S.  Petrum,  ad  S. 
Mariam  majorem,^^  etc.,  before  the  Introit 
of  certain  Masses.  Mabillon  ("  Museum 
Italicum,"  tom.  ii.  p.  xxxi.)  explains  the 
term  as  meaning  either  a  fast  or  "  a  con- 
course of  the  people  to  an  appointed 
place  —  i.  e.  a  church  in  which  the  proces- 
sion of  the  clergy  halts  on  stated  days  to 
say  stated  prayers.  It  is  an  ancient  cus- 
tom in  Rome  that  the  Roman  clergy 
should  on  particular  days  meet  for  prayer 
in  some  one  church  where  Mass  and  other 
divine  services  are  performed.  The  pro- 
cession of  the  Roman  clergy  to  these 
Stations  is  either  solemn  or  private;  the 
latter  when  individuals  betake  themselves 
privately    to     the    appointed    place,    the 


78 


STATIONS. 


n 


former  when  the  Pope  and  the  rest 
solemnly  proceed  thither,  singing  litanies 
and  other  prayers."  The  gathering  of 
clergy  and  people  before  this  procession, 
Mabillon  continues,  was  called  collecta, 
and  the  name  was  then  given  to  the 
prayer  said  over  the  people  before  the  pro- 
cession started  from  one  church  to  the 
other  in  order  to  make  the  Station.  "It 
was  St.  Gregory  who  regulated  the  Sta- 
tions at  Rome — i.  e.  the  churches  where 
the  office  was  to  be  performed  daily  in 
Lent,  on  the  Ember  days,  and  on  the 
solemn  feasts ;  for  the  feasts  of  the 
saints  were  celebrated  in  the  churches 
which  contained  their  relics.  St.  Gregory 
then  marked  these  Stations  in  his  Sacra- 
mentary,  as  they  are  now  in  the  Roman 
Missal,  and  attached  them  chiefly  to  the 
patriarchal  and  titular  churches ;  but, 
although  the  Stations  were  fixed,  the 
Archdeacon  did  not  fail,  after  the  Pope's 
Communion,  to  announce  the  next  Station 
to  the  people"  (Fleury,  "H.  E."  livr. 
xxxvi.  §  17).  In  the  Easter  of  774,  Charle- 
magne assisted  at  the  Station  of  Easter 
Sunday  at  St.  Mary  Major,  of  Easter 
Monday  at  St.  Peter's,  Tuesday  at  St. 
Paul's  —  the  same  Stations  still  noted  in 
our  Missal  (Eginhard,  apud  Fleury,  xliv, 
§5). 

Statior\s  of  the  Gross. 

A  SERIES  of  images  or  pictures  represent- 
ing the  different  events  in  the  Passion  of 
Christ,  each  Station  corresponding  to  a 
particular  event.     Usually,  they  are  ranged 


round  the  church,  the  first  Station  being 
placed  on  one  side  of  the  high  altar,  the 
last  on  the  other.  The  Stations  are  among 
the  most  popular  of  Catholic  devotions,  and 
are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  church. 
Sometimes  they  are  erected  in  the  open 
air,  especially  on  roads  which  lead  to  some 
church  or  shrine  standing  on  a  hill. 

The  devotion  began  in  the  Franciscan 
order.  The  Franciscans  are  the  guardians 
of  the  holy  places  in  Jerusalem,  and  these 
Stations  are  intended  as  a  help  to  making 
in  spirit  a  pilgrimage  to  the  scene  of 
Christ's  sufferings  and  death.  Innocent 
XII.,  in  1694,  authentically  interpreting  a 
brief  of  his  predecessor,  Innocent  XL,  in 
1686,  declared  that  the  indulgences 
granted  for  devoutly  visiting  certain  holy 
places  in  Palestine  could  be  gained  by  all 
Franciscans  and  by  all  affiliated  to  the 
order,  if  they  made  the  way  of  the  cross 
devoutly  —  i.  e.  passed  or  turned  from 
Station  to  Station  meditating  devoutly  on 
the  various  stages  of  the  history. 

Benedict  XIII.,  in  1726,  extended  these 
indulgences  to  all  the  faithful ;  Clement 
XII.,  in  173 1,  permitted  persons  to  gain 
the  indulgences  at  Stations  erected  in 
churches  which  were  not  Franciscan,  pro- 
vided they  were  erected  by  a  Franciscan 
with  the  sanction  of  the  ordinary.  At 
present  the  connection  of  the  Stations 
with  the  Franciscan  order  is  almost  forgot- 
ten, at  least  in  England,  except  as  a  mat- 
ter of  history.  Our  bishops  can,  by 
Apostolic  faculties,  erect  the  Stations 
with  the  indulgences  attached  to  them, 
and      they       constantly      delegate      this 


b 


74 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


faculty  to  priests.  The  English  bishops 
received  faculties  to  this  effect,  provided 
there  were  no  religious  in  the  neighborhood 
to  whom  the  privilege  belonged,  in  1857. 
In  1862  these  faculties  were  renewed 
without  this  limitation.  The  faculties  are 
quinquennial.  (Cone.  Prov.  Westmonast. 
II.  Append.  I.  Concil.  IV.  Append.  II.) 
There  are  fourteen  Stations  —  viz.  (i) 
the  sentence  passed  on  our  Lord  by  Pilate  ; 
(2)  the  receiving  of  the  cross  ;  (3)  our 
Lord's  first  fall ;  (4)  His  meeting  with  His 
mother;  {5)  the  bearing  of  the  cross  by 
Simon  of  Cyrene  ;  (6)  the  wiping  of  Christ's 
face  by  Veronica  with  a  handkerchief ; 
(7)  His  second  fall :  (8)  His  words  to  the 
women  of  Jerusalem,  "  Weep  not  for  Me," 
etc. ;  (9)  His  third  fall ;  (10)  His  being 
stripped  of  His  garments  ;  (i  i)  His  cruci- 
fixion ;  (12)  His  death;  (13)  the  taking 
down  of  His  body  from  the  cross ;  (14) 
His  burial.  In  the  diocese  of  Vienna  the 
number  of  the  Stations  at  the  end  of  the 
last  century  was  reduced  to  eleven.  On 
the  other  hand  a  fifteenth  Station  has 
been  sometimes  added  —  viz.  the  finding 
of  the  cross  by  Helena.  These  changes 
ture  unauthorized. 


Stigmata. 


The  word  occurs  in  Gal.  vi.  15  :  *'  I  bear 
the  marks  of  Jesus  in  my  body."  Such 
brands  or  marks  {stigmata)  were  set  on 
slaves  who  had  run  away,  or  slaves 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  a  heathen 
God,  rarely  on  captives,  and  some- 
times    soldiers     branded     the    name     of 


their  general  on  some  part  of  their  body. 
Probably  St.  Paul's  metaphor  is  taken 
from  the  second  of  these  customs.  He 
regarded  the  marks  of  suffering  in  Christ's 
cause  as  consecrating  him  the  more  to 
his  Master's  service.  The  Latin  versions 
retain  the  word  "  stigmata,"  but  no  Catho- 
lic commentator  of  repute,  so  far  as  we 
know,  ever  dreamt  that  St.  Paul  received 
miraculous  marks  of  Christ's  passion. 
Neither  St.  Thomas  nor  Estius  allude  to ' 
such  an  interpretation,  and  Windischmann 
only  mentions  it  to  dismiss  it. 

Still,  the  idea  that  miraculous  wounds  on^ 
the  hands,  feet,  and  side,  like  these  borne 
by  our  Lord,  were  a  mark  of  divine  favor, 
certainly  existed  in  the  mediaeval  Church 
independently  of  St.  Francis,  for  in  1222, 
at  a  council  in  Oxford,  an  impostor  who 
claimed  to  have  stigmata  of  this  kind  con- 
fessed his  guilt  and  was  punished  accord- 
ingly (Fleury,  "  H.  E."  Ixxviii.  §  56). 
Only  two  years  later  —  i.  e.  1224  —  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi  (d.  1226)  was  on  Mount 
Alvernus  to  keep  his  annual  fast  of  forty 
days  in  honor  of  St.  Michael.  One  morn- 
ing, says  St.  Buonaventure,  about  the  I4tb 
of  September,  the  feast  of  the  Exaltation 
of  the  Cross,  Francis  saw  a  seraph  flying 
towards  them.  There  was  a  figure  of  a 
man  attached  to  a  cross  between  the 
wings.  After  the  vision  disappeared,  the 
hands  and  feet  of  the  saint  were  found  to 
be  marked  with  nails,  and  there  was  a 
wound  in  his  side.  The  wounds  were 
seen  by  some  of  the  friars  and  by  Alexan- 
der IV.  during  the  lifetime  of  the  saint, 
and   after   his   death   by   fifty   friars,   St 


STIGMATA. 


75 


Clare  and  a  multitude  of  seculars.  St. 
Buonaventure  assures  us  that  he  has  the 
testimony  of  Alexander  IV.  from  the 
Pope's  own  lips.  The  Church  keeps  a 
feast  of  the  Stigmata  of  St.  Francis,  insti- 
tuted by  Benedict  XII. 

The  Dominicans  claimed  a  similar  dis- 
tinction for  one  of  their  own  order,  St. 
Catharine  of  Sienna  (1347-1380).  They 
appealed  to  a  letter  from  the  saint  to  her 
confessor,  Raymond  of  Capua,  in  which 
she  states  that  our  Lord  had  impressed 
the  stigmata  upon  her,  but  had  at  her  own 
request  made  them  invisible  to  others. 
They  also  quoted  the  testimony  of  St. 
Antoninus  and  the  hymn  which  alludes  to 
the  stigmata,  inserted  in  the  Office  of  St. 
Catharine  with  the  approval  of  Pius  II. 
The  Franciscans,  who  maintained  that 
the  privilege  was  peculiar  to   their  own 


founder,  carried  the  matter  before  Sixtus 
IV.  in  1483.  The  Pope  (himself  a  Fran- 
ciscan) forbade,  under  severe  penalties,  any 
one  to  paint  images  of  St.  Catharine  with 
the  stigmata.  (See  Fleury,  "H.  E." 
Ixxix.  §  5,  cxv.  §  103.) 

Still  the  fact  of  her  stigmatization  is 
recorded  in  the  lireviary  office,  and  a 
special  feast  in  commemoration  of  it  was 
granted  to  the  Dominicans  by  Benedict 
XIII.  In  a  work  on  the  subject  Dr. 
Imbert-Gourbeyre  enumerates  145  per- 
sons, twenty  men,  the  rest  women,  who  are 
stated  to  have  received  the  stigmata.  Of 
these  eighty  lived  before  the  seventeenth 
century.  Some  are  canonized,  others  beati- 
fied, others  simply  persons  of  reputed  holi- 
ness. More  than  one  is  still  living.  The 
work  just  referred  to  ("Les  Stigmatis^es"^ 
was  published  by  Palm^in  1873. 


CHAPXBR    XIII, 


'^• 


STOl-E.      ^ 


NARROW  vestment  made  of 
the  same  stuff  as  the  chasuble, 
and  worn  round  the  neck. 
The  Pope  always  wears  the 
stole.  Bishops  and  priests 
wear  it  at  Mass  — the  priest 
crossed  over  his  breast,  the  bishop,  who 
has  already  the  pectoral  cross  on  his 
breast,  pendant  on  each  side.  They 
always  wear  it  whenever  they  exercise  their 
orders  by  administering  sacraments  or  by 
blessing  persons  or  things.  In  some 
places  it  is,  in  others  it  is  not,  worn  in 
preaching,  and  the  custom  of  the  place  is 
to  be  followed  (S.  C.  R.  12  Nov.  1837,  23 
Maii,  1846).  Deacons  wear  it  at  Mass,  or 
at  Benediction,  etc.,  when  they  have  to 
move  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  over  the  left 
shoulder,  and  joined  on  the  right  side. 
Stole  —  i.  e.  s^oli  in  classical  Greek  — 
in  the  LXX  and  New  Testament  means  a 
robe  of  any  kind,  sometimes  (e.  g.)  in 
Mark  xii.  38,  (Luc.  xx.  46)  a  costly  or 
imposing  garment.  In  Latin  sfo/a  was  the 
upper  garment  worn  by  women  of  position. 
The  conjecture   of    Meratus    (on    Gavant. 


torn.  i.  P.  ii.  tit.  i.)  that  our  stole  is  the 
Roman  stola  of  which  only  the  ornamental 
stripe  has  been  left,  is  very  unlikely,  con- 
sidering that  the  stola  was,  almost  exclu- 
sively, a  piece  of  female  attire.  The  stole 
is  never  mentioned  by  that  name  before 
the  ninth  century.  Theodoret  ("  H.  E." 
ii.  27)  speaks  of  "  a  holy  stole  "  {Aiera  stole) 
given  to  Macarius  by  Constantine,  but  he 
only  means  a  *'  sacred  vestment "  in 
general ;  and  Germanus  of  Constantinople, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century, 
identifies  the  stole  with  the  phelonioii  or 
chasuble,  and  distinguishes  it  from  the 
orarion  or  stole  according  to  our  modern 
usage  (Galland.  "  Bibliothec."  torn.  xiii.  p. 
226). 

This  word  orarium  belongs  to  the  later 
Latin, and  means  a  cloth  for  the  face,  a  hand- 
kerchief. It  was  also  used  "  in  favorem,''' 
to  applaud  at  theatres,  etc.,  and  sometimes 
worn  as  a  scarf.  The  first  mention  of  it 
as  an  ecclesiastical  vestment  occurs  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  when  the 
Council  of  Laodicea  (can.  22  and  23)  for- 
bade clerics  in  minor  orders  to  use  it.     A 


T6 


STOLE. 


71 


t^ermon  attributed  to  Chrysostom,  and 
probably  not  much  later  than  his  time, 
compares  the  deacons  to  angels,  and  the 
"stripes  of  thin  linen  on  their  left 
shoulders  "  {tats  leptais  othonais  tais  epi  ton 
aristeron  omoti)  to  wings  ("  Homily  on  the 
Prodigal  Son,"  Migne,  vol.  viii.  520).  In 
the  West  for  a  long  time  after,  orarium 
was  used  for  a  common  handkerchief  or 
napkin  (Ambros.  "De  Excess.  Sat."  lib. 
i.  43  ;  August,  "  De  Civit.  Dei,"  xxii.  8 ; 
Hieron.  Ep.  lii.  9  ;  Prudent.  "  Peristeph." 
i,  86 ;  Greg.  Turon,  "  De  Gloria  Mart."  i. 
93 ;  Greg.  Magn.  Ep.  vii.  30.  So  the 
Council  of  Orleans  in  511).  It  is  in  the 
Spanish  Church  that  we  find  the  earliest 
traces  of  the  orarium  or  stole  as  a  sacred 
vestment  among  the  Latins.  The  Coun- 
cil of  Braga  in  563  (can.  9)  speaks  of  the 
orarium  as  worn  by  deacons ;  a  Council 
of  Toledo  in  633  recognizes  it  as  a  vest- 
ment of  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  (can.. 
28  and  40).  Another  synod  of  Braga  in 
675  mentions  the  present  custom  accord- 
ing to  which  priests  wear  the  orarium 
crossed  over  the  breast  (can.  4)  ;  while  the 
Synod  of  Mayence  in  813  (can.  28)  requires 
priests  to  wear  it  not  only  at  Mass  but 
habitually,  as  the  Pope  does  now,  to  mark 
their  sacerdotal  dignity.  Several  of  the 
Ordines  Romani  (the  third,  fifth,  eighth, 
ninth,  and  thirteenth),  also  mention  the 
orarium.  Hence  we  may  conclude  that 
from  about  the  time  of  Charlemagne  the 
orarium  or  stole  was  generally  adopted 
throughout  the  West  as  a  vestment  of 
bishops,  priests,  and  deacons.  The  Greeks 
have  always   regarded    the   orarium    as    a 


vestment  peculiar  to  deacons.  The  epi- 
trachelion  or  peritrac  he  lion  of  priests  differs 
both  in  form  and  in  the  manner  it  is  worn 
from  the  orarium  of  deacons.  The  Syrian 
Christians  have  adopted  the  same  word 
orro,  ororo,  but  with  them  the  orro  is  worn 
by  clerics  of  all  the  orders.  Readers 
among  the  Maronites  wear  the  orro  hang- 
ing from  the  right  shoulder,  subdeacons 
in  all  the  Syrian  rites  round  the  neck, 
deacons  on  the  left  shoulder,  priests  round 
the  neck  and  in  front  of  the  breast.  The 
Syrians  also  use  the  same  word  for  the 
ojnophorion  or  pallium  of  bishops.  (See 
Payne  Smith,  "Thesaurus  Syricus,"  col. 
\o\,\02^  sub  voc.  c  .  .  .)  Hefele  says 
it  appears  from  ancient  pictures  that  down 
to  the  twelfth  century  the  deacon's  stole 
hung  over  the  left  shoulder,  and  was  not, 
as  now,  fastened  together  on  the  right  side 
below  the  breast.  Till  a  late  period  the 
stole  was  worn  outside  the  dalmatic,  as 
now  by  the  Greek  deacons  over  the  stich- 
arion.  Hefele  finds  the  earliest  notice  of 
a  deacon's  stole  worn  under  the  dalmatic 
in  a  Salzburg  Pontifical  of  the  twelfth 
century,  and  in  the  fourteenth  Roman 
Ordo,  compiled  about  1300.  Bishops, 
however,  wore  the  stole  over  the  alb  and 
under  the  tunicella  and  dalmatic  as  early 
at  least  as  Rabanus  Maurus  (  "  De  Cleric. 
Instit."  i.  19,  20) — i.  e. about  '^\^. 

The  same  author  {loc.  cit)  speaks  of 
the  orarium  which  "  some  call  stole." 
This  is  the  first  certain  instance  of  the  use 
of  the  latter  word,  for  its  place  in  the 
Gregorian  Sacramentary  may  be  one  of 
the    many    interpolations    to    which   the 


78 


CATHOLIC   CHURCH  HISTORY. 


liturgical  books  are  peculiarly  subject. 
In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries 
stole  became  the  common  word  (so,  e.  g. 
the  Synod  of  Coyaca,  in  the  diocese  of 
Oviedo,  anno  1050,  can.  3.)  The  oraria  on 
ancient  pictures  are  exactly  like  our  stoles, 
resembling  the  pattern  known  as  Gothic. 
They  were  often  adorned  with  jewels,  bells 
hung  from  them,  and  letters  or  words  were 
worked  in.  Hefele  acknowledges  his 
failure,  after  much  search,  to  find  the 
reason  why  the  word  "  stole "  came  to  be 
used  for  orarium.  The  vestment  has  been 
taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  yoke  of  Christ 
(pseudo-Alcuin),  of  Christ's  obedience 
(Innocent  III.).  The  prayer  in  our  pres- 
ent Missal  evidently  refers  to  the  original 
meaning  of  the  Greek  stole.  "  Give  me 
back,  O  Lord,  the  stole  or  robe  of  immor- 
tality," etc. 

DoVe.     Symbol  of  tKe  |1ol\j 
QKost. 

Dove  is  frequently  used  as  a  symbol  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  who  appeared  at  Christ's 
baptism  under  that  form.  The  custom  of 
depicting  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this  form  is 
mentioned  by  St.  Paulinus  of  Nola,  and 
must  have  been  familiar  to  Eastern  Chris- 
tians in  the  sixth  century  :  for  the  clergy 
of  Antioch  in  518,  among  other  complaints 
made  by  them  to  the  see  of  Constantino- 
ple against  the  intended  bishop  Servius, 
accuse  him  of  having  removed  the  gold 
and  silver  doves  which  hung  over  the 
altars  and  font  {kolumbethra)    and   appro- 


priated them  on  the  ground  that  this 
symbolism  was  unfitting.^  The  dove  as 
a  symbol  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  often  placed 
in  the  pictures  of  certain  saints  —  e.  g.  of 
Fabian,^  Hilary  of  Aries,  Medard  of 
Noyon,  etc.  It  is  also  a  figure  of  inno- 
cence, and  so,  e.  g.  the  souls  of  SS.  Eula- 
lia  and  Scholastica  are  represented  as 
flying  to  heaven  in  the  form  of  a  dove. 
Lastly,  the  dove  serves  as  a  figure  of 
peace  and  reconciliation  (see  Gen.  viii.  11). 
A  vase  in  the  form  of  a  dove  {peristerion, 

peristeriuni)  was  in  the  East  and  in  France 
suspended  over  the  altar  and  used  as  a 
repository  for  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
This  custom  is  mentioned  by  the  author 
of  an  ancient   Life  of   St.    Basil,   by   St. 

.  Gregory  of  Tours,  and  in  several  ancient 
French  documents.  Martene  mentions 
that  even  in  his  time  such  a  tabernacle 
was  still  in  use  at  the  church  of  St.  Maur 
des  Foss6s.  The  custom  probably  came 
to  France  from  the  East,  for  it  never  seems 
to  have  existed  in  Italy.^ 


D  0x0  logy. 


The  greater  doxology  or  "  ascription  of 
glory,"  is  usually  called,  from  its  initial 
words,  the  "  Gloria  in  excelsis."  It  is  not 
mentioned  by  the  earliest  writers,  but  it  is 
found  nearly,  though  not  quite,  as  we  now 
have  it  in  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  (vii. 
47),  so  that  it  can  scarcely  have  been 
composed,  as  is  asserted  in  the    "  Chron. 


1  Hefele,  Concil.  ii.  p.  771. 

2  For  the  origin  of  this  see  Euseb.  H.  E.  vi.  29. 
8  See  Chardon,  Hist.  des.  Sacr.  vol.  ii.  p.  24a. 


DOXOLOGY. 


79 


Turonense,"  by  St.  Hilary  of  Poictiers, 
and  the  real  author  is,  as  Cardinal  Bona 
says,  unknown.  It  was  only  by  degrees 
that  it  assumed  its  present  place  in  the 
Mass.  In  Gaul,  according  to  St.  Gregory 
of  Tours,  it  was  recited  after  Mass  in 
thanksgiving.  St.  Benedict  introduced  it 
into  lauds ;  while  it  was  also  recited  on 
occasions  of  public  joy  —  e.  g.  in  the 
Sixth  General  Council.  It  was  sung  at 
Mass,  according  to  the  use  of  the  Roman 
Church,  first  of  all  on  Christmas  day, 
during  the  first  Mass  in  Greek,  during 
the  second  in  Latin.  It  was  of  course 
on  Christmas  night  that  the  first  words  of 
the  "Gloria  in  excelsis"  were  sung  by 
the  angels.  Afterwards  bishops  said  it 
at  Mass  on  Sundays  and  feasts,  priests 
only  at  the  Mass  of  Easter  Sunday,  as 
appears  from  the  Gregorian  Sacraraentary. 
This  rule  lasted  till  the  eleventh  cen- 
tur}^  At  present  it  is  said  in  all  Masses, 
except  those  of  the  dead,  of  ferias  which 
do  not  occur  in  the  Paschal  season  —  (it 
is  said,  however,  on  Maundy  Thursday)  — 
Sundays  from  Septuagesima  to  Palm 
Sunday  inclusive.  It  is  not  said  in  votive 
Masses,  except  those  of  the  Angels,  and 
the  Blessed  Virgin  on  Saturday. 

II.  Lesser  doxology  —  i.  e.  "Glory  be 
to  the  Father,"  etc.,  recited  as  a  rule 
after  each  psalm  in  the  office  and  after 
the  "  Judica  "  in  the  Mass.  Forms  resem- 
bling it  occur  at  the  end  of  some  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Martyrs  —  e.  g.  those  of  St. 
Polycarp.  St.  Basil  ("  De  Spiritu  Sancto 
ad  S.  Amphilochium,"  which  work,  how- 
ever, is  of  doubtful  authenticity)  defends 


the  formula  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and 
to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  con- 
tends that  its  antiquity  is  attested  by  early 
Fathers,  Clement  of  Rome,  Irenaeus,  etc., 
and  that  it  is  at  least  as  ancient  as  the 
Arian  form,  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father  in  '* 
or  "through  the  Son,"  etc.  Anyhow, 
the  former  part  of  the  Gloria  must  date 
as  far  back  as  the  third  or  fourth  century, 
and  arose,  no  doubt,  from  the  form  of  bap- 
tism. The  concluding  words,  "  As  it  was 
in  the  beginning,"  are  of  later  origin. 
The  Galilean  Council  of  Vaison,  in  529, 
ordered  their  use,  adding  that  they  had 
been  already  introduced  in  Rome,  Italy, 
Africa,  and  the  East,  against  heretics  who 
denied  the  Son's  eternity.^  And  the 
rule  of  St.  Benedict  contains  directions 
for  the  recital  of  the  Gloria  after  each 
psalm.  (Benedict  XIV.  "De  Missa,'* 
Kraus,  art.  doxologid). 

Dreams. 

Dreams  arise,  according  to  St.  Thomas 
(2  2ndae,  qu.  95,  a.  6),  from  interior  or 
exterior  causes.  Among  the  former  he 
enumerates  the  thoughts  which  occupied 
the  mind  in  waking  hours,  and  the  state  of 
the  body.  Among  the  latter,  the  effect 
produced  on  the  bodily  organs  by  material 
things  —  e.  g.  cold  and  heat,  sound  or 
light,  etc. —  and  also  the  influence  of  good 
or  evil  spirits.  It  is  reasonable  to  believe 
that  God  may  speak  to  the  soul  through 
dreams,  for  the  influence  of  God  extends 
to  sleeping  as  w«ill  as  to  waking  hours; 

1    Hefele,  Concil.  iu  p.  742. 


8o 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


and  that  God  has  used  dreams  as  a  means 
of  revealing  His  will  is  fully  attested  by 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testament  (see 
Gen.  XX.  3,  7,  xl.  5  ;  Num.  xii.  6 ;  Matt.  ii. 
12,  xxvii.  19).  Accordingly,  to  regard 
dreams  proceeding  from  merely  physical 
causes  as  indications  of  a  future  with 
which  they  have  no  natural  connection,  is 
superstitious  and  therefore  sinful.  It  is 
also,  of  course,  unlawful  to  seek  or  accept 
signs  of  future  events  in  dreams  from 
demons.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  there 
are  grave  reasons  for  doing  so,  we  may 
lawfully  believe  that  a  dream  has  been 
sent  by  God  for  our  instruction.     But  it  is 


to  be  noted  that  a  disposition  to  trust  in 
dreams  is  always  superstitious,  for  in  the 
Christian  dispensation  there  is  a  strong 
presumption  against  their  use  as  means  of 
foretelling  the  future.  Even  in  the  Old 
Testament  the  greater  number  of  predic- 
tive dreams  were  given  to  those  outside  the 
Jewish  covenant.  If  given  to  God's  ser- 
vants, they  were  given  to  them,  as  a  rule, 
in  the  period  of  their  earliest  and  most' 
imperfect  knowledge  of  Him.  In  the  New 
Testament,  often  as  we  read  of  ecstasies 
and  visions,  dreams  are  never  mentioned 
as  a  vehicle  of  revelation,  and  they  rarely 
occur  in  the  lives  of  the  saints. 


^I^fl^f^f^f 


'^'^^^^^;:?^^^-^>%t><^%?:5<'^=<-^ 


CHAPTER     XIV. 


t      PURGKTORY.     I 

^•>J?'*  ijj  J?>  '.•':  '.•':  '.•':  '.•':  •.•':  \V  \»':  '.•':  '.•':  •.•:  •••  •:••  •:;>  •:•>  {i} 


PLACE  in  which  souls  who 
depart  this  life  in  the  grace  of 
God  suffer  for  a  time  because 
they  still  need  to  be  cleansed 
from  venial,  or  have  still  to  pay 
the  temporal  punishment  due 
to  mortal  sins,  the  guilt  and  the  eternal 
punishment  of  which  have  been  remitted. 
Purgatory  is  not  a  place  of  probation,  for 
the  time  of  trial,  the  period  during  which 
the  soul  is  free  to  choose  eternal  life  or 
eternal  death,  ends  with  the  separation  of 
soul  and  body.  All  the  souls  in  Purgatory 
have  died  in  the  love  of  God,  and  are  cer- 
tain to  enter  heaven.  But  as  yet  they  are 
not  pure  and  holy  enough  to  see  God,  and 
God's  mercy  allots  them  a  place  and  a  time 
for  cleansing  and  preparation.  At  last 
Christ  will  come  to  judge  the  world,  and 
then  there  will  be  only  two  places  left, 
heaven  and  hell. 

The  Councils  of  Florence  ("Decret 
Unionis ")  and  Trent  ("  Decret.  de  Pur- 
gat."  sess.  XXV. ;  cf.  sess.  vi.  can.  30,  sess. 
xxii.  "  De  Sacrific.  Miss."  c.  2  et  can.  3), 
define  "  that  there  is  a  Purgatory,  and  that 


the  souls  detained  there  are  helped  by  the 
prayers  of  the  faithful  and,  above  all,  by 
the  acceptable  sacrifice  of  the  altar."  Fur- 
ther the  definitions  of  the  Church  do  not 
go,  but  the  general  teaching  of  the  theolo- 
gians explains  the  doctrine  of  the  councils, 
and  embodies  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
faithful.  Theologians,  then,  tell  us  that 
souls  after  death  are  cleansed  from  the 
stain  of  their  venial  sins  by  turning  with 
fervent  love  to  God,  and  by  detestation  of 
those  offences  which  marred,  though  they 
did  not  entirely  destroy,  their  union  with 
Him.  St.  Thomas  and  Suarez  hold  that 
this  act  of  fervent  love  and  perfect  sorrow 
is  made  in  the  first  instant  of  the  soul's 
separation  from  the  body,  and  suffices  of 
itself  to  remove  all  the  stain  of  sin.  (See 
the  quotation  in  Jungmann,  "De  Novissi- 
mis  "  p.  103.)  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  time  of  merit  expires  with 
this  life,  and  that  the  debt  of  temporal 
punishment  may  still  be  paid.  The  souls 
in  Purgatory  suffer  the  pain  of  loss  —  i.  e. 
they  are  in  anguish  because  their  past  sins 
exclude  them  for  a  season  from  the  sight 


82 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


of  God,  and  they  understand  in  a  degree 
previously  impossible  the  infinite  bliss 
from  which  they  are  excluded,  and  the 
foulness  of  the  least  offence  against  the 
God  who  has  created  and  redeemed  them. 
They  also  undergo  "the  punishment  of 
sense  "  —  i.  e.  positive  pains  which  afflict 
the  soul.  It  is  the  common  belief  of  the 
Western  Church  that  they  are  tormented 
by  material  fire,  and  it  is  quite  conceivable 
that  God  should  give  matter  the  power  of 
constraining  and  afflicting  even  separated 
souls.  But  the  Greeks  have  never  accepted 
this  belief,  nor  was  it  imposed  upon  them 
when  they  returned  to  Catholic  unity  at 
Florence.  The  saints  and  doctors  of  the 
Church  describe  these  pains  as  very 
terrible.  They  last,  no  doubt,  for  very 
different  lengths  of  time,  and  vary  in  inten- 
sity according  to  the  need  of  individual 
cases.  It  is  supposed  that  the  just  who 
are  alive  when  Christ  comes  again,  and 
who  stand  in  need  of  cleansing,  will  be 
purified  in  some  extraordinary  way  —  e.  g. 
by  the  troubles  of  the  last  days,  by  vehe- 
ment contrition,  etc. ;  but  all  this  is  mere 
conjecture.  In  conclusion,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  there  is  a  bright  as  well 
as  a  dark  side  to  Purgatory.  The  souls 
there  are  certain  of  their  salvation,  they 
are  willing  sufferers,  and  no  words,  accord- 
ing to  St.  Catherine  of  Genoa,  can  express 
the  joy  with  which  they  are  filled,  as  they 
increase  in  union  with  God.  She  says 
their  joy  can  be  compared  to  nothing 
except  to  the  greater  joy  of  Paradise  itself. 
(See  for  numerous  citations,  Jungmann, 
*'  De  Noviss."  cap.  i,  a.  6.) 


This  may  suffice  as  an  account  of  theo- 
logical teaching  on  the  subject.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  that  any  such  weight 
belongs  to  legends  and  speculations  which 
abound  in  mediaeval  chronicles  (see  Mas- 
kell,  "  Monument.  Rit."  vol.  ii.  p.  Ixxi.),  and 
which  often  appear  in  modern  books. 
The  council  of  Trent  (sess.  xxv.  Decret. 
de  Purgat.),  while  it  enjoins  bishops  to 
teach  "the  sound  doctrine  of  Purgatory, 
handed  down  by  the  holy  Fathers  and 
councils,"  bids  them  refrain  "in  popular 
discourses "  from  those  "  more  difficult 
and  subtle  questions  which  do  not  tend  to 
edification,"  and  "  to  prohibit  the  publica- 
tion and  discussion  of  things  which  are 
doubtful  or  even  appear  false." 

Scripture,  it  may  be  justly  said,  points 
to  the  existence  of  Purgatory.  There  is 
no  fellowship  between  the  darkness  of  sin 
and  selfishness  and  God,  "in  whom  there 
is  no  darkness  at  all,"  so  that  the  degree 
of  our  purity  is  the  measure  of  our  union 
with  God  here  on  earth.  Perfect  purity  is 
needed  that  we  may  see  God  face  to  face. 
When  God  appears  "  we  shall  be  like  Him, 
for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  "Every 
man  who  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth 
himself,  as  he  is  pure"  (i  John  iii.  2,  3) 
Without  holiness  "no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord"  (Heb.  xii.  14).  This  work  of  inner 
cleansing  may  be  affected  by  our  corre- 
spondence with  grace.  vVe  sow  as  we 
reap  :  deeds  of  humility  increase  humility  ; 
works  of  love  deepen  the  love  of  God  and 
man  in  the  soul.  Often,  too,  God's  mercy 
in  this  life  weans  the  soul  from  the  love  of 
the  world,  and  affliction  may  be  a  special 


PURGATORY. 


83 


mark  of  His  compassion.  "Whom  the 
Xord  loves  He  disciplines,  and  He  scourges 
every  son  whom  He  receives  "  (Heb.  x.  6). 
He  disciplines  us  "for  our  good,  that  we 
may  participate  in  His  sanctity"  (/(^.  10). 
Now,  it  is  plain  that  in  the  case  of  many 
good  people  this  discipline  has  not  done 
its  work  when  death  overtakes  them. 
Many  faults,  e.  g.  of  bad  temper,  vanity, 
and  the  like,  and  infirmity  consequent  on 
more  serious  sins  of  which  they  have 
repented,  cleave  to  them  still.  Surely, 
then,  the  natural  inference  is  that  their 
preparation  for  heaven  is  completed  after 
death.  By  painful  discipline  in  this  world 
or  the  next  God  finishes  the  work  in  them 
which  He  has  begun,  and  perfects  it 
"unto  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ "  (Phil.  i.  6). 
We  would  appeal  to  those  general  princi- 
ples of  Scripture  rather  than  to  particular 
texts  often  alleged  in  proof  of  Purgatory. 
We  doubt  if  they  contain  an  explicit  and 
direct  reference  to  it.  St,  Paul  (i  Cor.  iii. 
10)  speaks  of  some  who  will  be  saved 
"yet  as  through  fire,"  but  he  seems  to 
mean  the  fire  in  which  Christ  is  to  appear 
at  the  last.  He  himself,  he  says,  has 
established  the  Corinthian  church  on  the 
only  possible  foundation  —  viz.  Jesus 
Christ.  Others  have  built  it  up  from  this 
foundation,  or,  in  other  words,  have  devel- 
oped the  Christian  faith  and  life  of  its 
members.  These  teachers,  however,  must 
take  care  how  they  build,  even  on  the  one 
foundation.  "  Each  man's  work  will  be  made 
manifest,  for  the  day  will  show  it,  because 
it  [the  day  of  judgment]  is  revealed  in 
fire,  and  the  fire  will  test  each  man's  work 


of  what  kind  it  is:  if  any  man's  work 
which  he  has  built  up  [on  the  foundation] 
remains,  he  will  receive  a  reward ;  if  any 
man's  work  is  burnt  down  he  will  suffer 
loss  —  [i.  e.  he  will  forfeit  the  special 
reward  and  glory  of  good  teachers]  but 
he  himself  will  be  saved,  but  so  as  through 
fire."  The  man  who  has  built  up  with 
faulty  material  is  depicted  as  still  working 
at  the  building  when  the  fire  of  Christ's 
coming  seizes  it  and  he  himself  escapes, 
but  only  as  a  man  does  from  a  house  on 
fire,  leaving  the  work  which  is  consumed 
behind  him.  St.  Paul,  if  we  have  caught 
his  meaning,  speaks  of  the  end  of  the 
world,  not  of  the  time  between  death  and 
judgment,  and  so,  we  think,  does  our  Lord 
in  Matt.  xii.  32.  The  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  tells  us,  will  not  be  for- 
given, either  "  in  this  age "  {en  touioi  tot 
aioni)  —  i,  e.  in  the  world  which  now  is, 
or  in  the  future  age  {en  toi  mellonti) —  i.  e, 
in  the  new  world,  or  rather  new  period 
which  is  to  be  ushered  in  by  the  coming 
of  the  Messias  in  glory.  There  is  no  hope 
of  forgiveness  here  or  hereafter  for  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  it  does 
not  follow,  and,  granting  our  interpretation, 
it  would  be  inconsistent  with  Catholic 
doctrine  to  believe,  that  other  sins  may 
be  forgiven  in  the  age  to  come.  Thus, 
"the  age  to  come"  would  have  precisely 
the     same     sense  as    the   corresponding 

Hebrew  words  ( —  see,  e, 

g.,  "  Pirke  Avoth,"  cap.  4,  and  for  many 
other  instances  Buxtorf,  "  Lex  Rabbin,  et 
Chald."  suh  voc.  .  .  .),  which  is  in 
itself  a  strong  argument,  and  the  manngei 


84 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


we  have  given  is  fully  supported  by  New 
Testament  usage  (see  particularly  tou 
aionos  eheinou  tuchein,  Luc.  xx.  35,  and  sun- 
teleia  tou  aionos,  Matt.  xiii.  39,  40, 49,  xxiv.  3, 
xxviii.  20— decisive  passages,  as  we  venture 
to  think).  Maldonatus  decidedly  rejects  the 
supposed  allusion  to  Purgatory  in  Matt. 
V,  25,  26.  "Be  well-disposed  to  thine 
adversary  [i.  e.  the  offended  brother] 
quickly,  even  till  thou  art  on  the  way 
with  him  [i.  e.  it  is  never  too  soon,  and 
never,  till  life  is  over,  too  late,  to  be  recon- 
ciled], lest  the  adversary  hand  thee  over 
to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  hand  thee 
over  to  the  officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into 
prison.  Amen.  I  say  unto  thee  thou 
shalt  not  go  out  thence  till  thou  shalt 
pay  the  last  farthing."  Maldonatus  fol- 
lows St.  Augustine  in  the  opinion  that  the 
"  last  farthing  "  will  never  and  can  never 
be  paid,  and  that  the  punishment  is  eter- 
nal. Just  in  the  same  way  it  is  said  of 
the  unmerciful  slave  (Luc.  xviii.  34),  that 
he  was  to  be  handed  over  to  the  torment- 
ors "till  he  should  pay  all  the  debt."  Yet 
a  slave  could  never  pay  so  enormous  a 
sum  as  10,000  talents.  "  Semper  solvet, 
sed  nunquam  persolvet^'  "  He  will  always 
pay,  but  never  pay  off,"  is  the  happy  com- 
ment of  Remigius  (and  so  Chrysostom  and 
Augustine  ;  see  Trench.  "  Parables,"  p. 
164).  The  reader  will  find  the  various 
interpretations  of  these  texts  fairly  dis- 
cussed in  Estius  and  Maldonatus  or  in 
Meyer.  Dollinger,  however  ("  First  Age 
of  the  Church,"  p.  249),  sees  an  "  unmis- 
takable reference"  to  Purgatory  in  Matt, 
xii.  32,  V.  26. 


In  two  special  ways,  writers  of  the  early 
Church,  as  Cardinal  Newman  points  out 
("Development,"  p.  385  seq.),  were  led 
to  formulate  the  belief  in  Purgatory.  In 
the  articles  on  the  sacrament  of  Penance, 
we  have  shown  the  strength  of  primitive 
belief  in  the  need  of  satisfaction  for  sin 
by  painful  works,  and  in  the  article  on 
Penance  the  rigor  with  which  satisfaction 
was  exacted.  Indeed,  the  belief  in  Pur- 
gatory lay  dormant  in  the  primitive  Church 
to  a  certain  extent,  just  because  the  fer- 
vor of  the  first  Christians  was  so  vehe- 
ment, just  because  the  severity  of  penance 
here  might  well  be  thought  to  exclude  the 
need  of  purifying  discipline  after  death. 
But  what  was  to  be  thought  of  those  who 
were  reconciled  on  their  death-bed  before 
their  penance  was  ended  or  even  begun,  or 
in  whom  outward  penance  for  some  cause 
or  other  had  failed  to  do  the  whole  of  its 
work  ?  Clement  of  Alexandria  supplies  a 
clear  answer  to  this  question  :  "  Even  if  a 
man  passes  out  of  the  flesh,  he  must  put 
off  his  passions,  ere  he  is  able  to  enter  the 
eternal  dwelling through  much  dis- 
cipline, therefore  stripping  off  his  passions, 
our  faithful  man  will  go  to  the  mansion 
which  is  better  than  the  former,  bearing 
in  the  special  penance  which  appertains  to 
him  {idioma  tes  metanois)  a.  very  great  pun- 
ishment for  the  sins  he  has  committed 
after  baptism  "  ("Strom."  vi,  14,  p.  794,  ed. 
Potter).  He  speaks  of  the  angels  "  who 
preside  over  the  ascent "  of  souls  as 
detaining  those  who  have  preserved  any 
worldly  attachment  (iv.  18.  p.  616),  and 
with  at  least  a  possible  reference  to  Pur- 


PURGATORY. 


85 


gatorv.  of  fire  as  purifying  sinful  souls 
(vii.  6,  p.  85  r).  The  genuine  and  contem- 
porarj,'  Acts  of  St.  Perpetua,  who  suffered 
under  Septimius  Severus  at  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century,  plainly  imply 
the  belief  in  Purgatory.  The  saint,  accord- 
ing to  the  part  of  the  Acts  written  by 
herself,  saw  in  a  vision  her  brother  who 
was  dead,  and  for  whom  she  had  prayed. 
He  was  suffering  and  she  went  on  praying. 
Then  she  beheld  him  in  another  and  more 
cneerful  vision,  and  "  knew  that  he  was 
translated  from  his  place  of  punishment  " 
{de poena ;  Ruinart,  "Act.  Mart.  S.  Per- 
pet."  etc.,  vii.  viii.).  Cyprian  (  Ep.  Iv. 
20),  in  answer  to  the  objection  that  the 
relaxation  of  penitential  discipline  in  the 
case  of  the  lapsed  would  weaken  the  courage 
and  stability  which  made  martyrs,  insists 
that  after  all  the  position  of  one  who  had 
fallen  away  and  then  been  admitted  to  mar- 
tyrdom would  always  be  much  less  desirable 
than  that  of  a  martyr.  "It  is  one  thing  for 
man  to  be  cast  into  prison  and  not  to 
leave  it  till  he  pay  the  last  farthing, 
another  thing  to  receive  at  once  the 
reward  of  faith  and  virtue  ;  one  thing  to  be 
tormented  long  with  sorrow  for  sins,  to 
be  purified  and  cleansed  for  a  long  time 
by  the  fire,  another  to  purge  away  all  sins 
by  martyrdom."  Cardinal  Newman  urges 
that  these  words,  especially  **missum  in 
carcerem,"  "purgari dm  igne,""  "seem  to  go 
beyond"  a  mere  reference  to  a  penitential 
discipline  in  this  life,  and  the  Benedictine 
editor  is  of  the  same  mind. 

Next,  we  can  prove  the   early   date  of 
belief  in  Purgatory  from  the  habit  of  pray- 


ing for  the  dead,  a  habit  which  the  Church 
inherited  from  the  Synagogue.  The  words 
in  2  Mace.  xii.  42  seq.  are  familiar  to  every- 
body. Judas  found  hieremata,  or  things 
consecrated  to  \^o\%,  under  the  garments 
of  those  who  had  been  slain  in  battle 
against  Gorgias.  Whereupon  he  made  a 
collection  of  money  and  sent  to  Jerusalem, 
"to  offer  sacrifice  for  sin,  doing  very  well 
and  excellently,  reasoning  about  the  dead. 
For  unless  he  had  expected  those  who  had 
fallen  before  [the  others]  to  rise  again,  it 
would  have  been  superfluous  and  absurd 
to  pray  for  the  dead.  Therefore,  seeing 
well  \emblepdri\  that  a  most  fair  reward  is 
reserved  for  those  who  sleep  in  piety,  his 
design  was  holy  and  pious,  whence  he 
made  the  propitiation  for  the  dead  that 
they  might  be  loosed  from  sin."^  This 
passage  implies  a  belief  both  in  Purgatory 
and  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the  departed, 
and  takes  for  granted  that  this  belief  would 
be  held  by  all  who  believed  in  the  resur- 
rection. This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss 
the  canonical  or  even  the  historical  charac- 
ter of  the  book.  It  represents  a  school  of 
Jewish  belief  at  the  time,  and  we  know 
from  XV.  37  that  it  was  written  before  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Second  Macca 
bees  was  composed  in  Greek,  but  we  have 
the  fullest  evidence  from  Hebrew  and 
Chaldee  sources  that  the  later  Jews  prayed 
for  the  dead  and  recognized  the  need  of 
purification  after  death.  Weber  ("  Altsy- 
nag.  Palast.  Theol."  p.  326  seq.)  thus  sums 


1  This  sentence  is,  of  course,  ungrammatical ;  but  so  is  the 
Greek.  A  part  of  2  Mace  is  m»re  like  rough  notes  than  a 
finished  composition. 


86 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


up  the  Rabbinical  doctrine  :  "  Only  a  few 
are  sure  of  [immediate]  entrance  into 
heaven  ;  the  majority  are  at  their  death 
still  not  ripe  for  heaven,  and  yet  will  not 
be  absolutely  excluded  from  it.  Accord- 
ingly, we  are  referred  to  a  middle  state, 
a  stage  between  death  and  eternal  life, 
which  serves  for  the  final  perfecting." 
Those  who  were  not  perfectly  just  here 
suffer  "the  pain  of  fire,  and  the  fire  is 
their  penance."  The  "Pesikta,"  a  very 
ancient  commentary  on  sections  of  the 
law  and  prophets,  composed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century  after  Christ, 
describes  the  penance  as  lasting  usually 
twelve  months,  of  which  six  are  spent 
in  extreme  heat,  six  in  extreme  cold. 
The  common  Rabbinical  doctrine  that 
Israelites,  except  those  guilty  of  some 
special  sins,  do  at  last  enter  heaven,  and 
the  fantastical  shapes  which  the  Jewish 
doctrine  of  Purgatory  has  assumed,  do 
not  concern  us  here.  But  it  is  well  to 
observe  that  the  Jews  have  never  ceased 
to  pray  for  their  dead.  The  following 
is  from  the  prayer  said  at  the  house  of 
mourners,  as  given  in  a  modern  Jewish 
prayer-book,  issued  with  authority  :  "  May 
our  reading  of  the  law  and  our  prayer 
be  acceptable  before  Thee  for  the  soul 
of  N.  Deal  with  it  according  to  the  great 
mercy,  opening  to  it  the  gates  of  com- 
passion and  mercy  and  the  gates  of  the 
garden  of  Eden,  and  receive  it  in  love 
and  favor  ;  send  thy  holy  angels  to  it  to 
conduct  it,  and  give  it  rest  beneath  the 
Tree  of  Life."  (*  *  *  "  Meditation  of 
Isaac,"  a  Jewish  prayer-book  according  to 


the   German    and    Polish    rite,    pp.    336, 

337.^) 

Against  the  Jewish  custom  and  doctrine 
Christ  and  His  apostles  made  no  protest, 
though  both  custom  and  doctrine  existed 
in  their  time.  Nay,  "  St.  Paul  himself  [cf. 
2  Tim.  i.  16-18  with  iv.  19]  gives  an  exam- 
ple of  such  a  prayer.  The  Epbesian 
Onesiphorus,  mentioned  in  the  Second 
Epistle  to  St.  Timothy,  was  clearly  no 
longer  among  the  living.  St.  Paul  praises 
this  man  for  his  constant  service  to  him, 
but  does  not,  as  elsewhere,  send  saluta- 
tions to  him,  but  only  to  his  family ;  for 
him  he  desires  a  blessing  from  the  Lord, 
and  prays  for  him  that  the  Lord  will 
grant  he  may  find  mercy  with  Christ  at 
the  day  Oi!  judgment."  The  words  in 
inverted  commas  are  from  Bollinger's 
"First  Age  of  the  Church,"  p.  251  ;  but 
many  Protestant  commentators,  among 
whom  we  may  mention  De  Wette  and 
Huther,  who  is  eminent  among  recent 
commentators  on  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
lean  to  the  same  interpretation. 

All  this  considered,  it  cannot  seem 
strange  that  every  ancient  liturgy  contains 
prayers  for  the  dead.  To  understand  the 
strength  of  this  argument  we  must  remem- 
ber that  these  liturgies  are  written  in  many 
different  languages,  and  represent  theprac- 
tice  in  every  part  of  the  ancient  world. 
The  very  first  Christian  who  has  left  Latin 


1  The  *  *  *  is  recited  at  morning  and  evening  prayer 
for  deceased  parents  during  eleven  months  of  the  year  of 
mourning.  Formerly  it  was  said  for  the  whole  year.  It  is  one 
of  the  few  prayers  in  the  Ritual  which  are  in  Chaldee  instead 
of  Hebrew,  but  there  are  internal  signs  that  it  comes  from  » 
lost  Hebrew  original. 


PURGATORY. 


87 


writings,  speaks  of  "  oblations  for  the  dead" 
as  a  thing  of  course  (Tertull.  "De  Coron." 
3).  It  is  often  said  that  prayers  for  the 
dead  do  not  necessarily  imply  belief  in 
Purgatory,  and  this  is  true.  The  words, 
e.  g.  in  the  Clementine  liturgy,  "  We  offer 
to  Thee  for  all  Thy  saints  who  have  pleased 
Thee  from  ancient  days,  patriarchs, 
prophets,  just  men,  apostles,  martyrs,  con- 
fessors, bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  sub- 
deacons,  readers,  singers,  virgins,  widows, 
laymen,  and  all  whose  name  Thou 
knowest,"  do  not  imply  that  those  for 
whom  the  sacrifice  is  offered  are  in  a  state 
of  suffering.  But  Tertullian  ("  Monog." 
10)  connects  prayer  for  the  dead  with 
Purgatory  when  he  says  of  a  woman  who 
has  lost  her  husband  that  "  she  prays  for 
his  soul  and  supplicates  for  him  refresh- 
ment \refngerium\  and  a  part  in  the  first 
resurrection,  and  offers  on  the  anniversa- 
ries of  his  death  [dofmitionisy  So,  too, 
St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  ("  Mystagog."  5) : 
"If  when  a  king  had  banished  certain 
who  had  given  him  offence,  their  con- 
nections should  weave  a  crown  and  offer 
it  to  him  on  behalf  of  those  under  his 
vengeance,  would  he  not  grant  a  respite  to 
their  punishments  1  In  the  same  manner 
we,  when  we  offer  to  Him  our  supplications 
for  those  who  have  fallen  asleep,  though 
they  be  sinners,  weave  no  crown,  but  offer 
up  Christ  sanctified  for  our  sins,  propitia- 
ting our  merciful  God,  both  for  them  and 
for  ourselves."  Still  the  doctrine  was  not 
fully  established  in  the  West  till  the  time 
of  Gregory  the  Great.  Some  of  the  Greeks 
conceived  that  all,  however  perfect,  must 


pass  through  fire  in  the  next  world.  So, 
e.  g.,  Origen,  "In  Num."  Horn.  xxv.  6, 
"  In  Ps.xxvi."  Horn.  iii.  i.  St.  Augustine 
had  indeed  the  present  doctrine  of  Purga- 
tory clearly  before  his  mind,  but  had  no 
fixed  conviction  on  the  point.  In  his  work 
"De  VIII.  Dulcitii  Qusestionibus  "  (§  13), 
written  about  420,  he  says  it  is  "not 
incredible"  that  imperfect  souls  will  be 
"saved  by  some  purgatorial  fire,"  to  which 
they  will  be  subjected  for  varying  lengths 
of  time,  according  to  their  needs. 

A  little  later,  in  the  "De  Civilate,"  he 
expresses  his  belief  in  Purgatory  as  if  he 
were  certain  (xxi.  13),  or  nearly  so  (xx. 
25),  but  again  speaks  doubtfully  (xxi.  26, 
"  forsitan  verum  est  ")  and  in  the 
"Enchiridion"  (69).  Very  different  is 
Gregory's  tone  :  "  ante  judicium  purga- 
tortus  ignis  credendus  est"  ("Dial."  iv. 
39)- 

GorT\rT\\jr\ior\  of  5air\ts. 

Communion  of  saints  is  mentioned  in 
the  ninth  article  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
where  it  is  added,  according  to  the  Roman 
Catechism,  as  an  explanation  of  the  fore- 
going words,  "  I  believe  in  the  holy 
Catholic  Church."  The  communion  of 
saints  consists  in  the  union  which  binds 
together  the  members  of  the  Church  on 
earth,  and  connects  the  Church  on  earth 
with  the  Church  suffering  in  Purgatory 
and  triumphant  in  heaven. 

(i)  The  faithful  on  earth  have  com- 
munion with  each  other  because  they 
partake  of  the  same  sacraments,  are  under 


I 


88 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


one  head,  and  assist  each  other  by  their 
prayers  and  good  works.  Even  the 
personal  merits  of  a  just  man  profit  his 
brethren,  because  the  greater  his  goodness, 
the  greater  the  efficacy  of  his  prayer  for 
others,  the  more  fitting  it  is  that,  as  he 
does  God's  will,  so  God  should  deign  to  do 
his  by  increasing  the  graces  or  converting 
the  souls  of  those  for  whom  he  prays. 

Catholic  commentators  understand  St. 
Paul  to  refer  to  this  communion  in  good 
works  when  he  encourages  the  Corinthians 
to  help  their  needy  brethren  at  Jerusalem. 
**  Let  your  abundance,"  he  says  (2  Cor. 
viii.  14),  "  supply  their  want,  that  their 
abundance  also   may  be  the  filling  up  of 


your  want  "  —  i,  e.  that  you  may  share  in 
their  spiritual,  as  they  have  shared  in  your 
temporal,  riches. ^  Again,  God  spares  His 
people  for  the  sake  of  the  saints  among 
them,  just  as  He  was  ready  to  spare  Sodom 
had  ten  just  men  been  found  in  it ;  or 
forgave  Job's  firiends  at  the  sacrifice  and 
prayer  of  Job  himself;  or  so  often 
restrained  His  wrath  against  His  people  for 
His  servant  David's  sake.  Of  course,  also, 
many  graces  are  given  primarily  for  the 
edification  of  the  Church. 

(2)  We  communicate  with  the  souls  in 
Purgatory  by  praying  for  them. 

1  See  Estius,  ad  loc.  Meyer,  who  attacks  this  interpre- 
tation, admits  that  it  is  the  traditional  one ;  and  it  has  bee» 
adopted  by  eminent  Protestants,  e.  g.  by  Bengel, 


HE  act  of  declaring  a  person  or 
persons  deceased,  whose  vir- 
tues have  been  proved  by  suffi- 
cient testimony,  and  whose 
power  with  God  has  been 
demonstrated  by  miracles,  to 
be  among  the  number  of  the  blessed. 

To  pay  honor  to  the  dead  whom  the 
general  voice  declares  to  have  lived  well 
is  an  instinct  of  human  nature.  Roman 
citizens  brought  the  images  of  their  dis- 
tinguished ancestors  into  their  villas ; 
under  the  empire  they  recognized  the  far- 
reaching  power  and  august  majesty  — 
sometimes  the  beneficence  —  of  their  rulers 
by  deifying  them  after  death  ;  in  China, 
the  worship  of  ancestors  is  to  this  day  the 
most  living  portion  of  the  popular  religion  ; 
among  ourselves,  the  numbers  of  monu- 
uments  in  our  public  places  everywhere, 
though  in  many  cases  rather  attesting  the 
vanity  of  the  living  than  the  merits  of  the 
dead,  prove  the  universality  of  the  impulse. 
A  modern  writer  of  note^  has  said  that 
everything  depends  on  how  a  people  "does 

1  Mr.  Carlyle. 


its  hero-worship."  The  Church,  divinely 
founded  and  divinely  guided  as  she  is,  so 
far  recognizes  this  view  that  she  encourages 
us  to  distinguish  with  singular  honor 
certain  of  her  children  who  have  gone 
before  us  in  the  Christian  warfare,  bids  us 
reserve  this  honor  for  those  whose  virtue 
reached  the  "heroic"  level,  and  that  we 
may  not  be  deceived,  establishes  a  careful 
and  deliberate  process  whereby  to  test  the 
truth  of  facts  and  probe  the  moral  signifi- 
cance of  actions.  Her  judgments  and  her 
processes  need  not  fear  a  comparison  with 
those  of  public  opinion.  The  State,  which 
modern  religion  invites  us  to  regard  as  a 
moral  agency,  the  fiat  which  is  not  to  be 
appealed  against,  has  also  modes  of  con- 
ferring honor,  and  does  not  wait  for  their 
death  before  it  rewards  its  servants.  It  has 
peerages,  baronetcies,  orders,  stars,  money, 
offices.  If  we  examine  on  what  grounds 
these  distinctions  are  dispensed,  we  find 
that  it  is  for  rare  intellectual  ability  — 
usually  attended  by  the  gift  of  expression 
—  for  the  capacity  of  amassing  money, 
for  courage  with  direction,  and  for  simple 


89 


90 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


courage  ;  a  certain  degree  of '  patriotic 
devotion  being  supposed  to  be  present  in 
each  case.  In  this  way,  and  on  these 
grounds,  the  modern  State  honors  its 
heroes.  To  the  Church,  the  more  or  less 
of  ability  possessed  by  those  whom  she 
recommends  for  our  veneration  is  a  matter 
of  no  concern.  She  is  as  willing  to  raise 
a  St.  Isidore,  the  gardener  of  Madrid,  to 
the  ranks  of  the  Blessed,  as  an  Augus- 
tine of  Hippo,  or  a  Thomas  Aquinas. 
The  proof  of  eminent  virtue  is  all  that  she 
demands,  and  as  a  conclusive  and  com- 
pendious test  of  the  presence  of  this  high 
order  of  virtue,  she  requires  the  authenti- 
cation of  miracles  wrought  by,  or  through 
the  intercession  of,  the  person  whose 
virtues  are  under  debate.  Such  are,  in 
her  estimate,  the  only  sound  bases  of  a 
popular  cultuSy  and  when  these  conditions 
have  been  complied  with,  such  a  cultus  has 
been  never  known  to  be  discredited. 

The  possession  of  virtue  rising  to  the 
heroic  level,  and  the  illustration  of  that 
virtue  by  miracles,  are  matters  of  fact, 
which  must  of  course  be  established  by 
testimony.  The  witnesses,  in  most  cases, 
can  be  no  other  than  the  countrymen  and 
countrywomen  of  the  reputed  saint,  for 
only  they  can  have  seen  his  life  from  so 
near  at  hand  as  to  be  competent  to  speak 
with  certitude  respecting  it.  In  the  early 
times,  individual  bishops,  and  afterwards 
metropolitans  acting  upon  this  local  testi- 
mony, and  sifting  it  in  the  best  way  they 
could,  declared  the  blessedness  of  certain 
persons,  and  proposed  their  memories  for 
the  veneration  of   the  faithful.     But  it  is 


notorious  that  local  testimony  is  rarely 
free  from  bias,  that  national  and  provincial 
sympathies,  or  even  antipathies,  are  apt 
to  disturb  the  judgment,  and  that  for 
this  reason  the  universal  Church  could 
not  safely  endorse  without  injury  even 
the  unanimous  judgment  of  his  own 
countrymen  on  the  virtues  of  a  reputed 
saint.  Earl  Waltheof,  put  to  death  by 
William  the  Conqueror,  was  regarded  by 
the  English  as  a  martyr,  and  miracles 
were  said  to  be  worked  at  his  tomb ;  the 
same  thing  happened  in  the  case  of  Simon 
de  Montfort ;  but  it  may  reasonably  be 
doubted  whether  antipathy  to  the  Nqrman 
and  the  foreigner  was  not  a  substantial 
factor  in  these  reputations  for  sanctity. 
Considerations  of  this  kind  prevailed, 
many  centuries  ago,  to  cause  the  inquiry 
into  reputed  sanctity  to  be  reserved  to  the 
central  authority  in  the  Church,  the  Holy 
See,  and  to  recommend  the  wisdom  and 
necessity  of  the  decision  that  without  the 
sanction  of  that  see  no  religious  cultus 
may  lawfully  be  paid  to  the  memory  of 
any  holy  person,  however  eminent  for 
virtue  or  notorious  for  miracles.  As  early 
as  the  fourth  century,  in  the  case  of  Vigil- 
ius,  bishop  of  Trent,  we  find  the  authority 
of  Rome  invoked  to  recognize  a  martyr 
or  confessor  as  such,  and  sanction  his 
being  honored  in  the  liturgy.  The  pro- 
cedure to  be  observed  was  gradually  reg- 
ularized, defects  remedied,  and  safeguards 
supplied ;  and  in  the  tenth  century  we 
meet  with  the  complete  process  of  a  can- 
onization, of  which  the  object  was  St. 
Ulrich,  bishop  of  Augsburg.      Still,  how- 


BE  A  TIFICA  TION. 


91 


ever,  through  the  inordinate  fondness  with 
which  those  of  a  particular  country  or 
religious  order  regarded  holy  persons  of 
their  own  blood  or  profession,  instances 
of  abusive  cultus  sometimes  occurred; 
and  accordingly  we  find  Alexander  III.,  in 
1 1 70,  publishing  a  decree  in  which  it  is 
declared  unlawful  to  honor  any  person 
publicly  as  a  saint,  however  celebrated  for 
miracles,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Roman  Church.  Still  more  important  is 
the  bull  of  Urban  VIII.  (1634),  in  which 
the  form  of  procedure  in  cases  of  canoni- 
zation is  minutely  prescribed,  and  various 
abuses  condemned.  In  this  bull,  however, 
the  Pope  declared  "  that  he  did  not  wish 
to  prejudice  the  case  of  those  [servants  of 
God]  who  were  the  objects  of  a  cultus 
arising  either  out  of  the  general  consent 
of  the  Church,  or  a  custom  of  which  the 
memory  of  man  ran  not  to  the  contrary, 
or  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  or  the  long 
and  intentional  tolerance  of  the  Apostolic 
See  or'  the  Ordinary."  (Ferraris,  Cultus 
Sanctorum  ) 

It  remains  briefly  to  explain  in  what 
manner  the  duty,  thus  reserved  to  the 
Holy  See,  of  testing  the  evidence  offered 
in  proof  of  sanctity,  is  discharged.  The 
celebrated  treatise  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV. 
[on  Heroic  Virtue  (of  which  a  translation 
was  published  some  years  ago  by  the  Eng- 
lish Oratorians)  is  the  standard  authority 
on  the  subject.  There  are  three  recog- 
nized degrees  of  sanctity  —  that  of  Vener- 
able, that  of  Blessed,  and  that  of  Saint. 
On  the  first  and  third  we  shall  speak  more 
fully   under  the  head  of  Canonization; 


it  is  with  the  title  of  Blessed,  given  on  the 
completion  of  the  process  of  Beatifica- 
tion, that  we  are  at  present  concerned. 
At  the  present  time,  Beatification  is 
nearly  always  a  stage  on  the  road  to 
Canonization ;  the  same  rigorous  proof 
of  eminent  virtue  and  the  working  of 
miracles  is  demanded  in  one  case  as  in 
the  other.  But  whereas  the  cultus  of  a 
canonized  saint  belongs  to  the  universal 
Church,  and  churches  and  altars  can  be 
freely  erected  in  his  or  her  honor,  and 
images,  pictures,  or  statues  of  him  or  her 
displayed  without  special  permission,  in 
the  case  of  one  of  the  Blessed  it  is  other- 
wise. The  honor  and  veneration  which 
are  authorized  in  their  regard  are  limited 
and  partial ;  and  because  the  cultus  of  one 
of  them  is  permitted  to  one  country,  or 
city,  or  order,  or  branch  of  an  order,  it 
does  not  follow  that  it  should  be  practised 
elsewhere,  and  the  attempt  to  extend  it 
without  special  permission  is  condemned. 
Nor  is  it  lawful,  without  such  permission, 
to  display  their  pictures  or  images  in 
churches,  nor,  under  any  circumstances, 
can  Mass  be  said  or  the  breviary  recited 
in  their  honor. 

Thirteen  or  fourteen  different  steps  may 
be  distinguished  in  the  process  of  Beatifi- 
cation ;  the  general  object  of  all  these 
slow  and  lengthy  inquiries  —  extending 
always  over  many  years,  and  sometimes 
from  one  century  to  another — being  to 
unite  the  credibility  and  authenticity 
which  can  only  be  founded  on  the  reports 
of  witnesses  locally  and  personally  cog- 
nizant of  the  facts  to  the  authority  of  a 


92 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


juridical  investigation  conducted  by  trained 
and  impartial  intellects.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  character  and  behavior  of 
the  reputed  saint  are  subjected  to  the 
severest  possible  strain  ;  that  the  "  fierce 
light  which  beats  upon  a  throne"  is 
nothing  to  that  which  so  minute  and 
protracted  an  inquiry  turns  upon  the 
everyday  life  of  the  person  submitted 
to  it.  "  The  person  who  is  to  be  beati- 
fied must  have  practised  in  the  heroic 
degree,  chiefly,  the  three  theological  vir- 
tues, Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  and  the 
four  cardinal  virtues,  Prudence,  Justice, 
Courage,  and  Temperance,  with  all  that 
these  suppose  and  involve ;  nor  is  it 
enough  to  show  that  these  have  been 
practised  to  this  degree  of  perfection 
under  certain  circumstances :  numerous 
acts,  a  permanent  and  habitual  practice, 
principally  of  charity,  are  required  ;  and, 
with  regard  to  the  cardinal  virtues,  the 
habit  of  that  virtue  which  was  the  proper 
and  distinguishing  excellence  of  the  per- 
son's calling.  Thus  justice  and  temperance 
are  required  in  statesmen  and  prelates  ;  in 
Popes,  zeal „ for  the  defence  and  propaga- 
tion of  the  Catholic  faith ;  in  kings,  loyal 
attachment  to  the  Church  and  the  Holy 
See ;  in  married  women,  gentleness  and 
devotion,"  etc.^ 

The  first  step  of  the  process  is  a  formal 
inquiry  instituted  by  the  bishop  of  the  j 
diocese  as  to  the  fact  of  the  reputation  of 
the  person  whose  beatification  is  demanded 
for  virtue  and  miraculous  power.  This 
being     accomplished,     either      the     same 

1  De  Moy  in  Wetzer  and  Welte. 


bishop  or  a  Roman  official  inquires  into 
the  fact  of  non-ciiltus  —  that  is,  whether 
the  bull  of  Urban  VHI.  (supposing  the 
case  not  to  be  included  among  the  excep- 
tions thefore  specified )  has  been  hitherto 
scrupulously  complied  with.  Thirdly,  the 
acts  or  minutes  resulting  from  these  two 
inquiries  are  sent  to  Rome,  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Congregation  of  Rites.  [Roman 
Congregations.]  Before  this  body  the 
process  is  now  opened,  at  the  request  of 
t]\Qpostulators,  or  supporters  of  the  beati- 
fication. The  fifth  step  is  the  nomination 
of  a  promotor  fidei  ( called  in  popular  lan- 
guage the  "  devil's  advocate "),  whose 
duty  it  is  to  point  out  any  flaws  or  weak 
points"  in  the  evidence  adduced,  and  raise 
all  kinds  of  objections.  Sixthly,  the  Con- 
gregation examines,  if  the  person  were  an 
author,  all  the  works,  printed  or  in  man- 
uscript, which  were  ascertained  to  be  of 
his  composition,  and  draws  up  a  formal 
report  on  them.  If  this  be  favorable,  the 
seventh  stage  is  reached,  that  of  the  intro- 
duction of  the  apostolic  process  ;  for  Rome, 
so  to  speak,  now  makes  the  cause  its  own, 
and  gives  a  commission  to  the  Congrega- 
tion of  Rites  to  try  it,  investigating,  not 
only  the  notoriety,  but  the  reality  and 
nature  of  the  virtues  and  miracles 
ascribed  to  the  beatificandus.  This  com. 
mission,  without  a  special  Papal  dispensa- 
tion, is  never  issued  till  at  least  ten  years 
have  passed  since  the  first  transmission  of 
the  acts  to  the  secretary  of  the  Congrega- 
tion. The  next  step  is  the  appointment 
by  the  Congregation,  under  what  are 
called  littercB  remissionales,  of  a  delegation 


BE  A  TIFICA  TION. 


93 


of  three  bishops,  or  other  high  function- 
aries, to  deal  with  the  case  systematically, 
and  examine  witnesses  in  respect  to  the 
reputed  virtues  and  miracles.  The  acts 
of  this  delegation,  which  are  often 
extremely  voluminous,  are,  as  the  ninth 
stage,  sent  to  the  Congregation,  by  which 
they  are  examined,  and  arguments  heard, 
pro  and  contra,  from  the  postulators  and 
the  promotor  fidei.  If  the  result  is  favor- 
able to  the  beatificandiis,  a  second  and 
still  more  searching  inquiry  into  the  real 
and  inmost  nature  of  all  that  has  been 
deposed  respecting  him  is  committed  to  a 
new  delegation  ;  this  is  the  tenth  stage. 
The  process,  being  returned  to  the  Con- 
,gregation,  is  finally  considered  by  them, 
^both  as  to  its  form  and  as  to  its  substance  ; 
and  the  virtues  and  miracles  are  separately 
the  subject  of  debate  in  three  successive 
assemblies  or  congregations,  at  the  last 
of  which  the  Pope  himself  is  present. 
After  having  sought  to   know  the  will  of 


God  by  prayer,  the  Pope  makes  known 
his  judgment  to  the  secretary  of  the  Con- 
gregation. A  new  general  congregation 
is  then  held,  at  which  is  considered  whether 
the  beatification  may  be  proceeded  with 
without  further  delay;  if  the  decision  be 
favorable,  the  Pope  appoints  a  day  for  the 
ceremony,  and  orders  a  brief,  setting  forth 
the  apostolic  sentence,  to  be  prepared. 
The  final  stage  of  this  long  process,  the 
beatification  itself,  takes  place  in  the 
Vatican  church ;  it  includes  the  public 
reading  of  the  brief,  the  chanting  of  the 
Te  Deum,  the  unveiling  of  the  image  or 
picture  of  the  newly  beatified  on  the 
altar,  the  incensing  of  the  image,  the 
reading  of  the  new  collect,  etc. 

By  an  "  equipollent  beatification "  is 
meant  the  Papal  authorization  of  the 
public  cultus  of  a  confessor  or  martyr, 
founded  on  the  proof  of  one  or  more  of  the 
exceptional  conditions  stated  in  the  bull 
of  Urban  VIII. 


II 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


>  -.A-.  ■<i^<^.-...<y<i>-..i!^^.'  .Sl>.   .A..   .v<^^.   -<%    ■v'^O,    ^■1',.   ■<^^.   ..jy^^/.    .^■^^■  ■s'^^.   ■<;%,   .s^y.  .i^^.   .v-^,.  .jftt.  .jj^,,  ,.<^<-^,    ^<^,,  .A-^s>^^^ 


#  "<^  '■'^•■•viak 


-^^     -#->     ,<»-     -;ft>    -<»-    -.^O.    ■-«>.     -v^x      ■>«>      s*!..     ^-^-^      vN*-.      ^'♦-       ^^%      <^*>      <«^      ^      c^      <^     .<ft.    .ift--'^     <fe,     .<fe.,^,     .j*.     .^    x^  :   < 


T 


HE  Latin  word  miraculum 
means  something  wonderful  — 
not  necessarily  supernatural, 
for,  e.  g.,  the  "  Seven  Wonders 
of  the  World  "  were  known  as 
the  "  Septem  Miracula."  In 
theological  Latin,  however,  and  in  English, 
the  words  miraculum,  "  miracle,"  are  used 
commonly  only  of  events  so  wonderful 
that  they  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  nat- 
ural causes.  This  use,  as  we  shall  see 
presently,  is  not  sanctioned  by  the  Vul- 
gate translation  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  is  not  thoroughly  supported  by  the 
language  of  the  original  Greek.  It  has 
its  disadvantages  as  well  as  its  advantages, 
though,  of  course,  the  established  termin- 
ology cannot  be  altered  now,  even  if  it 
were  possible  —  as  we  believe  it  is  not  — 
to  find  a  more  convenient  word.  It  will 
be  well,  however,  to  say  something  on  the 
Scriptural,  and  particularly  the  New  Tes- 
tament, phraseology. 

(i)  Miracles  are  called  Urata  {prodigia. 
See  Exod.  iv.  21,  where  it  is  the  rendering 
of    ...     .     shining  or  splendid  deeds) 


— i.  e.  prodigies,  because  of  the  surprise 
they  cause.  The  Greek  word  thaumasia, 
which  would  exactly  answer  to  miracula^ 
is  found  in  the  New  Testament  once  only 
{thauma}  never).  Matt.  xxi.  1 5 ;  and 
there  in  a  wider  sense  than  "  miracle." 
There  is  no  great  difference,  from  a 
theological  point  of  view,  between  the 
words  "prodigy"  and  "miracle."  It  is, 
however,  well  worth  notice  that  the  New 
Testament  never  uses  the  word  "  prodigy  " 
by  itself.  It  speaks  of  "  signs  and  prodi- 
gies," etc.,  many  times  ;  of  "  prodigies  " 
simply,  never.  Evidently,  the  wonder 
caused  is  not  the  only  or  even  the  chief 
feature  in  a  miracle,  and  this  the  New 
Testament  writers  are  careful  to  note. 

(2)  Miracles  are  also  frequently  called 
"  signs  "  {semeia  \  an  accurate  rendering  of 

Ex.  vii.  3),  to  indicate  their 

purpose.  They  are  "marvels"  and  "prod- 
igies "  which  arouse  attention,  but  the 
"wonder"  excited  is  a  means,  and  not  an 
end,  and  the  "miracle"  is  a  token  of 
God's  presence  ;  they  confirm  the  mission 

1  Never,  i.  e.  for  a  "  wonderful  thing."    See  .^poc.  xviL  7. 


P"'!!II!ii!!;!iIlli'j|iII!l!II!Iili!' 


\Mi 


CHRIST   HEALETH   THE   BLIND. 


MIRACLES. 


95 


and  the  teaching  of  those  who  deliver  a 
message  in  His  name  (see  Acts  xiv.  3, 
Heb.  ii.  4).  Of  course,  it  is  only  by  usage 
that  the  word  "  sign  "  acquires  this  tech- 
nical sense,  and  it  does  not  always  in  the 
New  Testament  mean  a  supernatural  sign. 

(3)  They  are  often  described  as 
"  powers  "  {dunameis),  inasmuch  as  they 
exhibit  God's  power.  They  are  evidences 
that  new  powers  have  entered  our  world, 
and  are  working  thus  for  the  good  of 
mankind,  God,  no  doubt,  is  always  work- 
ing, and  He  manifests  His  power  in  the 
operation  of  natural  law.  But  we  are  in 
danger  of  looking  upon  the  world  as  if  it 
were  governed  by  laws  independent  of 
God,  and  of  forgetting  that  His  hand  is 
as  necessary  in  each  moment  of  the 
world's  existence  for  each  operation  of 
created  things  as  it  was  for  creation  at  the 
first.  In  a  miracle,  God  produces  sensible 
effects  which  transcend  the  operation  of 
natural  causes.  Men  are  no  longer  able 
to  say,  •*  This  is  Nature,"  forgetting  all  the 
while  that  nature  is  the  continuous  work 
of  God  ;  and  they  confess,  "The  finger  of 
GoJ  is  here."  In  Christ,  miracles  were 
the  "  powers,"  or  works  of  power  done  by 
Him  who  was  Himself  the  power  of  God. 
And  so,  miracles  done  through  the  saints 
flow  from,  and  are  signs  of,  the  power  of 
God  within  them.  "  Stephen,  full  of  grace 
and  power,  did  great  prodigies  and  signs 
among  the  people  "  (Acts  vi.  8). 

(4)  Christ's  miracles  are  often  called 
His  "works,"  as  if  the  form  of  working  to 
be  looked  for  from  Him  in  whom  the 
"fulness   of   the  Godhead   dwelt   bodily." 


They  were  the  characteristic  works  of 
Him  who  came  to  free  us  from  the  bond- 
age of  Nature,  to  be  our  life,  to  overcome 
death,  to  lead  us,  first  to  a  worthier  and 
more  unselfish  life,  and  then  to  a  better 
world  in  which  sorrow  and  death  shall  be 
no  more.  They  are  the  first-fruits  of  His 
power ;  the  pledges  of  that  mighty  work- 
ing by  which,  one  day,  He  will  subject  all 
things  to  Himself  and  make  all  things 
new. 

From  a  different  point  of  view,  then,  the 
same  event  is  a  "prodigy,"  a  "sign,"  and 
a  "  power  "  ;  each  word  presenting  it  under 
a  distinct  and  instructive  aspect.  The 
three  words  occur  three  times  together  — 
viz.  in  Acts  ii.  22,  2  Cor.  xii.  12  ;  2Thes.  ii. 
9  (in  the  last  passage  of  the  false  miracles 
of  Antichrist).  In  each  case  the  Vulgate 
has  kept  the  distinction  with  accurate  and 
delicate  fidelity ;  and  we  cannot  help 
expressing  our  regret  that  the  Douay 
version,  in  Challoner's  recension,  should 
have  obliterated  the  distinction  and 
blunted  the  sense  of  Scripture  by  translat- 
ing—  e.  g.  Acts  ii.  22 — "by  miracles,  and 
wonders,  and  signs,"  as  if  "  wonder"  added 
anything  to  "  miracle." 

We  cannot  pretend  to  consider  here,  in 
full,  the  objections  made  to  the  possibility 
of  miracles,  but  can  only  give  in  brief  the 
teaching  of  Catholic  theologians,  and 
particularly  of  St.  Thomas,  on  the  matter. 
The  latter  defines  a  miracle  as  an  effect 
which  "  is  beyond  the  order  ( or  laws )  of 
the  whole  of  created  nature  "  —  " prceter 
ordinem  totins  natures' creates''  (Lex.  4). 
He  explains  further,   that   an   event  may 


^ 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH.  HISTORY. 


transcend  the  laws  of  some  particular 
nature,  and  yet  by  no  means  be  miracu- 
lous. The  motion  of  a  stone  when  thrown 
up  in  the  air,  to  take  his  own  instance,  is 
an  effect  which  exceeds  the  power  which 
resides  in  the  nature  of  the  stone ;  but  it 
is  no  miracle,  for  it  is  produced  by  the 
natural  power  of  man,  and  does  not  there- 
fore exceed  the  power  of  Nature  in  its 
entirety.  No  natural  law  can  account  for 
the  sun's  going  back  on  the  dial  of  Achaz, 
for  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  or  for  the 
cure  by  Christ  of  Peter's  wife's  mother 
when  she  was  sick  of  a  fever.  All  these 
things  exceeded  the  powers  of  Nature, 
though  in  different  degrees,  and  they  are 
inst-ances  of  the  three  grades  of  the  miracu- 
I .  lous  which  St.  Thomas  distinguishes  (I.  cv. 
8).  In  the  first  case  the  very  substance  of 
the  thing  done  is  beyond  the  power  of 
Nature  to  effect  {" excedit  facultatem 
natures,  quantum  ad  substantiam  facti  ") ;  in 
the  second,  the  recipient  of  the  effect 
stamps  it  as  miraculous  ("  ex c  edit  facultatem 
naturcB,  quatitum  ad  id  in  quo  Jit  "),  since 
natural  powers  can  indeed  give  life,  but' 
not  to  the  dead;  in  the  third,  it  is  the 
manner  and  order  in  which  the  effect  is 
produced  ("  modus  et  ordo  faciendi'^)  that 
is  miraculous,  for  the  instantaneous  cure 
of  disease  by  Christ's  word  is  very  differ- 
ent from  a  cure  effected  by  the  gradual 
operation  of  care  and  medical  treatment. 
The  latter  is  natural,  the  former  super- 
natural. 

The  definition  given  makes  it  unreason- 
able to  deny  the  possibility  of  miracles, 
unless  we  also  deny  the  existence  of  God. 


Usually,  He  works  according  to  natural 
laws,  and  this  for  our  good,  since  we 
should  be  unable  to  control  natural  agents 
and  to  make  them  serve  us,  unless  we 
could  count  on  the  effects  known  causes 
will  produce.  But  God  is  necessarily 
free  ;  He  is  not  subject  to  natural  laws, 
and  He  may,  for  wise  reasons,  make 
created  things  the  instruments  of  effects 
which  are  beyond  their  natural  capacity. 
A  miracle  is  not  an  effect  without  a  cause ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  miracle  because 
produced  by  God,  the  First  Cause,  It  is 
not  a  capricious  exercise  of  power.  The 
same  God  who  operates  usually,  and  for 
wise  ends,  according  to  the  laws  which  He 
has  implanted  in  Nature,  may  on  occasion, 
and  for  ends  equally  wise,  produce  effects 
which  transcend  these  laws.  Nor  does 
God  in  working  miracles  contradict  Him- 
self, for  where  has  He  bound  Himself 
never,  and  for  no  reason,  to  operate  except 
according  to  these  laws  .'' 

It  is  also  clear  from  the  definition  given 
that  God  alone  can  work  miracles. 
"  Whatever  an  angel  or  any  other  creature 
does  by  his  own  power  is  according  to  the 
order  of  created  nature,"  and  therefore  not 
miraculous  according  to  the  definition 
with  which  we  started  (I,  ex.  4),  It  is 
quite  permissable  to  speak  of  saints  or 
angels  as  working  miracles ;  indeed, 
Scripture  itself  does  so  speak.  Still,  we 
must  always  understand  that  God  alone 
really  performs  the  wonder,  and  that  the 
creature  is  merely  His  instrument.  Hence 
it  follows  that  no  miracle  can  possibly  be 
wrought   except  for  a  good   purpose.     It 


MIRACLES. 


97 


does  not,  however,  follow  that  persons 
through  whose  instrumentality  miracles 
occur  are  good  and  holy.  St.  Thomas, 
quoting  St.  Jerome,  holds  that  evil  men 
who  preach  the  faith  and  call  on  Christ's 
name,  may  perform  true  miracles  the 
object  of  these  miracles  being  to  confirm 
the  truths  which  these  unworthy  persons 
utter  and  the  cause  which  they  represent^ 
Thus  the  gift  of  miracles  is  in  itself  no 
proof  of  holiness.  But,  as  a  rule,  miracles 
are  effected  by  holy  men  and  women,  and 
very  often  they  are  the  signs  by  which 
God  attests  their  sanctity  and  the  power 
of  their  prayer  (2  2ndae  clxxviii.  2).  In  all 
these  cases,  the  miracle  is  a  sign  of  God's 
will,  and  cannot,  except  through  our  own 
perversity,  lead  us  into  error. 

It     is     otherwise     with     the     "lying 
vonders,"  which,  SL  Paul  says.  Antichrist 
ill  work,  or  which  Pharaoh's   magicians 
re  supposed  by  some  to   have   done   by 
the  help  of  devils.     Real   miracles  these 
cannot  be,  for  God,  who  is   the  very  truth, 
cannot  work  wonders  to  lead  His  creatures 
into  error.     But  the  demons,  according  to 
St.  Thomas,  are  so  far  beyond  us  in  knowl- 
edge and   strength,    that   they  may  well 
vork    marvels,  which    would  exceed   all 
atural  powers,  so  far  as  we  know  them, 
nd    would   seem   to  us  superior  to  any 
itural  power   whatsoever,  and  so  to  be 
truly   miraculous    (I.   cxiv.).      True   mir- 
acles, then,  are  practically    distinguished 
from  false  ones  by  their  moral  character. 


1  Sylvius,  one  of  the  best  known  commentators  on  St, 
-  homas,  holds  that  heretics  may  work  miracles ;  not,  how- 
ever, in  confirmation  of  their  heresy. 


They  are  not  mere  marvels,  meant  to 
gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  spectator  and 
the  vanity  of  the  performer.  They  are 
sig^s  of  God's  presence ;  they  bring  us 
nearer  to  Him  with  whom  "  we  ever  have 
to  do "  ;  they  remind  us  that  we  are  to 
be  holy  as  He  is  holy,  to  cultivate  humility, 
purity,  the  love  of  God  and  man.  The 
doctrine  whicli  they  confirm  must  appeal 
to  us,  apart  from  its  miraculous  attestation. 
"Jesus  answered  them  and  said.  My  doc- 
trine is  not  mine,  but  His  who  sent  me.  If 
any  man  will  do  His  will,  he  will  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether 
I  speak  from  myself.  He  who  speaketh 
of  himself,  seeketh  his  own  glory,  but  he 
that  seeketh  the  glory  of  Him  that  sent 
him,  he  is  true,  and  injustice  is  not  in 
him"  (John  vil  16).  So  our  Lord  appeals, 
in  answering  John's  disciples,  to  His  mir- 
acles, not  simply  as  works  of  power,  but 
as  stamped  with  a  moral  character,  and  in 
their  connection  with  the  rest  of  His  work, 
"Blind  see  again  and  lame  walk,  lepers 
are  cleansed,  and  deaf  hear,  and  corpses 
are  raised,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel 
preached  to  them ;  and  blessed  is  he 
whosoever  shall  not  be  scandalized  in  me  " 
(Matt  xi.  5  seq).  In  short,  there  was  a 
witness  within,  as  well  as  without,  to 
Christ's  mission,  and  the  miracles  had  no 
voice  for  those  who  were  deaf  to  the 
voice  within.  Because  they  were  deaf  to 
this  voice  within,  the  Pharisees  ascribed 
Christ's  miracles  to  Beelzebub.  They 
blasphemed,  or  were  in  danger  of  blas- 
pheming, the  Holy  Ghost  who  spoke  to 
their    hearts.     And     precisely  the    same 


98 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


danger  which  made  men  reject  Christ's 
miracles  will  make  them  accept  the  mar- 
vels of  Antichrist. 

So  far,  many  Protestants  are  with  us ; 
but  whereas  most  of  them  consider  that 
miracles  ceased  with,  or  soon  after,  the 
apostolic  age,  the  Catholic  Church,  not, 
indeed,  so  far  as  we  know,  by  any  formal 
definition,  but  by  her  constant  practice  in 
the  canonization  of  saints,  and  through 
the  teaching  of  her  theologians,  declares 
that  the  gift  of  miracles  is  an  abiding  one, 
manifested  from  time  to  time  in  her  midst. 
This  belief  is  logical  and  consistent. 
Miracles  are  as  possible  now  as  they 
were  eighteen  centuries  ago.  They  were 
wrought  throughout  the  course  of  the  old 
dispensation,  and  by  the  apostles  after 
Christ's  death  ;  and  although  miracles,  no 
doubt,  were  specially  needed,  and  there- 
fore  more  numerous,  when  Christianity 
was  a  new  religion,  we  have  no  right  to 
dictate  to  the  All-wise  and  maintain  that 
they  have  ceased  to  be  required  at  all. 
Heathen  nations  have  still  to  be  con- 
verted. Great  saints  are  raised  up  in 
different  ages  to  renew  the  fervor  of 
Christians,  and  turn  the  hearts  of  the  dis- 
obedient to  the  wisdom  of  the  just.  The 
only  reasonable  course  is  to  examine  the 
evidence  for  modern  miracles,  when  it 
presents  itself,  and  to  give  or  withhold 
belief  accordingly.  This  is  just  what  the 
Church  does.  The  Anglican  Bishop  Fitz- 
gerald, at  the  end  of  a  most  thoughtful 
and  useful  essay  on  "  Miracles  "  in  Smith's 
"  Bible  Dictionary,"  asserts  that  according 
to  the  confession  of  their  ablest  advocates, 


ecclesiastical  miracles  belong  to  the  class 
"of  miracles  which  may  be  described  as 
ambiguous  and  tentative  —  i.  e.  the  event, 
if  it  occurred  at  all,  may  have  been  the 
result  of  natural  causes."  Then,  indeed, 
the  question  would  be  at  an  end.  But  any 
one  who  looks  into  Benedict  XIV. *s  treat- 
ise on  "  Canonization,"  or  into  Cardinal 
Newman's  "Lectures  on  Anglican  Diffi- 
culties," will  see  what  an  extraordinary 
mistake  this  is.  This  able  writer  is  wast- 
ing words  and  exposing  the  weakness  of 
his  own  cause  when  he  argues  that  the 
course  of  Nature  cannot  be  interrupted 
"by  random  and  capricious  variation," 
that  strong  evidence  is  needed  to  make 
supposed  miracles  credible,  and  that  the 
true  miracles  of  Christianity  at  its  birth 
may  have  occasioned  spurious  imitations 
of  fanatical  credulity.  All  this  may  be 
admitted,  but  it  does  not  touch  the  ques- 
tion. And  when  Dr.  Fitzgerald  rests  the 
belief  in  miracles  upon  the  authority  of 
inspired  writers,  and  urges  that  there  is 
no  such  authority  for  ecclesiastical  mira- 
cles, he  forgets  that  the  first  Christians 
must  have  believed  the  miracles  of  Christ 
and  the  apostles  before  any  inspired 
record  of  them  had  been  made.  In  many 
cases,  too,  the  belief  in  apostolic  miracles 
must  have  come  first,  that  in  apostolic 
inspiration,  second. 

It  must  be  observed,  hoifever,  that 
ecclesiastical  and  Scriptural  miracles  claim 
widely  different  kinds  of  belief.  The 
Scriptural  miracles  rest  on  divine  faith, 
and  must  be  accepted  without  doubt.  No 
ecclesiastical    miracle    can     become     the 


MIRACLES. 


99 


object  of  faith,  nor  is  any  Catholic  bound 
to  believe  in  any  particular  miracle  not 
recorded  in  Scripture.  He  could  not, 
without  unsoundness  in  doctrine,  deny 
that  any  miracles  had  occurred  since  the 
apostolic  age,  and  he  owes  a  filial  respect 
to  the  judgment  of  high  ecclesiastical 
authority;  but  within  these  limits  he  is 
left  to  the  freedom  and  to  the  responsibili- 
ties of  private  judgment. 

Lastly,  although  there  is  a  danger  in 
incredulity,  even  when  this  incredulity 
does  not  amount  to  abandonment  of  the 
faith.  Catholic  saints  and  doctors  have 
insisted  on  the  opposite  danger  of  credu- 
lity. To  attribute  false  miracles,  says  St. 
Peter  Damian,  to  God  or  His  saints,  is  to 
bear  false  witness  against  them ;  and  he 
reminds  those  who  estimate  sanctity  by 
miraculous  power  that  nothing  is  read  of 
miracles  done  by  the  Blessed  Virgin  or 
St.  John  Baptist,  eminent  as  they  were  in 
sanctity,  and  that  the  virtues  of  the  saints 
which  we  can  copy  are  more  useful  than 
miracles  which  excite  our  wonder  (Fleury, 
"H.  E."  Ixi.  2).  Neander  ("Kirchen- 
geschichte,"  viii.  p.  26  seq),  after  speaking 
of  the  popular  taste  for  legendary  miracles 
in  the  middle  ages,  continues  :  "  Men  were 
not  wanting  to  contend  against  this  spirit, 
and  a  catena  of  testimonies  may  be  pro- 
duced from  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  on  the  true  significance  of  the 
miraculous  in  relation  to  the  divine  life, 
and  against  an  exaggerated  estimation  of 
external  miracles.  Nor  were  such  thoughts 
peculiar  to  enlightened  men  who  rose 
above  their  age ;  they  may  be  taken  as  an 


expression  of  the  common  Christian  feel- 
ing in  those  centuries."  The  mediaeval 
biographer  of  Bernard  of  Tiron  says 
that  for  the  conversions  of  fallen  women 
which  he  effected  through  God's  grace,  he 
was  more  to  be  admired  than  if  he  had 
raised  their  dead  bodies  to  life.  And  the 
biographer  of  St.  Norbert  writes :  "  It  is 
the  visible  miracles  which  astonish  the 
simple  and  ignorant,  but  it  is  the  patience 
and  virtues  of  the  saints  which  are  to  be 
admired  and  imitated  by  those  who  gird 
themselves  to  Christ's  service."  (See  the 
references  in  Neander,  loc  cit. ) 

( On  the  subject  of  miracles  generally, 
Archbishop  Trench's  dissertation  at  the 
beginning  of  his  "  Essays  on  the  Miracles" 
may  be  consulted.  It  is  specially  valuable 
for  its  Patristic  references.  The  opinions 
of  the  School-men  on  the  nature  of 
miracles  are  well  given  by  Neander,  vol. 
viii.  p.  26  of  the  last  German  edition. 
Cardinal  Newman's  "  Essay  on  Eccle- 
siastical Miracles  "  is  well  known.) 


JMissal. 


The  book  which  contains  the  complete 
service  for  Mass  throughout  the  year. 

In  the  ancient  Church  there  was  no  one 
book  answering  to  our  Missal.  The 
service  for  Mass  was  contained  in  the 
Antiphonary,  Lectionary,  Book  of  the 
Gospels,  and  Sacramentary.  This  last, 
besides  matter  relating  to  other  sacraments, 
gave  the  collects,  secrets,  prefaces,  canon, 
prayer  infracanonem,  and  post-communion, 


lOO 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


and  from  the  eighth  century  at  latest  it 
was  known  as  Missal  or  Massbook.  There 
were  "  Completa  Missalia,"  —  i.  e.  Missals 
which  contained  more  of  the  service  of 
the  Mass  than  the  Sacramentaries  ;  but 
we  do  not  know  how  far  this  completeness 
went,  for  "during  the  ages  which 
intervened  between  the  use  of  the  Liber 
Sacramentorum  and  the  general  adoption 
of  the  complete  book  of  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  the  Missal  was  in 
a  transition  state,  ■  sometimes  containing 
more,  sometimes  less  of  the  entire  office. 
Thus  the  MSS.  which  still  exist,  vary  in 
their  contents  (Maskell,  "  Monumenta 
Rit.,"  p.  Ixiii,  seq)?-  There  are,  of  course, 
printed  Missals  according  to  the  various 
rites  —  Missale  Romanum,  Ambrosianum, 
Missa  ad  usum  Sarum  (first  printed  edition 
known,  Paris,  1487),  and  the  various  uses 
of  religious  orders  (Dominicans,  Bene- 
dictines, etc.)  The  Roman  Missal  was 
carefully  revised  and  printed  under  Pius 
v.,  who  carried  out  a  decree  of  the  Council 
of  Trent  on  the  matter,  and  strictly 
enjoined  the  use  of  this  Missal,  or  faithful 
reprints  of  it,  in  all  churches  which  could 
not  claim  prescription  of  two  hundred 
years  for  their  own  use.  It  was  revised 
again  under  Clement  VIII.  and  Urban 
VIII.  New  masses  have  of  course  been 
added  from  time  to  time,  and  to  the  Missal 
as  to  the  Breviary  a  "Proper"  may  be 
added  by  permission  of  the  Holy  See, 
containing  masses  for  the  saints  venerated 
in  a  particular  county,  diocese,  order,  etc. 

1  The  Missale  Plenarium  contains  all    the  service    for 
Mass,  L  e.  it  b  a  Missal  in  the  modern  sense. 


J^ropagarxda. 


The  sacred  congregation  of  Cardinals  di 
propaganda  fide y  commonly  called  the  Con- 
gregation of  Propaganda,  which  had  been 
contemplated  by  Gregory  XIII.,  was  prac- 
tically established  by  Gregory  XV.  (1622)  to 
guard,  direct,  and  promote  the  foreign  mis- 
sions. Urban  VIII.  (1623-1644)  instituted 
the  "  College  of  Propaganda  "  as  part  of  the 
same  design,  where  young  men  of  every 
nation  and  language  might  be  trained  for 
the  priesthood,  and  prepared  for  the  evan- 
gelic warfare  against  heathenism  or  heresy. 
The  management  of  this  college  the  Pope 
entrusted  to  the  Congregation.  Urban 
caused  the  present  building  to  be  erected, 
from  the  designs  of  Bernini.  The  College 
possesses  a  library  of  30,000  volumes, 
among  which  are  the  translations  of  a  great 
number  of  Chinese  works,  and  a  large  col- 
lection of  Oriental  MSS.  Attached  to  the 
library  is  the  Museo  Borgia,  which  contains 
several  interesting  MSS.,  service-books,  and 
autographs,  and  a  collection  of  objects  sent 
home  by  the  missionaries  from  the  coun- 
tries where  they  are  stationed,  including  an 
extraordinary  assortment  of  idols.  "The 
annual  examination  of  the  pupils,  which 
takes  place  in  January  (on  the  day  before 
the  Epiphany),  is  an  interesting  scene, 
which  few  travellers  who  are  then  in  Rome 
omit  to  attend  ;  the  pupils  reciting  poetry 
and  speeches  in  their  several  languages, 
accompanied  also  by  music,  as  performed 
in  their  respective  countries.  The  number 
of  pupils  was,  by  the  last  return,  142."^ 

1  Murray's  Handbook /or  Rome,  1867. 


CONCLAVB. 


ONCLAVK  (Lat.  conclave; 
properly,  a  chamber  that  can 
be  closed  with  one  key).  The 
term  is  applied  both  to-  the 
place  where  the  Cardinals 
assemble  for  the  election  of 
X  new  Pope,  and  to  the  assembly  itself. 
Several  questions  relating  to  the  election 
of  Popes —  e.  g.  whether  the  Roman  Pon- 
tiff can  legally  nominate  his  successor ; 
who  is  or  is  not  eligible ;  what  would 
happen  in  the  event  of  all  the  Cardinals 
dying  before  the  election,  etc.  — are  con- 
sidered under  Pope  ;  in  this  article  we 
shall  treat  exclusively  of  the  mode  of  elec- 
tion, as  finally  settled  by  Gregory  X.  In 
the  course  of  the  dark  ages  the  secular 
rulers  of  Rome  made  various  attempts  to 
interfere  with  the  freedom  of  Papal  elec- 
tions. A  statement  even  appears  in  the 
jDecretura  of  Gratian  (and  was  used  in 
argument  by  James  I.  and  Bishop 
Andrewes,  when  attempting  to  justify 
I  the  subjection  of  the  Anglican  Church 
fto  the  crown),  to  the  effect  that  Pope 
Hadrian    granted    to     Charlemagne    the 


right  of  electing  the  Pope  and  regu;ating 
the  Apostolic  See.  But  this  canon  was 
shown  by  Bellarmine  to  be  spurious ;  it 
was  probably  invented  by  Sigismond  of 
Gemblours,  a  strong  supporter  of  imperial 
pretentions,  and  being  found  in  his  chron- . 
icle,  imposed  upon  the  unwary  Gratian, 
Another  canon,  also  found  in  Gratian, 
which  states  that  Leo  VIII.  granted  a 
similar  privilege  to  Otho  I.,  soon  after 
the  commencement  of  the  revived  "  Holy 
Roman  Empire,"  at  once  falls  to  the 
ground  when  it  is  remembered  that  Leo 
VIII.,  for  the  unanswerable  reasons  given 
by  Baronius,  is  not  to  be  accounted  a  true 
Pope.  In  1059  an  important  decree  was 
made  by  Nicholas  II.  in  a  council  at 
Rome,  assigning  the  election  of  future 
Popes  to  the  Cardinal  Bishops,  with  the 
consent  of  the  other  Cardinals,  and  the 
clergy,  and  the  people  of  Rome,  saving 
also  the  honor  due  to  Henry,  king  of  the 
Romans,  and  to  any  of  his  successors  on 
the  imperial  throne  in  whose  favor  the 
Holy  See  should  make  the  same  reserva- 
tion.    This  partial  recognition  of  a  right 


101 


102 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  fllSTORY. 


to  interfere  in  the  election  proved  to  be 
fertile  in  antipopes  and  vexations  of  every 
kind ;  and  Alexander  III.,  having  experi- 
enced what  trouble  an  arbitrary  emperor 
could  cause,  in  his  long  struggle  with 
Frederic  Barbarossa,  resolved  with  a  wise 
boldness  to  take  away  from  the  imperial 
line  the  locus  standi  in  Papal  elections 
which  the  canon  of  1059  ^^^  allowed,  and 
to  vindicate  her  ancient  freedom  for  the 
Church.  In  a  General  Council  held  at 
the  Lateran  in  1179,  it  was  decreed  that 
the  election  sboald  thenceforth  rest  with 
the  Cardinalo  alone,  and  that,  in  order  to 
be  canonical,  it  must  be  supported  by  the 
votes  of  two-thirds  of  their  number.  In 
the  following  century,  the  Lateran  decree 
was  confirmed  and  developed  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  Lyons  (1274),  presided  over  by 
Gregory  X.  ;  and  in  all  its  substantial 
features  the  discipline  then  settled  is  still 
observed. 

In  the  election  of  a  Pope,  it  is  obvious 
that  there  are  certain  conditions  the  exact 
fulfilment  of  which  is  of  the  utmost  con- 
sequence. These  are  such  as  the  follow- 
ing :  That  all  those  qualified  to  vote,  and 
only  those,  should  take  part  in  the  elec- 
tion ;  that  the  election  should  not  be 
unnecessarily  delayed ;  that  it  should  not 
be  precipitated ;  that  the  electors  should 
be  in  no  fear  for  their  personal  safety, 
which  would  prevent  the  election  from 
being  free ;  lastly,  that  they  should  be 
subjected  to  no  external  persuasion  tend- 
ing to  make  them  vote,  or  at  least  come 
under  the  suspicion  of  voting,  from  motives 
lower  than  those  which  ought  to  actuate 


them.  All  these  conditions,  the  regula- 
tions for  the  conclave  fixed  in  1274 
endeavor,  so  far  as  human  forethought  can 
ensure  it,  to  cause,  to  be  observed.  After 
the  death  of  a  Pope  the  Cardinals  who 
are  absent  are  immediately  to  be  sura^ 
moned  to  the  conclave  by  one  of  the  sec- 
retaries of  the  Sacred  College  ;  the  election 
is  to  begin  on  the  tenth  day  after  the 
death.  In  whatever  city  the  Pope  dies, 
there  the  election  must  be  held.  Within 
the  ten  days  the  conclave  must  be  con- 
structed in  the  Papal  palace,  or  in  some 
other  suitable  edifice.  The  large  halls  of 
the  palace  are  so  divided  by  wooden  par- 
titions as  to  furnish  a  number  of  sets  of 
small  apartments  (two  for  an  ordinary 
Cardinal,  three  for  one  of  princely  rank), 
all  opening  upon  a  corridor.  Here  the 
Cardinals  must  remain  until  they  have 
elected  a  Pope. 

On  the  tenth  day  a  solemn  Mass  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  said  in  the  Vatican  church, 
and  after  it  the  Cardinals  form  a  proces- 
sion and  proceed  to  the  conclave,  taking 
up  their  respective  apartments  as  the  lot 
has  distributed  them.  For  the  rest  of 
that  day  the  conclave  is  open ;  crowds  of 
persons  flock  in  and  circulate  among  the 
apartments  and  corridors,  and  the  ambas- 
sadors and  delegates  of  foreign  States, 
besides  their  personal  friends,  visit  the 
Cardinals  for  the  last  time.  In  the  even- 
ing every  one  is  turned  out  except  the 
Cardinals  and  those  authorized  to  remain 
with  them,  and  the  conclave  is  closed. 
This  is  done  under  the  superintendence  of 
two   guardians   of    the   conclave  —  one  a 


CONCLA  VE. 


103 


prelate  previously  appointed  by  the  Sacred 
College,  who  is  called  the  governor ;  the 
other,  a  lay  official  designated  the  marshal. 
Each  Cardinal  is  allowed  to  have  two 
members  of  his  household  in  personal 
attendance  upon  him ;  these  are  called 
conclavists.  A  number  of  other  atten- 
dants and  minor  officials  —  a  carpenter,  a 
mason,  a  sacrist,  a  monk  or  friar  to  hear 
confessions,  two  barbers,  eight  or  ten 
porters  and  messengers,  and  several  others 
—  are  in  the  common  service  of  the  whole 
body  of  Cardinals.  All  the  entrances  to 
the  building  but  one  are  closed  ;  that  one 
is  in  the  charge  of  officials  who  are  partly 
prelates,  partly  officials  of  the  municipal- 
ity, whose  business  it  is  to  see  that  no 
unauthorized  person  shall  enter,  and  to 
exercise  a  surveillance  over  the  food 
brought  for  the  Cardinals,  lest  any  writ- 
ten communication  should  be  conveyed  to 
them  by  this  channel.  After  three  days, 
the  supply  of  food  sent  in  is  restricted ;  if 
five  days  more  elapse  without  an  election 
being  made,  the  rule  used  to  be  that  the 
Cardinals  should  from  that  time  subsist  on 
nothing  but  bread,  wine,  and  water ;  but 
this  rigor  has  been  somewhat  modified  by 
later  ordinances.  Morning  and  evening 
the  Cardinals  meet  in  the  chapel,  and  a 
secret  scrutiny  by  means  of  voting  papers 
is  usually  instituted,  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  any  candidate  has  the  required 
majority  of  two-thirds.  A  Cardinal  com- 
ing from  a  distance  can  enter  the  conclave 
after  the  closure,  but  only  if  he  claim  the 
right  of  doing  so  within  three  days  of  his 
arrival  in  the  city.     Every  actual  Cardinal, 


even  though  he  may  lie  under  a  sentence 
of  excommunication,  has  the  right  to  vote, 
unless  he  has  not  yet  been  admitted  to 
deacon's  orders.  Even  in  this  case  the 
right  of  voting  has  sometimes  been  con- 
ferred by  special  Papal  indult.  There  are 
three  valid  modes  of  election  —  by  scru- 
tiny, by  compromise,  and  by  what  is  called 
quasi-inspiration.  Compromise  is  when 
all  the  Cardinals  agree  to  entrust  the  elec> 
tion  to  a  small  committee  of  two  or  three 
members  of  the  body.  Scrutiny  is  the 
ordinary  mode,  and,  although  since  the 
thirteenth  century  elections  have  usually 
been  made  by  this  mode  with  reasonable 
dispatch,  yet  in  times  of  disturbance,  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  a  two-thirds  major- 
ity has  been  known  to  protract  the  pro- 
ceedings over  a  long  period,  as  in  the 
celebrated  instance  of  the  conclave  of 
1799,  described  in  Consalvi's  Memoirs, 
which  lasted  six  months,  resulting  in  the 
election  of  Pius  VII.  (Ferraris,  Papa; 
Zoepffel,  "Die  Papstwahlen,"  GottingeUj 
1871.) 

Gorvcordat. 

Concordat  ( Lat.  concordaia,  things 
agreed  upon).  A  treaty  between  the 
Holy  See  and  a  secular  State  touching  the 
conservation  and  promotion  of  the  inter- 
ests of  religion  in  that  State. 

It  were  to  be  wished  that  Christendom 
did  not  require  concordats,  for  a  treaty 
between  two  powers  implies  some  felt 
divergency  of  sentiment  and  principle, 
which,  having  already  resulted  in  opposi- 


I 


I04 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


tion  and  contention  more  or  less  serious, 
dictates  to  the  contracting  parties  the 
necessity  of  coming  to  an  understanding 
as  to  the  limits  beyond  which  neither  will 
give  way  to  the  other.  Such  divergency 
of  sentiment  only  arises,  speaking  gener- 
ally, when  the  secular  State  aims  at 
excluding  the  Church  from  its  rightful 
share  of  control  over  human  affairs  —  an 
aim  which  familiar  experience  shows  to  be 
eminently  pernicious  and  disastrous. 
When  Ethelberts  ^r  St.  Louises  rule  in 
temporals,  we  ^s  '.',ot  hear  of  concordats 
with  the  Holy  Se^,  for  such  rulers  desire 
to  see  religion  more,  not  less,  in  the 
ascendant  among  their  subjects.  Never- 
theless, considering  the  actual  condition 
of  things  in  Europe  and  America,  it  is 
generally  a  subject  of  congratulation  when 
the  Pope  concludes  a  fresh  concordat ;  we 
know  that  at  any  rate  for  a  time,  religion 
and  its  ministers  will  be  treated  with 
some  justice  and  moderation  in  the  treaty- 
making  State ;  that  if  the  Church  has 
been  robbed  there  in  time  past,  some 
modicum  of  a  yearly  grant  will  now  be 
given  by  way  of  restitution  ;  and  that  the 
churches  and  convents  will  be  made  over 
to  her  —  at  any  rate  till  the  next  revolu- 
tion. 

Among  the  more  celebrated  concordats 
of  former  times  are  the  following :  — 

I.  That  of  Worms  in  1122,  between 
Calixtus  II.  and  the  Emperor  Henry  V., 
by  which  the  abusive  right  of  appointing 
bishops  and  abbots  "  by  ring  and  crosier," 
long  usurped  by  the  emperors,  was 
resigned,  and  only  the  investiture  by  the 


sceptre,  in  token  of  the  grant  of  their 
temporalities,  retained.  On  the  lines  of 
this  concordat  the  question  of  investiture 
was  settled  throughout  Europe  in  such  a 
way  as  to  leave  intact  in  theory  the  uni- 
versal pastorate  of  the  successors  of  Peter, 
however  seriously  it  may  have  been  here 
and  there  compromised  in  practice. 

2.  That  of  Frankfort  or  Vienna  (1446-8), 
called  the  Concordat  with  the  German 
Nation,  by  which  the  Popes  Eugenius  IV. 
and  Nicholas  V.,  employing  Nicholas  of 
Cusa  and  ^neas  Sylvius  as  negotiators, 
agreed  with  the  emperor  Frederic  III.  to 
divide  in  a  particular  manner  the  patron- 
age of  ecclesiastical  dignities  in  Ger- 
many, and  as  to  the  payment  of  first  fruits 
and  other  matters. 

3.  That  of  15 1 5,  between  Leo  X.  and 
Francis  I.,  by  which  the  latter  agreed  to 
abolish  the  pragmatic  sanction  of  Charles 
VII.  (limiting  appeals  to  Rome,  and  pre- 
tending to  set  a  general  council  above  the 
Pope),  and  the  former  resigned  to  the 
crown  of  France  the  norrsination  to  vacant 
bishoprics  and  abbeys,  with  the  proviso 
that  the  persons  named  should  be  accept- 
able to  the  Holy  See. 

In  later  times,  the  concordat  of  1801, 
between  Piiis  VII.  and  the  first  Napoleon, 
restoring  to  the  French  nation  the  public 
practice  of  the  religion  of  their  fathers, 
which  the  detestable  wickedness  of  the 
revolutionists  had  proscribed  since  1790, 
is  a  treaty  of  primary  importance.  Under 
its  terms  the  Holy  See  agreed  to  a  new 
demarcation  of  the  boundaries  of  French 
dioceses,  reducing  their  number  from  over 


CONCORDAT. 


105 


100  to  about  80,  and  declared  (art.  13) 
that  neither  the  reigning  Pope  nor  his 
successors  would  molest  the  purchasers  or 
grantees  in  the  peaceable  possession  of 
Church  lands  alienated  up  to  that  date. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  French  Govern- 
ment agreed  to  the  free  and  public  exer- 
cise of  the  "  Catholic,  Apostolic,  and 
Roman "  religion  in  France ;  consented 
(art.  4,  5,)  to  the  canonical  institution  by 
the  Pope,  under  the  ancient  discipline,  of 
the  bishops  whom  the  Go^'ernment  should 
nominate ;  promised  (art.  14)  a  suitable 
annual  grant  for  the  support  of  the  French 
bishops  and  clergy ;  and  undertook  to 
facilitate  (art.  15)  fresh  endowments  on 
the  part  of  any  French  Catholics  desiring 
to  make  them.  These  were  the  principal 
articles  of  the  concordat  signed  by  the 
Papal  envoys  on  behalf  of  the  Holy  See. 


The  Government  of  Napoleon  soon  after- 
wards added  to  the  concordat  a  number 
of  clauses  called  "  organic  articles,"  the 
tenor  of  which  was  of  course  highly 
Erastian,  and  by  which  it  has  been  often 
maintained  by  the  French  and  other  pub- 
licists that  the  French  clergy  are  bound. 
This,  however,  since  the  Holy  See  never 
ratified  the  "organic  articles,"  is  not  the 
case. 

In  an  interesting  supplementary  article 
in  vol.  xxvi.  of  Wetzer  and  Welte's 
Dictionary  on  Concordats,  the  text  of 
several  modern  conventions  of  this  kind 
(with  Russia,  1847;  with  the  republic  of 
Costa  Rica,  1852;  with  Austria,  1855)  is 
given  in  full. 

(Ferraris,  Concordata;  Soglia,  i.  4,  De 
jure  novissimo :  Mohler's  "  Kirchenges- 
chichte.") 


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CHAPTER     XVIII. 


•  GeMMANBMENtS  Bf  699, 


OMMANDMENTS  of  God  (in 
Hebrew  of  Exodus  xxxiv.  28, 
Deut.  iv.  13,  X.  4,  "the  ten 
words,"  of  which  "  the  Deca- 
logue," Aoi  deka  logoi,  ta  deka 
logia,  ta  deka  rhemaia,  is  a 
verbal  translation)  were  given  to  Moses  by- 
God  on  Mount  Sinai.  They  were  written 
by  the  finger  of  God  on  two  tables  of 
stone,  which  were  placed  in  the  Ark. 
Thus  the  commandments  formed  the  centre 
and  kernel  of  the  Jewish  religion.  They 
were  given  more  directly  by  God  than  any 
other  part  of  the  Jewish  law,  and  they 
were  placed  in  the  most  holy  place,  which 
none  but  the  high  priest  could  enter,  and 
he  only  once  a  year.  The  Roman  Cate- 
chism (iii.  I.  i),  quoting  St.  Augustine, 
points  out  that  all  the  rest  of  the  Mosaic 
law  depends  on  the  decalogue,  while  the 
ten  commandments,  in  their  turn,  are 
based  on  two  precepts  —  the  love  of  God 
with  the  whole  heart,  and  the  love  of  our 
neighbor  as  ourselves. 

Two  questions  about  the  commandments 


must  be  mentioned,  the  former  of  which 
concerns  the  binding  force,  the  latter  the 
division  and  arrangement,  of  the  deca. 
logue. 

As  to  the  former  question,  the  Council 
of  Trent  defines,  against  antinomian 
heretics  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  that 
the  ten  commandments  bind  the  conscien- 
ces of  all  mankind.  Christians  included. 
"  If  any  one  say  that  the  ten  command- 
rnents  have  nothing  to  do  with  Christians^ 
let  him  be  anathema."  "  If  any  one  say 
that  a  man,  though  justified  and  ever  so- 
perfect,  is  not  bound  to  observe  the  com- 
mandments of  God  and  the  Church,  let 
him  be  anathema."^  The  reason  on  which 
this  obligation  rests  is  manifest.  God  did 
not  give  a  new  law  to  Moses ;  He 
only  republished  a  law  written  origi. 
nally  on  the  conscience  of  man,  and 
obscured  by  his  sinful  ignorance.  The 
ten  commandments,  then,  did  not  begin  to 
bind  when  proclaimed  to  the  people  of 
Israel,  and  they  have  not  ceased  to  do  so 

— . . _ II    ■» 

1  Concil.  Trident,  sess.  vi.  De  Justif.  can.  19,  2a 


COMMANDMENTS  OF  GOD. 


107 


nuvv  that  Christ  has  done  away  with  the 
Jewish  lavv.^ 

The  second  question  turns  on  the  division 
of  the  commandments,  and  here  there  are 
three  principal  views.  It  is  well  to  remind 
the  reader,  first,  that  there  are  several 
differences  in  the  exact  words  of  the  com- 
mandments as  given  in  Exodus  xx.  and 
Deuteronomy  v.,  one  of  which  is  of  special 
moment.  In  Exodus,  the  last  prohibitions 
run,  "Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
house  :  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
wife,  nor  his  servant,  nor  his  maid,  nor 
his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  anything  that  is 
thy  neighbor's."  In  Deuteronomy,  the 
order  is  changed  thus:  "Thou  shalt  not 
covet  thy  neighbor's  wife ;  and  thou  shalt 
not  desire  "  [a  different  word  in  Hebrew 
from  that  translated  "covet,"  though  the 
Vulgate  obliterates  the  distinction]  "his 
field,  or  his  servant,  or  his  maid,  his  ox,  or 
his  ass,  or  anything  that  is  thy  neigh- 
bor's" We  may  now  proceed  to  consider 
the  different  modes  of  division. 

(i)  Philo  and  Josephus,  followed  by 
Origen  and  other  early  Christians,  by 
the  Greek  Church,  and  all  Protestants 
except  Lutherans,  divide  the  command- 
ments into  two  tables,  containing  each 
five  precepts :  viz.  i,  on  strange  gods ;  2, 
on    image   worship ;    3,  on    taking   God's 


1  Cat.  Rom.  iii.  i,  3.  An  exception  must  be  made  of  that 
clause  in  the  third  commandment  which  fixes  the  seventh 
day  for  divine  worship.  As  to  the  apparent  prohibition  of 
images,  see  Petav.  De  Incarn.  xv.  6.  Here  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  if,  with  Josephus,  we  hold  that  the  commandment 
absolutely  prohibits  sculpture  and  painting,  so  that  Solomon 
broke  it  when  he  made  the  twelve  oxen  under  the  brazen  sea 
or  the  lions  for  his  throne,  then  we  must  also  hold  tliat  this 
ceremonial  part  of  ths  commandment  no  longer  binds. 


name  in  vain ;  4,  on  the  Sabbath ;  5,  on 
honoring  parents ;  6,  on  murder ;  7,  on 
adultery ;  8,  on  stealing ;  9,  on  false  wit- 
ness ;  10,  on  covetousness. 

(2)  The  Talmud,  the  Targum  of  Jon- 
athan, and  many  rabbinical  commentators, 
make  the  preface,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God,"  etc.,  the  first  "  word  "  ;  they  regard 
the  prohibition  of  strange  gods  and 
images  as  one  single  "word,"  viz.  the 
second ;  for  the  rest  they  agree  with  the 
division  of  Philo,  etc. 

(3)  Augustine  places  in  the  first  table 
three  commandments,  relating  to  God  — 
viz.  I,  on  strange  gods  and  images  (so 
that  he  regards  the  prohibition  of  idols  as 
a  mere  application  of  the  principle,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  have  strange  gods  before  me "  ; 
2,  the  name  of  God ;  3,  the  Sabbath.  In 
the  second  table  he  places  seven  precepts, 
relating  to  our  neighbor  —  viz.  command- 
ment 4,  on  parents ;  5,  on  murder ;  6,  on 
adultery ;  7,  on  stealing ;  8,  on  false  wit- 
ness ;  9,  on  coveting  our  neighbor's  wife ; 
10,  on  coveting  our  neighbor's  goods. 
This  division  has  prevailed  in  the  Catho- 
lic Church,  and  has  been  retained  by  the 
Lutherans,  except  that  they,  following  the 
order  in  Exodus,  make  commandment  9, 
on  coveting  our  neighbor's  house ;  10,  on 
coveting  his  wife  or  goods ;  a  division  to 
which  Augustine  himself  in  some  places 
gives  support. 

What  has  been  already  said  shows  that 
ignorance  alone  can  charge  Catholics  with 
introducing  a  new  mode  of  division  in 
order  to  give  less  prominence  to  the  pro- 
hibition  of  idol-worship.     The  division  was 


io8 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


current  long  before  any  strife  on  images 
had  arisen  in  the  Church. 

Next,  the  Catholics,  in  this  division  of 
the  first  and  second  commandments,  have 
the  vi^hole  weight  of  rabbinical  tradition 
on  their  side. 

Thirdly,  the  modern  Catholic  division  is 
the  only  one  consistent  with  the  Hebrew 
text,  as  usually  found  in  MSS.  and  printed 
editions.  The  text  is  divided  into  ten 
sections,  which  correspond  precisely  with 
our  Catholic  division.  These  sections  are 
admitted  to  be  very  ancient,  older  even 
than  the  Masoretic  text,  and  the  Protes- 
tant scholar  Kennicott  found  them  so 
marked  in  460  out  of  694.  MSS.  which  he 
collated.^ 

Lastly,  the  wording  of  the  text  in  both 
Exodus  and  Deuteronomy  strongly  favors 
the  Catholic  division.  The  promises  and 
threats,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  mighty, 
jealous,"  etc.,  are  much  more  suitable  on 
the  theory  that  the  prohibition  of  strange 
gods  and  idols  forms  one  commandment, 
while  in  Deuteronomy,  after  the  prohibi- 
tion of  coveting  our  neighbor's  wife,  the 
change  of  the  verb  mentioned  above 
seems  to  indicate  the  beginning  of  a  new 
commandment ;  nor  is  there  any  difficulty 
in  distinguishing  carnal  desire  from  cov- 
eting another  man's  goods.     (The  facts  as 

1  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  prohibition  of  polytheism 
and  of  image-worship  always  forms  one  section.  In  some 
MSS.  however,  of  Exodus  there  are  only  nine  sections  in  the 
text  of  the  decalogue,  our  ninth  and  tenth  commandments 
forming  one  section.  Kennicott,  says  Keil,  found  the  division 
wanting  in  234  out  of  694  MSS.  which  he  collated,  and  an 
examination  of  Kennicott's  Bible  confirms  Keil's  statement. 
Dillmann's  assertion  that  Kennicott  found  the  division  between 
the  ninth  and  tenth  commandments  wanting  in  most  of  his 
MSS.  seems  to  be  wholly  inaccurate. 


here  given  will  be  found  in  Kalisch,  Knobel 
and  Keil  in  their  commentaries  on  Exodus. 
The  first  is  a  very  learned  Jew,  the  second 
a  Rationalist,  the  third  an  orthodox  Prot- 
estant. All  are  opposed  to  the  Catholic 
mode  of  division.  Dillmann's  commen- 
tary (1881)  has  also  been  consulted.) 

GorTMTvarvdmervts    of    tKe 
CKvircK. 

Parents,  and  other  persons  invested 
with  lawful  authority,  have  power  to  make 
rules  for  those  placed  under  them,  so  that 
things  lawful  in  themselves  become  unlaw- 
ful by  their  prohibition.  The  Scripture 
teaches  plainly  that  the  Church  has  this 
dower.  We  are  to  hear  the  Church  (Matt, 
xviii.  17).  The  Holy  Ghost  has  placed 
bishops  to  "rule  the  Church  "  (Acts  xx.  28) 
St.  Paul  commanded  Christians  to  keep 
the  "precepts  of  the  apostles  and  the 
ancients  "  (xv.  41). 

The  Roman  Catechism  makes  no  special 
enumeration  of  the  commandments  of  the 
Church;  but  such  an  enumeration  is  gen- 
erally found  in  popular  Catechisms,  which 
have  followed  in  this  respect  the  example 
set  by  the  Catechism  of  Canisius.  The 
English  Catechism,  like  the  French  ones 
of  Fleury,  etc.,  counts  six  commandments 
of  the  Church.  Many  other  Catechisms 
reduce  them  to  five.  In  our  English  Cate- 
chism they  are  given  as  follows  :  i,  to  keep 
certain  days  holy  with  the  obligation  o^ 
resting  from  servile  work;  2,  to  hear  Mass 
on    Sundays    and  holidays  of   obligation ; 


COMMANDMENTS  OF  THE   CHURCH. 


109 


3,  to  keep  the  days  of  fasting  and  absti- 
nence;  4,  to  confess  once  a  year;  5,  to 
communicate  at  Easter  or  thereabouts  ;  6, 
not  to  marry  within  forbidden  degrees,  or 
at  forbidden  times.  The  sixth  command- 
ment is  omitted  in  many  Catechisms  ;  that 
of  Bellarmine  adds  another  —  viz.  to  pay 
tithes. 

Mitre. 

A  HEAD-DRESS  wom  by  bishops,  abbots, 
and  in  certain  cases  by  other  distinguished 
ecclesiastics.  Mitra  (mitra)  is  used  in 
Greek  and  Latin  for  the  turban  which  was 
worn  by  women,  and  among  the  Asiatics, 
especially  Phrygians,  by  men.  It  had  no 
connection  with  religious  rites. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  band  {infula)  was 
worn  by  heathen  priests  and  by  the  sacrifi- 
cial victims.  The  Jewish  priests  wore  a 
cap  of  uncertain  form,  though  the  root 
points  to  a  round  shape,  and  the  high 
priest  a  turban,  from  a  root  meaning  "  to 
wind,"  with  a  plate  of  gold  on  the  front, 
inscribed  with  the  words,  "  Holiness  to  the 
Lord."  The  Vulgate  uses  "mitra  "  for  the 
high  priest's  head-dress  (Ecclus.  xlv.  14), 
for  the  priest.-'s  (Exod.  xxix.  9  ;  Lev.  viii. 
13).  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  early 
church  did  not  adopt  the  head-dress  of  the 
Jewish  priesthood  and  transfer  it  to  her 
own  priests  or  chief  priests.  Polycrates  of 
Ephesiw  indeed,  writing  about  190  (apud 
Euseb.  "  H.  E."v.  24)  says  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  that  he  "  became  a  priest,  hav- 
ing worn  the  plate  {peialon),"  and  Epiphan- 
ius,  (Haer.)  about  380,    makes   a    similar 


statement  about  St.  James,  except  that  he 
makes  it  in  St.  James's  case  a  mark  of  his 
Jewish,  not  his  Christian  priesthood,  for 
he  says  he  was  allowed  both  to  wear  the 
petalon  and  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
This  account  of  Epiphanius  is  evidently 
legendary,  for  on  what  possible  ground 
could  the  authorities  of  the  Temple  treat 
James  as  high  priest }  Bishop  Lightfoot 
(see  also  Routh,  "  Rell.  Sacr."  ii.  p.  28)  is 
probably  justified  in  regarding  the  lan- 
guage of  Polycrates  on  St.  John's  "plate" 
as  metaphorical.  But,  in  any  case,  such  a 
"plate"  answers  to  no  vestment  now  in  use  ; 
and  even  if  we  could  translate  it  "  mitre  " 
(as  we  cannot),  this  use  by  St.  John  stands 
quite  by  itself.  It  would  have  been  his 
custom,  not  that  of  the  Church. 

Hefele,  who  treats  the  above  notices  of 
St.  John  and  St.  James  as  mere  legends, 
contends,  nevertheless,  that  there  are  clear 
traces  of  mitres  used  as  part  of  the  offi- 
cial ecclesiastical  costume  from  the  fourth 
century.  After  carefully  considering  the 
proofs  which  he  alleges,  we  can  see  no 
reason  for  abandoning  the  judgment  oi 
Menard,  the  learned  Benedictine  editor  of 
St.  Gregory's  Sacramentary  —  viz.  that  for 
the  first  thousand  years  of  her  history 
there  was  no  general  use  of  mitres  in  the 
Church.  All  Hefele's  references  can,  we 
think,  be  explained  as  poetical  or  meta- 
phorical. And,  on  the  other  hand,  Hefele 
himself  allows  that  no  Sacramentary  or 
Ritual-book  before  1000  a.  d.  mentions 
the  mitre,  ranch  less  the  bishop's  invest- 
ment with  it  at  consecration,  though,  e.  g. 
in  a  Mass  for  Easter  Sunday,  written  before 


1  lO 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


986,  the  ornaments  of  a  bishop  are  enu- 
merated. Again,  liturgical  writers,  such 
AS  Amalarius  and  Walafrid  Strabo,  are 
silent  on  the  subject.  "  It  is  not,,"  we 
again  quote  from  Hefele,  "  it  is  not  till  the 
eleventh  century  that  representations  of 
popes,  bishops,  and  abbots  with  the  mitre 
occur;  though  from  that  time  onwards 
they  are  very  numerous." 

The  use  of  the  mitre  seems  to  have 
begun  at  Rome,  and  then  to  have 
spread  to  other  churches.  Leo  IX.,  in 
1049,  gave  the  "Roman  mitre"  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Treves,  and  this  is  the 
earliest  instance  known  of  such  a  conces- 
sion. Canons  also,  e.  g.  at  Bamberg,  got 
leave  from  Rome  to  wear  the  mitre  on 
certain  feasts,  and  it  was  used  by  all  car- 
dinals till,  in  1245,  the  first  Council  of 
Lyons  sanctioned  the  cardinal's  hat. 
According  to  Gavantus  (torn.  i.  149),  the 
first  concession  of  a  mitre  to  an  abbot  was 
made  by  Urban  11.  in  1091.  The  straight 
lines  and  sharp  points  familiar  to  us  in 
the  Gothic  mitres  first  appear  in  works  of 
art  in  the  thirteenth  century.  The  Italian 
mitre  with  its  greater  height  and  curved 
lines  came  into  use  in  the  fourteenth. 

Bishops  and  abbots  (if  mitred)  receive 
the  mitre  from  the  consecrating  bishop, 
a  ceremony,  as  Catalani  shows,  of  late 
introduction.  The  "  Cserimoniale  Episco- 
porum "  distinguishes  the  "  precious 
mitre,"  adorned  with  jewels  and  made  of 
gold  or  silver  plate  ;  the  "  mitre  auriphry- 
giata,"  without  precious  stones  (it  may, 
however,  be  ornamented  with  pearls)  and 
of  gold  cloth  {ex  tela  aured) ;  the  "  plain 


mitre "  {mitra  simplex)  of  silk  or  linen 
and  of  white  color.  The  bishop  always 
uses  the  mitre  if  he  carries  the  pastoral 
staff.  Inferior  prelates  who  are  allowed  a 
mitre,  must  confine  themselves  to  the  sim- 
ple mitre,  unless  in  case  of  an  express  con- 
cession by  the  pope  ("  Manuale  Decret."^ 
870).  The  Greeks  have  no  mitre.  The 
Armenians  have  adopted  a  kind  of  mitre 
for  bishops  and  a  bonnet  for  priests  since 
the  eleventh  century.  (Hefele,  "Beit- 
rage,"  vol.  ii.;  Gavantus,  Bona,  "  Rerum 
Lit."  lib.  i.;  Catalani  on  the  "Pontifical"; 
Menard  on  St.  Gregory's  Sacramentary. 
Innocent  III.  gives  mystical  meanings  to 
the  mitre  and  its  parts — e.  g.  the  two  horns 
are  the  two  testaments  ;  the  strings,  the 
spirit  and  the  letter,  etc.) 

Mixed  JMarriages. 

Mixed  Marriages  are  marriages  between 
persons  of  different  religions.  A  marriage 
between  a  baptized  and  unbaptized  person 
is  invalid ;  one  between  a  Catholic  and  a 
person  of  another  communion — e.  g.  a 
Protestant  —  is  valid,  but,  unless  a  dispen- 
sation has  been  obtained  from  the  Pope  or 
his  delegate,  unlawful.  This  explanation 
has  been  already  given  in  the  article  on 
the  Impediments  of  Marriage.  But  it 
will  be  useful  to  say  something  here  on 
the  legislation  of  the  Church  on  marriages 
between  Catholics  and  other  Christians 
not  Catholics. 

(i)  Benedict  XIV.  (Instruction  on 
Marriages  in  Holland,  174.1.  Encychcal, 
"  Magnae     Nobis ")      has     declared     the 


MIXED  MARRIAGES. 


Ill 


Church's  vehement  repugnance  to  such 
unions,  on  the  ground  that  they  are  not 
likely  to  be  harmonious,  that  they  expose 
the  Catholic  party  and  the  children  to 
danger  of  perversion,  that  they  are  apt  to 
produce  indifference,  etc.,  etc. 

(2)  He  says  the  Church  has  permitted 
them  for  very  grave  reasons,  and  generally 
in  the  case  of  royal  personages  ;  but  even 
then  on  the  condition  that  the  Catholic 
party  be  free  to  practise  his  or  her  religion, 
and  that  a  promise  be  given  that  the  chil- 
dren of  either  sex  be  brought  up  Catholics. 

(3)  Increasing  intercourse  between  Cath- 
olics and  Protestants  made  such  marriages 
far  more  frequent,  and  the  conditions 
insisted  on  by  Benedict  XIV.  were 
neglected.  In  Silesia  a  law  of  the  State 
in  1803  required  the  children  of  mixed 
marriages  to  be  brought  up  in  the  religion 
of  the  father.  In  England,  till  very  recent 
times,  there  was  a  common  arrangement 
by  which  the  boys  were  brought  up  in  the 
father's,  the  girls  in  the  mother's  religion  ; 
and  neither  in  Silesia  (see  Hergenrother, 
"  Kirchengeschichte,"  vol.  ii.  p.  856  seq) 
nor  in  England  did  the  Catholic  clergy,  as 
a  rule,  oppose  this  state  of  things.  An 
attempt  was  made  by  the  Prussian  Govern- 
ment in  1825  to  introduce  the  law  which 


\  prevailed  in  S  !esia  and  the  other  Eastern 
provinces  to  the  Rhineland  and  Westpha- 
lia ;  and  this  order  of  the  Cabinet  was 
accepted  by  Von  Spiegel,  archbishop  of 
Cologne,  and  also,  though  with  some 
scruple,  by  the  Bishops  of  Paderborn, 
Miinster,  and  Treves.  This  led  Pius 
VIII.  and  Gregory  XVI.  to  declare  a 
mixed  marriage,  when  it  was  not  under- 
stood that  the  children  of  either  sex  should 
be  brought  up  Catholics,  contrary  to  the 
"natural  and  divine  law."  Otherwise, 
the  priest  could  take  no  part  in  the  cele- 
bration. In  extreme  cases,  and  to  avoid 
greater  evils,  he  might  passively  assist  at 
the  contract ;  but  more  the  Pope  himself 
could  not  permit.  Obedience  to  these 
Papal  briefs  led  to  the  imprisonment  of 
Droste  von  Vischering,  the  new  arch- 
bishop of  Cologne,  in  1837,  ^"^  to  that  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Posen  in  1839.  The 
bishops,  even  those  who  had  once  been  of 
a  different  mind,  steadfastly  adhered  to  the 
Papal  regulations.  One  exception,  how- 
ever, must  be  mentioned.  The  Prince- 
Bishop  of  Breslau  resigned  his  see  in  1840 
rather  than  submit,  and  became  a  Protes- 
tant. He  died  in  1871.  Under  the  good 
king,  William  IV.,  peace  was  gradually 
restored  between  Church  and  State. 


-^ 


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9^ 


^ 


CHAPTER     XIX. 


g^g^g^:::;:^ 


IntefcB^^ion  and  Invocation  of  tp  ?&int^. 


:j: 


:f 


HE  Council  of  Trent  (sess.  xxv. 
De  Invoc.  Sanct.)  teaches  that 
"the  saints  reigning  with 
Christ  offer  their  prayers  for 
the  men  to  God ;  that  it  is 
good  and  useful  to  call  upon 
them  with  supplication,  and  in  order  to 
obtain  benefits  from  God  through  Jesus 
Christ,  who  alone  is  our  Redeemer  and 
Saviour,  to  have  recourse  to  their  prayers, 
help,  and  aid.  The  prayer  which  we  may 
address  to  the  saints  is  of  course  wholly 
different  from  that  which  we  offer  to  God 
or  Christ.  "We  pray  God,"  says  the 
Roman  Catechism  (p.  iv.  ch.  6),  "Himself 
to  give  good  or  free  us  from  evil  things ; 
we  ask  the  saints  because  they  enjoy  God's 
favor,  to  undertake  our  patronage  and 
obtain  from  God  the  things  we  need. 
Hence  we  employ  two  forms  of  prayer, 
differing  in  the  mode  [of  address] ;  for  to 
God  we  say  properly.  Have  mercy  on  us. 
Hear  us ;  to  the  saints,  Pray  for  us.  Or, 
if  we  ask  the  Blessed  Virgin  or  the  saints 
to  have  pity  on  us,  we  only  beseech  them 
to  think  of  our  misery,  and  to  help  us  "  by 


their  favor  with  God  and  their  interces- 
sion "  ;  and  "  the  greatest  care  must  be 
taken  by  all  not  to  attribute  what  belongs 
to  God  to  any  other"  ("Cat.  Rom."  ib.). 
Two  points,  then,  are  involved  in  the  Cath- 
olic doctrine  —  the  intercession  of  the 
saints  and  the  utility  of  invoking  them. 

(i)  Intercession  of  the  Saints. —  The 
whole  of  the  New  Testament  enforces  the 
principle  that  we  are  members  of  Christ, 
and  so  bound  to  each  other  as  members  of 
the  same  body  (see,  e.  g.,  i  Cor.  xii.  12 
seq.).  God  might,  had  it  pleased  Him,  have 
made  us  solely  and  directly  dependent  on 
Himself,  but  He  has  chosen  to  display  His 
own  power  by  giving  great  efficacy  to  the 
intercession  of  the  just  (James  v.  16).  He 
taught  us  to  go  to  Him  with  the  wants  of 
others  as  well  as  with  our  own,  and  He 
has  deepened  charity  and  humility  by  mak- 
ing us  dependent  to  some  extent  on  the 
prayers  of  others.  Everybody  knows  the 
store  St.  Paul  set  on  the  prayers  of  his  fel- 
low-Christians (Eph.  vi.  18,  19;  I  Tim.  ii. 
i).  Prayer  even  for  enemies  was  a  duty 
enjoined  by  Christ  Himself  (Matt,  v,  44). 


INTERCESSION^  AND  INVOCATION  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


IIT^ 


Now,  it  is  hard  to  imagine  a  reason  why 
souls  which  have  gone  to  God  should  cease 
to  exercise  this  kind  of  Charity  and  to 
intercede  for  their  brethren.  The  Old 
Testament  plainly  asserts  the  intercession 
of  angels,  as  has  been  approved  already, 
and  it  seems  at  least  to  imply  the  inter- 
cession of  departed  saints  in  Jeremias  xv. 
I ;  and  undoubtedly  the  later  Jews  believe 
in  the  merits  and  intercession  of  the  saints 
of  Israel  (Weber,  "Altsynagog.  Theol." 
p.3 14).  We  find  an  explicit  statement  of  the 
doctrine  just  where  we  should  reasonably 
expect  it.  The  Apocalypse  was  written 
later  at  least  than  the  death  of  Nero  (June 
9,  A.D.  68)  and  the  writer  is  filled  with  the 
thought  of  his  martyred  brethren  who  had 
gone  before  him  to  God.  He  believes  that 
they  still  sympathize  with,  and  intercede 
for,  those  whom  they  had  left  behind.  "  I 
r  saw  beneath  the  altar  the  souls  of  them 
that  were  slain  because  of  the  word  of  God 
and  the  witness  which  they  had,  and  they 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,  How  long,  O  Lord, 
holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  avenge  our 
blood  from  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth } 
And  there  was  given  to  each  of  them  a 
white  robe,  and  they  were  told  to  rest  a 
little,  until  their  fellow-servants  and  their 
brethren  be  completed  ["  in  number,"  or 
else,  according  to  the  reading  sumplero- 
sosin,  "complete  the  number"]  who  are  to 
be  killed  even  as  they"  (vi.  9  seq^.  So 
again,  in  v.  8  (cf.  viii.  3),  the  elders  before 
the  heavenly  altar  are  represented  as  fall- 
ing "  before  the  Lamb,  having  each  a  harp 
and  golden  vials  full  of  perfumes,  which 
are  the  prayers  of  the  saints."     It  matters 


nothing  for  our  present  purpose  whether 
the  "  saints  "  mentioned  were  or  were  not 
still  on  earth.  In  either  case  their  prayers 
are  offered  to  God  by  the  elders  in  heaven, 
so  that  the  imagery  implies  that  the  saints[ 
before  God  offer  up  our  prayers  and  so 
help  us  by  their  intercession. 

But  if  Scripture  were  silent,  tradition 
witnesses  to  the  doctrine  so  universally 
and  so  constantly  as  to  remove  all  doubt 
of  its  apostolic  origin.  The  genuine 
"  Acts "  of  the  early  martyrs  abound  in 
testimonies.  Thus,  the  contemporaries  of 
St.  Ignatius,  St.  John's  disciple,  tell  us 
that  some  saw  the  martyr  in  vision  after 
death  "praying  for  us"  ("Act.  Mart."  7). 
The  "  Acts  "  of  the  Martyrs  of  Scilla  (anno 
202)  speak  of  them  as  interceding  after 
death  before  our  Lord  (Ruinart,  "  Act. 
Mart."  ed.  Ratisb.  p.  132).  Theodotus, 
before  his  death,  says  :  "  In  heaven  I  will 
confidently  pray  for  you  to  God"  {ib.  p. 
384).  "  Pious  men  "  built  the  Martyrium 
of  Trypho  and  Respicius,  "  commending 
their  souls  to  the  holy  patronage  of  the 
blessed  martyrs"  (ib.  p.  210).  Fresh 
evidence  comes  from  the  early  Fathers. 
Cyprian,  writing  to  Cornelius  (Ep.  Ix.  5), 
thus  exhorts  those  who  may  be  martyred 
first :  "  Let  our  love  before  God  endure ; 
let  not  our  prayer  to  the  Father's  mercy 
cease  for  our  brethren  and  sisters  "  (see 
also  "  De  Habit.  Virg."  24).  Origen  ("  In 
Cantic."  lib.  iii.  p.  75,  ed.  Bened.)  thinks 
it  no  "  unfitting  "  interpretation  of  a  pas- 
sage in  the  Canticles  if  we  take  it  to  mean 
that  "  all  the  saints  who  have  departed 
this  life  care  for  the  salvation  of  those  who 


114 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


axe  in  the  world,  and  help  them  by  their 
prayers  and  meditation  [interventu]  with 
God."  It  is  useless  to  add  passages  from 
later  Fathers.  A  long  list  of  them  will  be 
found  in  Petavius, 

(2)  Invocation  of  the  Saints. —  If  it  is 
the  will  of  God  that  the  saints  should  help 
us  on  the  road  to  heaven  by  their  prayers, 
we  may  be  sure  that  He  makes  the  com- 
munion between  the  Church  militant  and 
the  Church  triumphant  perfect  on  both 
sides ;  that  he  enables  us  to  speak  to  them 
in  order  that  they  may  speak  for  us.  Our 
Saviour  tells  us  that  the  angels  rejoice 
over  repentant  sinners  ( Luc.  xv.  7),  and  a 
passage  already  cited  from  the  Apocalypse 
shows  that  the  martyrs  in  heaven  are 
aware  of  what  happens  on  earth.  The 
inscriptions  in  the  Catacombs  recently 
brought  to  light  witness  to  the  confidence 
with  which  the  Church  invoked  the 
prayers  of  departed  saints.  We  select  a 
few  instances  from  those  given  by  De 
Rossi  (in  the  "Triplice  Omaggio"  and 
"  Collection  of  Epitaphs,"  as  quoted  in 
Kraus,  "  Real-Encycl."  art.  Gebet)  :  "  Ask 
for  us  in  thy  prayers  because  we  know  thou 
art  in  Christ"  (n.  15);  "Beseech  for  thy 
sister"  (n.  19);  "  We  commend  to  thee,  O 
holy  [Do7nina]  Basilla  Crescentius  and 
Micena,  our  daughter"  (n.  17).  The 
great  Fathers  of  the  fourth  century  directly 
invoke  and  bid  others  invoke  the  saints. 
St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  begs  a  martyr,  St. 
Cyprian,  to  "look  down  from  heaven  upon 
him  with  kindly  eye,  and  to  direct  his  dis- 
course and  his  life"  (Orat.  xxiv.  ad  fin). 
So  he  invokes  his  friend  St.  Basil  (Orat. 


xliv.  ad  fin).  St.  Gregory  Nyssen,  fearing 
the  Scythian  invasion,  attributes  past  pres- 
ervation to  the  martyr,  and  not  only 
invokes  him,  but  begs  him  in  turn  to 
invoke  greater  saints,  Peter,  Paul,  and 
John  (Orat,  in  S.  Theodor.).  St,  Ambrose 
("  De  Vid."  cap,  9,  n.  55)  exhorts  Christians 
to  supplicate  {pbsecrandi)  their  guardian 
angels  and  the  martyrs,  especially  those 
whose  relics  they  possess.  "  Let  us  not 
only  on  this  feast  day  but  on  other  days 
also  keep  near  them  ;  let  us  beg  them  to  be 
our  patrons,"  are  the  words  of  St.  Chrys- 
ostom  on  the  martyrs  Berenice  and  Pro- 
doce.  In  his  verses  the  early  Christian 
poet  Prudentius  habitually  invokes  the 
saints;  and  St.  Augustine  (Serm,  324)  tells 
a  story  to  his  people  of  a  woman  who 
prayed  to  St.  Stephen  for  her  dead  son, 
"  Holy  martyr  .  ,  .  give  me  back  my 
son,"  and  was  rewarded  by  the  miracle  she 
asked.  It  must  be  remembered  that  these 
passages  are  but  samples  out  of  many 
which  might  be  adduced.  They  come  to 
us  from  every  part  of  the  Christian  world, 
and  the  devotion  which  they  attest  cannot 
have  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic  at  once  and  in 
every  quarter.  We  may  add  that  then,  as 
now.  Catholics  were  charged  with  idolatry 
because  they  venerated  the  saints.  Such 
accusations  were  made  by  the  heathen 
generally,  and  in  particular  by  Julian  the 
Apostate,  by  the  Manicheans,  Eunomians 
(extreme  Arians),  by  Vigilantius,  etc,  (See 
Petavius,  "De  Incarnat."  xiv.  14).  St. 
Augustine's  reply  is  well  known  —  viz.  that 
the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  and  supreme  wor- 
ship of  every  kind  was  offered,  not  to  the 


INTERCESSION  AND  INVOCA  TION  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


115 


martyrs  but  to  God  who  crowned  the  mar- 
tyrs" (so,  e.  g.,  "Contr.  Faust."  lib.  xx. 
cap.  21). 

The  fact  that  the  saints  hear  our  prayers 
was  held  by  the  Fathers  as  certain;  the 
way  in  which  they  do  so  is  a  matter  of 
philosophical  or  theological  speculation, 
about  which  neither  they  nor  we  have  any 
certainty.  In  some  way,  unknown  to  us, 
God  reveals  to  them  the  needs  and  prayers 
of  their  clients,  and  Petavius  warns  us 
against  curious  speculation  on  the  matter. 
The  very  uncertainty  of  the  Fathers  on 
this  point  throws  into  relief  their  unshaken 
confidence  in  the  intercession  of  the  saints 
and  the  advantage  of  invoking  them. 
Augustine,  Jerome,  and  others,  suggest  that 
sometimes  departed  saints  may  actually  be 
near  those  who  are  calling  on  them. 
Modern  theologians  have  generally  thought 
that  the  blessed  beholding  God  see  in  Him, 
as  in  a  mirror,  all  which  it  concerns  them 
to  know  of  earthly  things.  Whatever  the- 
ory we  adopt,  the  knowledge  of  the  saints 
depends  entirely  on  the  gift  of  God.  We 
should  be  idolators  indeed  were  we  to 
think  of  them  as  omnipresent  or  omni- 
scient. 

An  account  has  been  given  of  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Feasts  of  the  Saints  in  a  pre- 
vious article.  The  devotion  of  the  Church 
has  turned  chiefly  to  the  saints  who  died 
after  Christ.  The  ancient  liturgies  do 
indeed  commemorate  the  Patriarchs  and 
prophets.  Abel,  Melchisedec,  and  Abra- 
ham are  mentioned  in  the  Roman  Mass, 
and  more  than  a  score  of  Old  Testament 
saints  in  the  Roman  Martyrology.  Abel  and 


Abraham  are  invoked  by  name  in  the  Lit- 
any for  the  Dying  prescribed  in  the  Roman 
Ritual.  The  list  of  feasts  given  by  Man- 
uel Comnenus  mentions  one  feast  of  an  O. 
T.  saint,  that  of  Elias  ;  but  the  Church  of 
Jerusalem  had  many  such  feasts,  and  at 
Constantinople  churches  were  dedicated 
to  Elias,  Isaias,  Job,  Samuel,  Moses,  Zach- 
arias,  and  Abraham.  But  the  Maccabees 
are  the  only  O.  T.  saints  to  whom  the 
Latin  Church  has  assigned  a  feast.^  The 
reason,  as  Thomassin  thinks,  for  the 
exception  is,  that  the  mode  of  their  martyr- 
dom so  closely  resembled  that  of  the  Chris- 
tian martyrs,  and  that  their  date  was  so 
near  to  the  Christian  period.  (The  chief 
authority  followed  has  been  Petavius,  "  De 
Incarnat."  lib.  xiv.,  which  treats  the  sub- 
ject exhaustively,  and  for  the  last  para- 
graph Thomassin's  "Traits  des  Festes," 
lib.   i.    ch.9.) 

Dispervsatior\. 

The  relaxation  of  a  law  in  a  particular 
case.  The  necessity  of  dispensation  arises 
from  the  fact  that  a  law  which  is  made  for 
the  general  good  may  not  be  beneficial  in 
this  or  that  special  case,  and  therefore  may 
be  rightly  relaxed  with  respect  to  an  indi- 
vidual, while  it  continues  to  bind  the  com- 
munity. Dispensation  must  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  the  interpretation  of  a 
law,  though  the  two  are  often  confused 
with    one    another     in    common    speech. 

1  I.  e.  a  feast  kept  by  the  vrhole  Church ;  for  the  Carmel- 
ites keep  the  feast  of  St.  Elias,  and  e.  g.  at  Venice,  there  are 
churches  dedicated  to  Moses,  Job,  etc. 


Ii6 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Thus  a  person  so  ill  that  he  cannot  fast 
without  serious  injury  to  his  health  needs 
no  dispensation,  because  he  is  by  the 
nature  of  the  case  exempt  from  the  law. 
On  the  other  hand,  though  he  may  be  able 
to  fast,  his  health,  occupations,  etc.,  may 
make  it  suitable  that  the  law  should  be 
relaxed  in  his  favor;  for  this  purpose  a 
dispensation  is  required,  and  he  must 
apply  to  some  one  possessed  of  authority 
to  grant  it.  Any  one  may  interpret  the 
law  who  has  sufficient  knowledge  and 
impartiality  to  do  so,  but  jurisdiction  is 
needed  in  order  to  dispense. 

The  general  principle  is  that  the  law- 
giver, from  whom  the  law  derives  its  force, 
has  power  to  relax  it.  So  again,  a  superior 
may  relax  the  laws  of  his  predecessors, 
because  his  power  is  equal  to  theirs,  or  of 
his  inferiors,  because  his  power  is  greater. 
But  an  inferior  cannot  dispense  in  the  laws 
of  his  superiors  unless  by  power  delegated 
to  him  for  that  end. 

God  Himself  cannot  give  a  dispensation, 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  from  the 
natural  law.  "  From  the  precepts  of  the 
decalogue,"  says  St.  Thomas,  "  no  dispen- 
sation of  whatsoever  kind  can  be  given," 
and  to  the  objection  that  God  who  made 
the  ten  commandments  can  unmake  them, 
he  replies,  "God  would  deny  Himself  if  He 
did  away  with  the  order  of  His  justice, 
since  He  is  identical  with  His  own  justice, 
and  therefore  God  cannot  give  a  dispensa- 
tion making  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  neglect 
the  due  order  to  God,  or  exempting  him 
from  submission  to  the  order  of  His  justice, 
even  in  those   things   which  concern  the 


relations  of  men  to  each  other."^  God 
however  can  change  the  circumstances  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  case  no  longer  falls 
under  the  law.  He  could,  for  example,  as 
supreme  Lord  and  proprietor  of  all,  make 
over  the  goods  of  the  Egyptians  to  the 
Israelites,  so  that  the  latter  could  take  them 
without  committing  robbery.  He  could, 
as  the  Lord  of  all  that  lives,  deprive  Isaac 
of  life  and  make  Abraham  the  executioner. 
Further,  just  as  a  man  may  remit  a  debt» 
so  God  may  free  a  man  from  the  obligation 
incurred  to  Him  by  oath  or  vow.  Lastly, 
God  can  of  course  dispense  from  the  posi- 
tive law  which  He  has  imposed  —  e.  g.  He 
could  have  dispensed  a  Jew  from  the  law 
of  circumcision,  the  Sabbath,  etc.  We 
may  now  pass  on  to  consider  the  actual 
law  of  the  Church  on  dispensations. 

The  Pope  can  dispense  from  obligations 
to  God  which  a  man  has  incurred  of  his 
own  free  will  —  i.  e.  by  oath  or  vow.  This 
power  belongs  to  him  as  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter  to  whom  Christ  gave  the  power  of 
binding  and  loosing.  He  can  also  dispense 
in  all  matters  of  ecclesiastical  law.  Bish- 
ops, by  their  ordinary  power,  can  dispense 
from  the  statutes  of  the  diocesan  synods, 
etc.,  and  they  can  dispense  individuals 
from  the  general  laws  of  the  Church,  or 
from  obligations  under  which  they  have 
placed  themselves  to  God,  in  such  cases  as 
frequently  occur  —  e.  g.  in  most  vows,  in 
fasts,   abstinences,  observances   of  feasts, 

1  St.  Thorn.  I  zndae,  qu.  loo,  a.  8.  The  Opinion  of  Occam, 
D'Ailly,  and  Gerson  that  God  could  dispense  from  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  decalogue  has  long  been  abandoned.  The  Scot- 
ists  held  that  God  could  dispense  from  the  precepts  of  tht 
second  table  except  that  against  lying. 


DISPENSA  TION. 


117 


etc.  But  by  reason  of  privilege,  lawful 
custom  or  necessity,  the  dispensing  power 
of  the  bishop  is  often  extended.  Custom 
has  also  given  parish  priests  power  to  dis- 
pense individuals  from  fasts,  abstinences, 
abstinence  from  servile  work  on  feasts,  and 
the  like.  As  a  rule,  a  person  who  has 
received  power  to  dispense  from  a  superior 
by  delegation  cannot  sub-delegate. 

A  reason  is  always  needed  before  a  dis- 
pensation can  be  lawfully  given.  If  a 
superior  dispenses  without  cause  in  his 
own  law  or  that  of  an  inferior,  the  dispen- 
sation, though  unlawful,  is  valid.  If,  how- 
ever, an  inferior  to  whom  dispensing  power 
has  been  delegated  uses  it  without  reason, 
the  dispensation  is  null  and  void.  In  all 
cases  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  a  dispen- 
sation is  only  given  on  the  tacit  condition 
that  the  statements  of  the  person  who  peti- 
tions for  it  are  true.  Concealment  of 
falsehood  in  an  essential  matter  effecting 
the  motive  which  induced  the  superior  to 
dispense,  renders  the  dispensation  null. 

A  dispensation  ceases  if  recalled  ;  if  it 
is  renounced  and  the  renunciation  is 
accepted  by  the  superior ;  also,  in  certain 
cases,  if  the  cause  for  which  the  dispensa- 
tion was  given  no  longer  exists.  What 
those  cases  are  it  is  not  so  easy  to  deter- 
mine. According  to  Suarez,  a  dispensa- 
tion from  one  single  obligation  —  e.  g.  a 
vow  —  continues  even  when  the  cause  for 
which  it  was  granted  is  there  no  longer, 
provided  the  dispensation  has  been 
accepted  and  used  before  the  cause  ceased. 
On  the  contrary,  dispensations  which  vir- 
tually relax  a  series  of  obligations  —  e.  g. 


from  fasting  each  day  in  Lent  —  expire 
with  the  cause  which  induced  the  superior 
to  grant  them. 

Div^orce. 

Divorce,  in  its  widest  sense,  signifies  a 
separation  made  between  man  and  wife  on 
sufHcient  grounds  and  by  lawful  authority. 
It  may  dissolve  the  marriage  bond  alto- 
gether, so  that  the  man  or  woman  is  free 
to  contract  a  fresh  marriage  {separatio 
quoad  vinculum  ) ;  or  it  may  simply  relieve 
one  of  the  parties  from  the  obligation  of 
living  with  the  other  {separatio  quoad torum 
et  mensam). 

No  human  power  can  dissolve  the  bond 
of  marriage  when  ratified  and  consummated 
between  baptized  persons.     But 

(i)  The  marriage  bond  may  be  dis- 
solved, even  between  baptized  persons,  by 
Papal  authority,  if  the  marriage  has  not 
been  consummated.  Such  at  least  is  the 
common  doctrine  of  canonists  and  theolo- 
gians ;  nor  does  Billuart,  who  holds  the 
opposite  opinion,  deny  that  such  divorces 
have  been  granted  by  Martin  V.,  Paul  III., 
Pius  IV.,  and  Gregory   XIII. 

(2)  It  may  be  dissolved  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances by  the  solemn  religious  pro- 
fession of  either  party.  .  This  point  was 
defined  at  Trent,  sess.  xxiv.,  can.  6. ;  the 
principle  had  been  already  laid  down  by 
Innocent  III.,  who  professed  to  follow 
the  example  of  his  predecessors,  and  it  is 
justified  by  the  example  of  ancient  saints, 
who  left  their  brides  before  consummation 
of  marriage  to  lead  a  life  of  perpetual  con- 
tinence.    The  engagement  by  which  they 


ii8 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


bound  themselves  to  continence  may  be 
considered  equivalent  to  a  solemn  religious 
profession  in  later  times. 

(3)  If  two  unbaptized  persons  have  con- 
tracted marriage,  this  marriage,  even 
if  consummated,  may  be  dissolved, 
supposing  one  of  the  parties  embraces 
the  Christian  religion  and  the  other 
refuses  to  live  peaceably  and  without 
insult  to  the  Christian  religion  in  the  mar- 
ried state.  This  principle  is  laid  down  by 
Innocent  III.,  and  is  founded  on  the  "dis- 
pensation of  the  apostle,"  as  it  is  called  in 
I  Cor.  vii.   12-15. 

In  all  other  cases  the  marriage  bond  is 
indissoluble,  and,  besides  this,  married  per- 
sons are  bound  to  live  together,  as  man 
and  wife.  They  may,  however,  separate 
by  mutual  consent ;  and,  again,  if  one 
party  exposes  the  other  to  grave  danger  of 
body  or  soul,  or  commit  adultery,  the  inno- 
cent partner  may  obtain  a  judicial  separa- 
tion, or  even  refuse  to  cohabit  without 
waiting  for  the  sentence  of  the  judge,  pro- 
vided always  that  the  offence  is  clearly 
proved.  If  the  innocent  party  has  con- 
doned the  adultery,  the  right  of  separation 
on  that  ground  is  forfeited  —  unless,  of 
course,  the  offence  is  repeated.  (From 
Billuart  St.  Liguori,  Gury,  "  De  Matrimo- 
nio.") 

WKat    a    Doctor    of    tKe 
GKvircK    is. 

Three  things,  says  Benedict  XIV.,  are 
required  to  make  a  Doctor  of  the  Church. 
First,  he  must  have  had  learning  so  emi- 


nent that  it  fitted  him  to  be  a  doctor  not 
only  in  the  Church  but  of  the  Church 
{^^^ doctor ip sins  ecclesia:^'')^%o  that  through 
him  "  the  darkness  of  error  was  scattered, 
dark  things  were  made  clear,  doubts 
resolved,  the  difficulties  of  Scripture 
opened."  Next,  he  must  have  shown 
heroic  sanctity.  Thirdly  —  though,  as  we 
shall  see  presently,  this  last  condition  has 
not  always  been  insisted  on  —  the  title  of 
"  Doctor  of  the  Church  "  must  be  conferred 
by  a  declaration  of  the  Pope  or  of  a  Gen- 
eral Council.  Four  Doctors  of  the  Church 
are  named  in  the  canon  law:  viz.,  Ambrose, 
Augustine,  Jerome,  Gregory.  Besides 
these,  other  saints  enjoy  the  title  and  cul- 
tus  due  to  a  Doctor  of  the  Church  without 
a  formal  declaration  of  Pope  or  Council. 
Under  this  class  Benedict  XIV.  puts  Chrys- 
ostom,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Anselm,  Isi- 
dore, Peter  Chrysologus.  He  adds  that  a 
part  of  the  cultus  usually  assigned  to  doc- 
tors is  given  to  St.  Hilary,^  in  whose  office 
the  Gospel  and  prayer  but  not  the  anti- 
phon,  and  to  St.  Athanasius  and  St.  Basil, 
who  have  only  the  antiphon  but  not  the 
Gospel  and  prayer,  proper  to  doctors. 

Since  the  Reformatioi\  the  title  of  Doc- 
tor of  the  Church  has  been  conferred  more 
freely.  Pius  V.  added  St.  Thomas  of 
Aquin  to  the  list ;  Sixtus  V.,  St.  Buonaven- 
tura.  During  the  eighteenth  century  the 
title  was  conferred  on  St.  Anselm,  St.  Isi- 
dore, and  St.  Leo.  Pius  VIII.  gave 
the  title  to  St.  Bernard  :  Pius  IX.  to  St. 
Hilary,    St.    Alphonsus    Liguori,    and  St. 

1  Pius  IX.   gave   Hilary  the  title  of  Doctor,  and  now,  of 
course,  the  antiphon  "  O  Doctor  "  is  recited  in  his  office. 


WHAT  A   DOCTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  IS. 


119 


Francis  of  Sales.  (Chiefly  from  Benedict 
XIV.,  "  De  Canoniz.,"  lib.  iv.  p.  2,  cap. 
II.  12.) 


Dog 


ma. 


Dogma,  in  its  theological  sense,  is  a 
truth  contained  in  the  Word  of  God,  writ- 
ten or  unwritten  —  i.  e.  in  Scripture  or 
tradition  —  and  proposed  by  the  Church 
for  the  belief  of  the  faithful.  Thus  dogma 
is  a  revealed  truth,  since  Scripture  is 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  while  tradi- 
tion signifies  the  truths  which  the  apostles 
received  from  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  handed  down  to  the  Church. 

The  word  itself  has  an  interesting  history. 
In  classical  writers  it  has  three  distinct 
senses  connected  with  its  derivation  from 
dokein,  "  to  seem." 

It  means,  accordingly,  that  which  seems 
good  to  the  individual  —  i.  e.  an  opinion  ; 
that  which  seems  good  to  legitimate  author- 
ity—  i.  e.  the  resolution  of  a  public  assem- 
bly, or,  in  other  words,  a  decree  ;  lastly,  it 
acquired  a  peculiar  sense  in  the  philo- 
sophic schools.  The  mere  word  of  some 
philosopher  (e.  g.  of  Pythagoras)  was  con- 
sidered authoritative  with  his  disciples ; 
and  so  Cicero,  in  the  Academic  Questions, 
speaks  of  "  decrees,"  or  doctrines,  "  which 
the  philosophers  call  dogmata,  none  of 
which  can  be  surrendered  without  crime." 
In  the  LXX  and  New  Testament,  the 
word  retains  the  second  of  the  two  of  the 
senses  given  above.  Thus,  in  Daniel  ii. 
13,  iii,  10,  in  Luc.  ii.  i,  xvii.  7,  it  is  used  of 
decrees   proceeding  from   the   State.     In 


Ephes.  ii.  15,  Coloss.  ii.  14,  it  signifies 
the  Mosaic  ordinances,  and  in  Acts  xvi.  4 
(^dogmata  ta  kekrimend)  the  disciplinary 
decrees  issued  by  the  Apostolic  Council  at 
Jerusalem.  Nowhere  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment does  it  bear  the  sense  in  which  theo- 
logians employ  it.^ 

This  sense  sprang  from  the  third  of  the 
classical  meanings  given  above  —  viz.  that 
of  a  truth  accepted  on  the  authority  of  a 
philosopher.  The  Pythagoreans  accepted 
tenets,  which  if  true  admitted  of  proof,  on 
the  authority  of  their  master.  Christians, 
better  instructed,  accepted  truths  beyond 
the  reach  of  unaided  reason  which  had 
been  revealed  by  Christ  to  his  Church. 
These  truths  they  called  dogmas.  We 
find  the  earliest  trace  of  this  technical 
sense,  still  imperfectly  developed,  in  St. 
Ignatius,  "  Magn."  13:  —  "  Use  all  zeal  to 
be  established  in  the  doctrines  {en  tots  dog- 
masin)  of  the  Lord  and  the  Apostles."  ^ 

In  later  Fathers  the  word  occurs  in  its 
precise,  theological  meaning.  Thus,  St. 
Basil  mentions  "the  dogma  of  Christ's 
Divinity  "  to  tes  theologias  dogma ;  Chrys- 
ostom,  "the  dogmas  {dogmata)  of  the 
Church"  ;  Vincent  of  Lerins,  "  the  ancient 
dogmas  {dogmata)  of  heavenly  philoso- 
phy." ^  This  last  illustrates  the  origin  of 
the  theological  term. 

From  the  definition  with  which  we 
began  it  follows  that  the  Church  has  no 


1  The  list  of  New  Testament  passages  given  in  the  text  is 
exhaustive,  except  that  Lachmann  reads  to  dogma  tou  basileSs^ 
the  decree  of  King  Pharao,  in  Heb.  xi.  23. 

2  See  also  Barnab.  Ep.  1  tria  oun  dogmata  estin  Kuriou, 
where  the  old  Latin  version  has  "  constitutiones." 

8  Basil.  Orat.  iv.  In  Hexaem.  Chrysost,  In  Galai.  cap.  ii 
apud  Kuhn,  Dogmatik,  vol.  i.  p.  191. 


I20 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


power  to  make  new  dogmas.  It  is  her 
office  to  contend  for  the  faith  once 
delivered,  and  to  hand  down  the  sacred 
deposit  which  she  has  received  without 
adding  to  it  or  taking  from  it.  At  the 
same  time,  the  Church  may  enunciate  fully 
and  impose  dogmas  or  articles  of  faith  con- 
tained in  the  Word  of  God,  or  at  least 
deduced  from  principles  so  contained,  but 
as  yet  not  fully  declared  and  imposed. 
Hence  with  regard  to  a  new  definition  — 
such,  e.  g.,  as  that  of  Transubstantiation, 
Christians  have  a  twofold  duty.  They  are 
obliged  to  believe,  first,  that  the  doctrine 
so  defined  is  true,  and  next,  that  it  is  part 
of  the  Christian  revelation  received  by  the 
apostles.  Again,  no  Christian  is  at  lib- 
erty to  refuse  assent  to  any  dogma  which 
the  Church  proposes.  To  do  so  involves 
nothing  less  than  shipwreck  of  the  faith, 
and  no  Catholic  can  accept  the  Protes- 
tant distinction  between  "fundamental 
and  non-fundamental  articles  of  faith."  It 
is  a  matter  of  fundamental  importance  to 
accept  the  whole  of  the  Church's  teach- 
ing. True,  a  Catholic  is  not  bound  to 
know  all  the  definitions  of  the  Church  — 
but  if  he  knowingly  and  wilfully  contra- 


dicts or  doubts  the  truth  of  any  one  among 
them,  he  ceases  to  be  a  Catholic. 

This  arbitrary  distinction  between  essen. 
tial  and  non-essential  articles,  has  led  by 
natural  consequence  to  the  opinion  that 
dogmatic  belief,  as  such,  matters  little, 
provided  a  man's  life  is  virtuous  and  his 
feelings  are  devout.  A  religion  of  this 
kind  is  on  the  very  face  of  it  different  from 
the  religion  of  the  apostles  and  their  suc- 
cessors. St.  Paul  anathematizes  false 
teachers,  and  bids  his  disciples  shun  here- 
tics ;  St.  John  denounces  the  denial  of  the 
Incarnation  as  a  mark  of  Antichrist.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  quote  the  utterances  of 
the  early  Fathers  on  this  matter,  which 
has  been  already  treated  in  the  article  on 
the  Church,  but  we  may  refer  the  reader 
to  the  striking  discussion  of  the  subject  in 
Cardinal  Newman's  book  on  "Develop- 
ment," ch.  vii.  sect,  i,  §  5.  We  will  only 
remark  in  conclusion  that  it  is  unreason- 
able to  make  light  of  dogmatic  truth,  unless 
it  can  be  shown  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  in  existence.  If  God  has  made  a 
revelation,  then  both  duty  and  devotional 
feeling  must  depend  on  the  dogmas  of  that 
revelation,  and  be  regulated  by  them. 


=  * 


CHAPTER    XX. 


^1^ 


TV^KRRIKGB. 


#    « 


//£"  Nature  of  Marriage  as  such. 
—  Marriage  is  a  natural  con- 
tract between  man  and  woman, 
which  Christ  has  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  a  sacrament.  Hea- 
then may  be,  and  are,  united  in 
true  marriage,  and  their  union  is  of  course 
a  lawful  one,  sanctioned  and  blessed  by 
God  Himself,  who  is  the  author  of  nature 
as  well  as  of  grace.  But  it  is  only  among 
baptized  persons  that  the  contract  of 
marriage  is  blessed  and  sanctified  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  become  a  means  of  con- 
ferring grace,  so  that  we  must  distinguish 
between  marriage  in  itself  or  according  to 
the  natural  law  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
sacrament  of  marriage  on  the  other. 
Theologians  commonly  give  the  following 
definition  of  marriage  taken  from  the 
Master  of  the  Sentences.  It  is  **  viri 
mitlierisqiie  conjunctio  maritalis  inter 
legitimas  pcrsonas  individuam  vitcB  socie- 
tatcm  retinens.'^  It  is  "  conjunctio  viri  et 
mulieris"  —  i.  e.  the  union  of  man  and 
woman,  the  persons  between  whom  the 
contract  is  formed ;  it  is  "  maritalis  " — i.  e. 


it  implies  the  giving  to  each  power  over 
the  person  of  the  other,  and  so  is  distinct 
from  the  union  of  friend  with  friend,  man 
with  man  in  business,  and  the  like  ;  it  is 
"  inter  legitimas  persottas  "  —  i.  e.  between 
those  who  are  not  absolutely  prevented 
by  lawful  impediment  from  contracting 
such  an  union  ;  "  individuam  vitce societatem 
rctinens"  it  binds  them  to  an  undivided 
and  indissoluble  partnership  during  life, 
and  so  is  distinct  from  such  unhallowed 
unions  as  are  contracted  for  a  time  or  may 
be  ended  at  will.  If  we  add,  "  gratiam 
conjugibus  conferendam  significans  "  —  i.  e. 
being  an  (efficacious)  sign  of  grace  to  be 
bestowed  on  the  persons  contracting  —  we 
have  the  full  definition  of  marriage  as  a 
sacrament.  Of  course,  the  definition 
gives  the  bare  essentials  of  marriage,  for 
it  ought  to  include  the  most  perfect  union 
of  heart  and  soul,  sympathy  and  interest. 

Two  points  in  the  above  definition  may 
cause  some  difficulty,  since  it  assumes  that 
even  in  the  law  of  nature  a  man  can  only 
have  one  wife  ( and  of  course  a  woman 
only  one  husband),  and   further   that  by 


■ 


J-i5 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


the  same  law  the  marriage   tie  lasts  till 
death. 

With  regard  to  the  former  point, 
polygamy,  according  to  St.  Thomas 
("Suppl."  Ixv.  i),  does  not  absolutely 
destroy  the  end  of  marriage,  for  it  is 
possible  that  a  man  with  several  wives 
should  protect  them  and  provide  for  the 
education  of  his  children.  And  there- 
fore (as  many  theologians  suppose,  from 
the  time  of  the  Deluge)  God  allowed  the 
Patriarchs  and  others,  whether  Jews  or 
heathen,  to  have  more  wives  than  one. 
But  polygamy  cruelly  injures  the  perfect 
union  of  marriage ;  it  degrades  man  by 
sensuality,  and  exposes  women  to  the 
miseries  of  jealousy  and  neglect ;  it 
endangers  the  welfare  of  the  children,  and 
so  may  be  justly  stigmatized  as  contrary 
to  the  law  of  nature.  Moreover,  monog- 
amy alone  is  contemplated  in  the 
institution  of  marriage :  Gen.  i.  24,  "  There- 
fore a  man  will  leave  his  father  and  his 
mother  and  will  cleave  to  his  wife,  and 
they  shall  be  one  flesh."  The  legislation 
in  Deut.  xxv.  5  seq.  appears  to  assume  that 
monogamy  was  the  rule  among  the 
Hebrews ;  so  does  the  book  of  Proverbs 
throughout,  and  particularly  the  beautiful 
description  of  the  good  wife  in  ch.  xxxi.,^ 
and  the  same  idea  pervades  the  noble 
poetry  of  Ps.  cxxviii.  (See  also  in  the 
Deutero-canonical  books,  Tob.  i.  11; 
Ecclus.  xxvi.  I.)     It  was  not  till  a.  d.  1020 

1  The  estimate  of  women  is  high  throughout  the  Old 
Testament.  We  need  only  remind  the  reader  of  Mary,  the 
sister  of  Moses,  Deborah,  Anna.  See  also  Prov.  xiv.  i  • 
xviii.  22;  xix.  14  (even  xxi.  9,  19,  are  not  really  different  in 
spirit).  The  most  unfavorable  judgment  is  that  of  Eccles. 
vii.  28. 


that  a  law  of  Rabbi  Gershon  ben  Judah 
in  the  Synod  of  Worms  absolutely  pro- 
hibited polygamy  among  the  Western 
Jews.  It  was  practised  by  the  Jews  of 
Castile  even  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  still  survives  among  the  Jews  of  the 
East  (Kalisch  on  Exodus,  p.  370 ;  on  Lev. 
p.  374).  But  our  Lord  Himself  expounded 
and  enforced  the  natural  law  of  marriage^ 
and  recalled  men  to  the  idea  of  marriage 
given  in  Genesis.  It  is  worth  noticing 
that  He  quotes  the  Septuagint  text,  which 
is  more  express  in  favor  of  monogamy  than 
the  Hebrew  :  "  And  the  two  shall  be  one 
flesh."  (So  also  the  Samaritan  *  *  *  ^ 
*  and  there  shall  be  from  the  two  of  them, 
one  flesh  "  ;  the  New  Testament  inva- 
riably, Mark  x.  8  ;  i  Cor.  vi.  16;  Ephes. 
V.  31  ;  and  the  Vulgate.  The  Targum 
of  Onkelos,  on  the  other  hand,  exactly 
follows  the  Hebrews.)  Again,  since 
Christ  spoke  generally  of  all  mankind 
and  not  simply  of  those  who  were  to 
be  members  of  His  Church,  theologians 
hold  that  He  withdrew  the  former  dispen- 
sation, and  consequently  that  polygamy  is 
unlawful  and  a  violation  of  natural  law 
even  in  heathen.  (Billuart,  "De  Matriraon." 
diss.  v.  a.  I.) 

The  same  principles  apply  to  the  second 
point  of  difficulty.  Moses,  our  Lord 
declares,  permitted  divorce  because  of  the 
hardness  of  men's  hearts,  i.  e.  to  prevent 
greater  evils  ;  and  in  consequence  of  this 
dispensation  it  was  perhaps  lawful  for  the 
heathen  to  imitate  the  example  of  the  Jews 
in  this  respect  also.  But  here,  too,  Christ 
has  recalled  all  mankind  to  the  primitive 


MARRIAGE. 


123 


institution.  The  apparent  exception  which 
our  Lord  makes  will  be  considered  below, 
and  certain  cases  in  whieh  marriage  may 
be  really  dissolved  have  been  explained  in 
the  article  on  Divorce. 

II.  The  Sacrament  of  Marriage. —  A 
sacrament  is  an  outward  sign,  and  nobody 
doubts  that  in  marriage,  as  in  all  other 
contracts,  some  outward  sign  on  the  part 
of  the  contracting  parties  is  necessary. 
They  must  signify  their  consent  to  the 
solemn  obligation  of  living  together  as  man 
and  wife.  It  is  plain,  too,  that  marriage 
may  be  called  a  sacred  sign,  for  it  typifies, 
as  St.  Paul  (ad  Ephes.  v.)  assures  us,  the 
mysterious  union  between  Christ  and  the 
Church,  which  is  His  bride.  But  is  it  an 
efficacious  sign  of  grace }  That  is,  is  the 
contract  of  marriage  accompanied  by  signs 
which  not  only  betoken,  but  necessarily, 
in  consequence  of  Christ's  institution,  con- 
vey grace  to  all  baptized  persons  who  do 
not  wilfully  impede  the  entrance  of  the 
grace  into  their  hearts  }  This  is  a  question 
on  which  Catholics  are  divided  from  Prot- 
estants, and  which  was  agitated  among 
Catholics  themselves  late  even  in  the 
middle  ages.  St.  Thomas  ("  Supp."  xlii.  a. 
3),  though  he  assumes  that  marriage  is  a 
sacrament  of  the  new  law,  inquires  whether 
it  "confers  grace,"  and  mentions  three 
opinions  :  first,  that  it  does  not  do  so  at  all, 
and  this  opinion  he  dismisses  at  once ;  next, 
that  it  confers  grace  only  in  the  sense  that 
it  makes  acts  lawful  that  would  otherwise 
be  sins  (this  opinion  he  also  rejects,  but  in 
a  less  summary  way);  and  thirdly,  that 
when   "  contracted  in  the  faith  of  Christ," 


it  confers  grace  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the 
married  state,  and  this  opinion  he  accepts 
as  "more  probable."  It  is  plain  that  all 
which  the  second  opinion  attributes  to 
marriage  may  be  truly  said  of  marriage  as 
a  natural  contract,  and  does  not  by  any 
means  amount  to  a  confession  that  mar- 
riage is  a  Christian  sacrament  in  the  sense 
of  the  council  of  Trent.  What  St.  Thomas 
gives  as  the  more  probable  opinion  is  now 
an  article  of  faith,  for  the  council  ( Sess. 
xxiv.  De  Sacram  Matr.),  after  stating  that 
Christ  Himself  merited  for  us  a  grace  which 
perfects  the  natural  love  of  marriage  and 
strengthens  its  indissoluble  unity,  solemnly 
defines  (Can.  i)  that  marriage  is  "truly 
and  properly  one  of  the  seven  sacraments 
of  the  evangelical  law  instituted  by  Christ." 
The  same  council  speaks  of  Scripture  as 
insinuating  {inmiit)  this  truth,  and  more 
can  scarcely  be  said.  One  text,  indee  1,  as 
translated  in  our  Douay  Bible,  would  cer- 
tainly seem  to  settle  the  question  —  viz. 
Ephes.  V.  31,  32  :  "  For  this  cause  shall  a 
man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall 
adhere  to  his  wife  ;  and  they  shall  be  two 
in  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  sacrament, 
but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the  Church." 
But  we  venture  to  -think  that  this  is  not 
the  true  sense  of  the  Vulgate,  "  Sacramen- 
turn  hoc  magnum  est ;  ego  aiitem  dico  in 
Christo  et  in  ecclesia,''  which  exactly 
answers  to  the  original  Greek,  except  that 
'  in  Christo  et  in  ecclesia^'  would  be  better, 
rendered  as  in  the  old  Latin  of  Tertullian 
(  "  Contr.  Marc.'"  v.  18  ;  *' De  Anima,"  1 1), 
"  in  Christum  et  in  ecclesiam.''  "  Sacra- 
mentum"  UQcd  not  mean  a  "sacrament" 


124 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


any  more  than  the  Greek  musterion  which 
it  represents,  and  to  prove  this  we  need 
not  go  beyond  the  text  of  the  Vulgate  it- 
self, which  speaks  of  the  "  sacramentum  " 
of  godliness,  i  Tim.  iii.  i6  ;  the  " sacramen- 
tuvi"  of  the  seven  stars;  the  " sacramentitm'^' 
of  the  woman  and  the  beast  (Apoc.  i.  20  ; 
xvii.  7).  Indeed,  though  the  word  ''  sacra- 
mentiim  "  occurs  in  fifteen  other  places  of 
the  Vulgate,  it  cannot  possibly  mean  a 
sacrament  in  any  one  of  them.  We  trans- 
late, accordingly,  "  This  mystery  is  great, 
but  I  speak  with  reference  to  Christ  and 
the  Church"  —  that  is,  the  words,  "For 
this  cause  shall  a  man  leave,"  etc.,  contain 
a  hidden  or  mysterious  sense,^  in  virtue  of 
which  St.  Paul  regards  Adam's  words 
about  the  union  between  man  and  wife  as 
a  type  or  prophecy  of  the  union  between 
Christ  and  His  Church.  We  have  the 
authority  of  Estius  for  this  interpretation, 
which  is  that  generally  adopted  by  modern 
scholars,  and  he  denies  that  the  ancients 
appealed  to  this  text  to  prove  marriage  a 
sacrament. 

On  th.e  other  hand,  St.  Cyril,  ( "  Lib.  ii. 
in  Joann.")  says  that  Christ  was  present  at 
the  wedding  in  Cana  of  Galilee  that  He 
might  sanctify  the  principle  of  man's  gene- 
ration, "  drive  away  the  old  sadness  of 
child-bearing,"  "give  grace  to  those  also 
who  were  to  be  born";  and  he  quotes 
the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  if  any  man  is  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature  ;  old  things 
have  passed  away." 

1  The  formula,  "  This  is  a  great  mystery,"  is  a  common 
■Rabbinical  one,  *  *  *  .  See  Schoettgen,  Horcz  p.  783  seq ; 
and  the  same  Chaldee  word  for  "  mystery  "  is  preserved  in  the 
Penshito  rendering  of  the  verse. 


St,  Augustine  ("Tract.  9  in  Joann." 
cap.  2)  holds  similar  language.  This 
theory,  however  credible  in  itself,  cer- 
tainly does  not  lie  on  the  surface  of  St. 
John's  narrative. 

More  may  be  made  of  i  Tim.  ii.  1 1  seq. 
"  Let  a  woman  learn  in  quietness,  in  all 
subjection.  But  teaching  I  do  not  permit 
to  a  woman,  nor  to  have  authority  over  a 
man,  but  to  be  in  quietness.  For  man 
was  first  formed  and  then  Eve,  and  Adam 
was  not  deceived,  but  the  woman  being 
deceived  hath  fallen  into  transgression ; 
but  she  shall  be  saved  through  her  child- 
bearing,^  if  they  continue  in  faith,  and 
love,  and  sanctification  with  temperance." 
St.  Paul  excludes  women  from  the  public 
ministry  of  the  Church,  and  reserves  that 
for  men.  But  he  assigns  them  another 
ministry  instead.  They  are  to  save  their 
own  souls  by  the  faithful  discharge  of 
their  duties  as  wives,  and  to  be  the  source 
of  the  Church's  increase,  for  it  cannot 
subsist  without  marriage  any  more  than 
without  the  sacrament  of  order.  Women 
are  to  be  the  mothers  of  children  whom 
they  are  to  tend  and  train  for  the  service 
of  Christ.  And  just  as  a  special  grace  is 
given  to  those  whom  God  calls  to  the 
priestly  state,  so  is  "  the  state  of  marriage 
placed  under  the  protection  and  blessing 
of  a  special  grace,  as  being  dedicated  to 
the  Church  and  subserving  its  continual 
growth  and  expansion."  Thus  the  inter- 
course   of    the    sexes,    which    is    apt   to 

1  Bishop  Elicott,  ad  loc,  translates  "  through  the  cliild- 
bearing  "  —  i.  e.  through  the  birth  of  Christ.  It  seems  to  us 
incredible  that  St.  Paul,  if  he  really  meant  this,  should  have 
expressed  it  by  an  allusion  so  obscure  and  abrupt. 


MARRIAGE. 


125 


become  a  source  of  fearful  corruption,  is 
blessed  and  sanctified,  more  even  than  in 
its  primitive  institution,  and  directed  to 
a  still  higher  end,  that  of  carrying  on  the 
Church's  life  on  earth.  The  natural  union 
is  holy  and  beautiful.  Christ  perfects  the 
union  of  heart  and  soul,  and  makes  it 
still  more  holy  and  beautiful  by  sacramen- 
tal grace  ;  and,  hallowed  by  a  sacrament, 
marriage  becomes  the  perfect  antitype  of 
Christ's  union  with  His  Church.  He 
cleansed  His  Church  that  He  might  unite 
it  to  Himself.  He  sanctifies  Christian 
man  and  woman  in  their  union,  that  it 
may  be  "a  hallowed  copy  of  His  own 
union  with  His  Church."  (See  the  elo- 
quent passage  in  Dollinger,  in  "  First  Age 
of  the  Chur«h,"  Engl.  Transl.  pp.  361, 
362.) 

The  reader  must  remember  that  we  do 
not  allege  this  last  passage  as  in  any  way 
conclusive  from  a  controversial  point  of 
view,  though  we  do  think  it  fits  in  well 
with  the  Catholic  doctrine.  Many  author- 
ities are  alleged  from  tradition,  one  or  two 
of  which  we  have  already  given  in  speak- 
ing of  the  marriage  at  Cana.  St.  Ambrose, 
"  De  Abraham,"  i.  7,  says  that  he  who  is 
unfaithful  to  the  marriage  bond  "  undoes 
grace,  and  because  he  sins  against  God, 
therefore  loses  the  share  in  a  heavenly 
mystery  {sacramenti  ccelestis  consortium 
ainittit)^  St.  Augustine,  "  De  Bono  Con- 
jugali,"  cap.  24,  writes:  "The  advantage 
of  marriage  among  all  nations  and  men 
lies  in  its  being  a  cause  of  generation  and 
a  bond  of  chastity,  but  as  concerns  the 
people   of    God,    also    in  the  holiness  of 


a  sacrament  {in  sanctitate  sacramenti).^'' 
Here  the  distinction  drawn  between 
natural  and  Christian  marriage,  and  still 
more  the  comparison  made  between  the 
"sacramenta  "  of  marriage  and  order,i  seem 
to  warrant  our  rendering  of  "sanctitate 
sacramenti.'' 

The  Nature  of  the  Sacramental  Grace, 
etc.  —  Marriage,  then,  is  a  sacrament  of 
the  new  law,  and  as  such  confers  grace. 
The  sacrament  can  only  be  received  by 
those  who  have  already  received  baptism, 
the  gate  of  all  the  other  sacraments  ;  and 
marriage  is  not,  like  baptism  and  penance, 
instituted  for  the  cleansing  of  sin,  so  that 
grace  is  conferred  on  those,  and  those 
only,  who  are  at  peace  with  God.  Chris- 
tians who  are  in  mortal  sin  may  contract 
a  valid  marriage,  but  they  receive  no 
grace,  though  they  do  receive  the  sacra- 
ment, and  therefore  have  a  claim  and  title 
to  the  sacramental  grace  when  they  have 
amended  their  lives  by  sincere  repentance. 

Christians,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
contract  marriage  with  due  dispositions 
receive  an  increase  of  sanctifying  grace, 
and,  besides,  special  graces  which  enable 
them  to  live  in  mutual  and  enduring 
affection,  to  bear  with  each  other's  infirm- 
ities, to  be  faithful  to  each  other  in  every 
thought,  and  to  bring  up  the  children 
whom  God  may  give  them  in  His  fear  and 
love.     They  may  go  confidently   to   God 

1  He  says  the  "  sacramentutn  ordinationis  "  remains  in  a 
cleric  deposed  for  crime,  and  that  so,  the  bond  of  marriage  is 
only  loosed  by  death.  However,  cap.  i8  proves  that  St. 
Augustine  did  not  use  the  word  "sacramentutn  "  in  its  precise 
modern  sense,  for  he  calls  the  polygamy  of  the  Jews  "  sacra- 
mentum  fluralium  nuftiarum,"  as  typifying  the  multitude 
of  converts  to  the  Church. 


120 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


for  every  help  they  need,  in  that  holy 
state  to  which  He  has  deigned  to  call 
them,  for  He  Himself  has  sealed  their 
union  by  a  great  sacrament  of  the  Gospel. 
Theologians  are  not  agreed  about  the 
time  when  Christ  instituted  the  sacra- 
ment. Some  say  at  the  wedding  in  Cana ; 
others,  when  He  abrogated  the  liberty  of 
divorce  (Matt,  xix.)  ;  others,  in  the  great 
Forty  Days  after  Easter. 

If  we  ask,  further,  how  this  grace  is 
conferred,  or,  in  other  words,  who  are  the 
Ministers  of  the  Sacrament,  what  are  the 
words  and  other  signs  through  which  it  is 
given  ?  the  answer  is  far  from  easy.  It  is 
evident  that  there  must  be  a  real  consent 
to  the  marriage  on  both  sides,  otherwise 
there  can  be  no  contract  and  therefore  no 
sacrament.  But  is  the  expression  of 
mutual  consent  enough  ?  The  great 
majority  of  mediaevial  theologians,  though 
William  of  Paris  is  quoted  on  the  other 
side,  answered  yes.  They  held  that  wher- 
ever baptized  persons  contracted  marriage, 
they  necessarily  received  the  sacrament 
of  marriage  also.  On  this  theory,  the 
parties  themselves  are  the  ministers  of  the 
sacrament ;  the  matter  consists  in  the 
words  or  other  signs  by  which  each  gives 
him  or  herself  over  to  the  other  ;  the  form, 
which  gives  a  determinate  character  to  the 
matter,  consists  in  the  acceptation  of  this 
surrender  by  each  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties. Hence  (apart  from  the  positive 
enactments  of  Trent,  for  which  see  Clan- 
destinity,  under  Impediments  of  Mar- 
riage), wherever  Christians  bind  them- 
selves by  outward  signs  to   live  as   man 


and  wife,  they  receive  the  sacrament  of 
marriage.  No  priest  or  religious  ceremony 
of  any  kind  is  needed.  A  very  different 
view  was  put  forward  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury by  Melchior  Canus  ("  Loci  Theol." 
viii.  5).  He  held  that  the  priest  was  the 
minister  of  the  sacrament ;  the  expressed 
consent  to  live  as  man  and  wife,  the  mat- 
ter; the  words  of  the  priest,  "  I  join  you 
in  marriage,"  or  the  like,  the  necessary 
form.  A  marriage  not  contracted  in  the 
face  of  the  Church  would,  on  this  theory, 
be  a  true  and  valid  marriage,  but  not  a 
sacrament.  Theologians  and  scholars  of 
the  greatest  learning  and  highest  reputa- 
tion —  Sylvius,  Estius,  Tournely,  Juenin, 
Renaudot,  etc.  (see  Billuart,  "  De  Matrim." 
diss.  i.  a.  6), —  embraced  this  opinion.  In 
its  defence  an  appeal  might  be  made  with 
great  plausibility  to  the  constant  usage  of 
Christians  from  the  earliest  times,  for  they 
have  always  been  required  to  celebrate 
marriage  before  the  priest.  But  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  Tertullian  ("  De  Pudic."  4), 
strong  as  his  language  is  against  mar- 
riages not  contracted  before  the  Church, 
says  that  such  unions  "are  in  danger" 
{periclitantur)  of  being  regarded  as  no 
better  than  concubinage,  which  implies 
that  they  were  not  really  so.  Nor  does  he 
make  any  distinction  between  the  contract 
of  marriage  in  Christians  and  the  sacra- 
ment, though  it  would  have  been  much 
to  his  purpose  could  he  have  done  so. 
Besides,  the  language  of  the  Fathers 
quoted  above  points  to  a  belief  that  Christ 
elevated  the  contract  of  marriage  to  a 
sacrament,  not   that  He   superadded   the 


MARRIAGE. 


127 


sacrament  to  marriage.  Moreover,  Denzin- 
ger  ("  Ritus  Orientales,"  tom.  i.  p.  152 
seq.)  shows  that  the  Nestorians,  who  have 
retained  the  nuptial  benediction  from  the 
Church  and  believe  in  the  obligation  of 
securing  it,  still  consider  that  marriage, 
even  as  a  sacred  rite,  may  be  performed 
by  the  parties  themselves  if  the  priest 
cannot  be  had ;  and  he  quotes  from 
Gregorius  Datheviensis  this  dictum :  "  Mar- 
riage is  effected  through  consent  expressed 
in  words,  but  perfected  and  consummated 
by  the  priest's  blessing  and  by  cohabita- 
tion." Now,  at  all  events,  the  former  of 
the  two  opinions  given  is  the  only  tenable 
one  in  the  Church.  Pius  IX.  in  an  allo- 
cution, Sept.  2y,  1852,  laid  down  the  prin- 
ciple that  there  "can  be  no  marriage 
among  the  faithful  which  is  not  at  one  and 
the  same  time  a  sacrament"  ;  and  among 
the  condemned  propositions  of  the  Sylla- 
bus appended  to  the  Encyclical  "  Quanta 
Cura  "  of  1864,  the  sixty-fourth  runs  thus  : 
"The  sacrament  of  marriage  is  something 
accessory  to  and  separable  from  the  con- 
tract, and  the  sacrament  itself  depends 
simply  on  the  nuptial  benediction." 
Whether,  supposing  a  Christian  (having 
obtained  a  dispensation  to  that  effect) 
were  to  marry  a  person  who  is  not  bap- 
tized, the  Christian  party  would  receive 
the  sacrament  as  well  as  enter  into  the 
contract  of  marriage,  is  a  matter  on  which 
theologians  differ.  Analogy  seems  to 
favor  the  affirmative  opinion. 

The  Conditions  for  the  Validity  of  Mar- 
riage are  mostly  identical  with  the  condi- 
tions which  determine  the  validity  of  con- 


tracts in  general.  The  consent  to  the 
union  must  be  mutual,  voluntary,  deliber- 
ate, and  manifested  by  external  signs. 
The  signs  of  consent  need  not  be  verbal 
in  order  to  make  the  marriage  valid,  though 
the  rubric  of  the  Ritual  requires  the  con- 
sent to  be  expressed  in  that  manner.  The 
consent  must  be  to  actual  marriage  then 
and  there,  not  at  some  future  time ;  for  in 
the  latter  case  we  should  have  engage- 
ment to  marry,  or  betrothal,  not  marriage 
itself.  Consent  to  marry  if  a  certain  con- 
dition in  the  past  or  present  be  realized  (e. 
g.  "  I  take  you  N.  for  my  wife,  if  you  are 
the  daughter  of  M.  and  N.")  suffices,  sup. 
posing  that  the  condition  be  fulfilled. 
Nay,  it  is  generally  held  that  if  a  condition 
be  added  dependent  on  future  contingen- 
cies (e.  g.  "  I  take  you  N.  for  my  wife,  if 
your  father  will  give  you  such  and  such  a 
dowry  "),  the  marriage  becomes  a  valid  one 
without  any  renewal  of  the  contract,  when- 
ever the  condition  becomes  a  reality.  The 
condition  appended,  however,  must  not  be 
contrary  to  the  essence  of  marriage  —  i.  e. 
a  man  cannot  take  a  woman  for  his  wife  to 
have  and  hold  just  as  long  as  he  pleases. 
(See  Gury,  "Theol.  Moral."  De  Matrimon. 
cap.  iii.) 

III.  Indissolubility  of  Marriage. — The 
law  of  Israel  (Deut.  xxiv.  i)  allowed  a  man 
to  divorce  his  wife  if  she  did  not  find  grace 
in  his  eyes,  because  he  found  in  her  some 
shameful  thing  (*  *  *,  literally  the  "  nak. 
edness  or  shame  of  a  thing " ;  LXX, 
aschemon  pragma ;  Vulg.  aliquant  fcedita- 
tern),  and  the  woman  was  free  at  once  to 
marry  another  man.     The  school  of  Sham- 


128 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


mai  kept  to  the  simple  meaning  of  the  text, 
Hillel  thought  any  cause  of  offence  suffi- 
cient for  divorce  —  e.  g.  "  if  a  woman  let 
the  broth  burn  "  ;  while  R.  Akiva  held  that 
a  man  might  divorce  his  wife  if  he  found 
another  woman  handsomer.  (See  the  quo- 
tation from  "  Arbah  Turim  Nilchoth  Git- 
tin,"  i.  in  McCaul,  "Old  Paths,"  p.  189.) 
The  Pharisees  tried  to  entangle  Christ  in 
these  Rabbinical  disputes  when  they  asked 
Him  if  a  man  might  put  away  his  wife  "for 
any  cause."  In  Athens  and  in  Rome  under 
the  Empire  the  liberty  of  divorce  reached 
the  furthest  limits  of  Rabbinical  license. 
(For  details  see  Dollinger,  "  Gentile  and 
Jew,"  Engl.  Transl.  vol.  ii.  p.  236  seq.  p. 
254  seq.)  Our  Lord,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  condemned  the  Pharisaic  immorality, 
annulled  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  and 
declared,  "  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
wife,  except  for  fornication,  and  shall 
marry  another,  committeth  adultery, 
and  he  who  marrieth  her  when  she  is  put 
away  committeth  adultfery  "  (Matt.  xix.  9). 
The  Catholic  understands  our  Lord  to 
mean  that  the  bond  of  marriage  is  always, 
even  when  one  of  the  wedded  parties  has 
proved  unfaithful,  indissoluble,  and  from 
the  first  Christ's  declaration  made  the 
practice  of  Christians  with  regard  to 
divorce  essentially  and  conspicuously 
different  from  those  of  their  heathen 
and  Jewish  neighbors.  Still  it  was  only 
by  degrees  that  the  strict  practice,  or 
even  the  strict  theory  just  stated,  was 
accepted  in  the  Church.  And  before  we 
enter  on  the  interpretation  of  Christ's 
words,    we    will    give    a   sketch    of    the 


history   of  practice   and   opinion   on   tha 
matter. 

Christian  princes  had  of  course  to  dea^ 
with  the  subject  of  divorce,  but  they  did 
not  at  once  recast  the  old  laws  on  Chris- 
tian principles.  Constantine,  Theodosius 
the  Younger,  and  Valentinian  III.,  forbade 
divorce  except  on  certain  specified 
grounds  ;  other  emperors,  like  Anastasius 
(in  497)  and  Justin  (whose  law  was  in 
force  till  900),  permitted  divorce  by  mutual 
consent,  but  no  one  emperor  limited 
divorce  to  the  single  case  of  adultery. 
Chardon  says  that  divorce  (of  course  a 
vincido)  was  allowed  among  the  Ostro- 
goths in  Spain  till  the  thirteenth  century, 
in  France  under  the  first  and  second 
dynasties,  in  Germany  till  the  seventh 
century,  in  Britain  till  the  tenth.  (Chardon, 
"  Hist,  des  Sacrements,"  tom.  v.  Mariage, 
ch.  V.) 

It  would  be  waste  of  labor  to  accumu- 
late quotations  from  the  Fathers  in  proof 
of  their  belief  that  divorce  was  unlawful 
except  in  the  case  of  adultery.  But  it  is 
very  important  to  notice  that  the  oldest 
tradition,  both  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
churches,  regarded  marriage  as  absolutely 
indissoluble.  Thus  the  '•  Pastor  Hermae  " 
(lib.  ii.  Mand.  iv.  c.  i),  Athenagoras, 
"  Legat."  33  (whose  testimony,  however, 
does  not  count  for  much,  since  he  objected 
to  second  marriages  altogether),  and 
Tertullian  ("  De  Monog."  9),  who  speaks 
in  this  place,  as  the  context  shows,  for  the 
Catholic  Church,  teach  this  clearly  and 
unequivocally.  The  principle  is  recog- 
nized in  the  Apostolic  Canons  (Canon  48, 


MARRIAGE. 


129 


al.  47),  by  the  Council  of  Elvira  held  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century, 
Canon  9  (which,  however,  only  speaks  of  a 
woman  who  has  left  an  unfaithful  husband), 
and  by  other  early  authorities. 

However,  the  Eastern  Christians, 
though  not,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the 
earliest  times,  came  to  understand  our 
Lord's  words  as  permitting  a  second 
marriage  in  the  case  of  adultery,  which 
was  supposed  to  dissolve  the  marriage 
bond  altogether.  Such  is  the  view  and 
practice  of  the  Greeks  and  Oriental  sects 
at  the  present  day.  And  even  in  certain 
parts  of  the  West  similar  views  prevailed 
for  a  time.  Many  French  synods  (e.  g. 
those  of  Vannes  in  465  and  of  Compi^gne 
in  756)  allowed  the  husband  of  a  wife 
who  had  been  unfaithful  to  marry  again  in 
her  life-time.  Nay,  the  latter  council 
permitted  re-marriage  in  other  cases  ;  if  a 
woman  had  a  husband  struck  by  leprosy 
and  got  leave  from  him  to  marry  another, 
or  if  a  man  had  given  his  wife  leave  to  go 
into  a  convent  (Canons  16  and  19).  Pope 
Gregory  II.,  in  a  letter  to  St.  Boniface  in 
the  year  726,  recommended  that  the 
husband  of  a  wife  seized  by  sickness 
which  prevented  cohabitation  should  not 
marry  again,  but  left  him  free  to  do  so 
provided  he  maintained  his  first  wife. 
(Quoted  by  Hefele,  "  Beitrage,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
376.)  At  Florence  the  question  of  divorce 
was  discussed  between  the  Latins  and 
Greeks,  but  after  the  Decree  of  Union ; 
and  we  do  not  know  what  answers  the 
Greeks  gave  on  the  matter.  The  Council 
of  Trent   confirmed  the  present   doctrine 


and  discipline  which  had  long  prevailed 
in  the  West  in  the  following  words  :  "  If 
any  man  say  that  the  Church  is  in  error 
because  it  has  taught  and  teaches,  follow- 
ing the  doctrine  of  the  Gospels  and  the 
apostles,  that  the  bond  of  marriage  cannot 
be  dissolved  because  of  the  adultery  of 
one  or  both  parties,  let  him  be  anathema." 
(Sess.  xxiv.  De  Matrim.  can.  5).  The 
studious  moderation  of  language  here  is 
obvious,  for  the  canon  does  not  directly 
require  any  doctrine  to  be  accepted ;  it 
only' anathematizes  those  who  condemn  a 
certain  doctrine,  and  implies  that  this 
doctrine  is  taught  by  the  Church  and 
derived  from  Christ.  It  was  the  Venetian 
ambassadors  who  prevailed  on  the  Fathers 
to  draw  up  the  canon  in  this  indirect  form, 
so  as  to  avoid  needless  offence  to  the 
Greek  subjects  of  Venice  in  Cyprus, 
Candia  Corfu  Zante,  and  Cephalonia.  The 
canon  was  no  doubt  chiefly  meant  to  stem 
the  erroneous  views  of  Lutherans  and 
Calvinists  on  divorce. 

Our  Lord's  utterances  on  the  subject  of 
divorce  present  some  difficulty.  In  Mark 
X.  II,  12;  Luke  xvi.  18,  He  absolutely 
prohibits  divorce  :  "  Whosoever  shall  put 
away  his  wife  and  marry  another,  com- 
mitteth  adultery  against  her ;  and  if  a 
woman  put  away  her  husband  and  be 
married  to  another,  she  committeth 
adultery."  But  in  Matt.  xix.  9,  10,  there 
is  a  marked  difference  :  "  Whosoever  shall 
put  away  his  wife  except  for  fornication, 
and  marry  another,  committeth  adultery ; 
and  he  who  marrieth  a  woman  put  awa  , 
committeth   adultery."     So  also   Matt,    v 


I30 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


32.  Protestant  commentators  understand 
our  Lord  to  prohibit  divorce  except  in  the 
case  of  adultery,  when  the  innocent  party 
at  least  may  marry  again,  Maldonatus, 
who  acknowledges  the  difficulty  of  the 
text,  takes  the  sense  to  be  —  "Whoever 
puts  away  his  wife  except  for  infidelity 
commits  adultery,  because  of  the  danger 
of  falling  into  licentiousness  to  which  he 
unjustly  exposes  her,  and  so  does  he  who 
in  any  case,  even  if  his  wife  has  proved 
unfaithful,  marries  another."  He  takes 
St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke  as  explanatory  of 
the  obscure  passage  in  St.  Matthew.  Sub- 
sequent scholars,  we  venture  to  think, 
have  by  no  means  improved  on  Maldonatus. 
Hug,  who  is  never  to  be  mentioned 
without  respect,  suggested  that  Christ 
first  (in  Matt.  v.  32)  forbade  divorce 
except  in  case  of  adultery;  then  (Matt. 
xix.  9,  10,)  forbade  it  altogether,  the  words 
"  except  for  fornication "  in  the  latter 
place  being  an  interpolation — a  suggestion 
perfectly  arbitrary  and  followed  by  nobody. 
A  well-known  Catholic  commentator, 
Schegg,  interprets  the  words  "for  for- 
nication "  i^epi porneiai)  to  mean,  "  because 
the  man  has  found  his  marriage  to  be  null 
because  of  some  impediment,  and  so  no 
marriage  at  all,  but  mere  concubinage." 
In  this  event  there  would  be  no  occasion 
lor  or  possibility  of  divorce.  On  Matt.  v. 
32  {parekiui  logou  porneias,  save  where 
fornication  is  the  motive  reason  of  the 
divorce)  he  thinks  Christ  took  for  granted 
that  the  adulteress  would  be  put  to  death 
(according  to  Levit.  xx.  10)  and  so  leave 
her  husband  free,  an  hypothesis  which  is 


contradicted  by  the  "  pericope  of  the 
adulteress."  (John  viii.  3  seg.)  Bol- 
linger's elaborate  theory  given  in  the 
Appendix  to  his  "  First  Age  of  the 
Church "  is  less  ingenious  than  that  of 
Hug,  but  scarcely  les?  arbitrary.  He 
urges  that  porneuein  can  only  refer  to 
"fornication,"  and  cannot  be  used  of  sin 
committed  after  marriage  ;  \i\xt  pomeia  and 
porneuem  are  used  of  adultery  (i  Cor.  v.  i ; 
Amos  vii.  17;  Sir.  xxiii.  33),  so  that  we 
need  not  linger  over  Dollinger's  con- 
tention (which  has  no  historical  basis,  and 
is  objectionable  in  every  way)  that  ante- 
nuptial sin  on  the  woman's  part  annulled 
the  union  and  left  the  man  free,  if  he  was 
unaware  of  it  when  he  meant  to  contract 
marriage.  ^ 

IV.  The  Unity  of  Marriage. —  The  un- 
lawfulness of  polygamy  in  the  common 
sense  of  the  word  follows  from  the  declara- 
tion of  Christ  Himself,  and  there  was  no 
room  for  further  question  on  the  matter. 
With  regard  to  reiteration  of  marriage,  St. 
Paul  (i  Cor.  vii.  39,  40)  distinctly  asserts 
that  a  woman  is  free  to  marry  on  her 
husband's  death.  Still  there  is  a  natural 
feeling  against  a  second  marriage,  which 
Virgil  expresses  in  the  beautiful  words  he 
puts  into  Dido's  mouth  — 

Ille  meos,  primus  qui  me  sibi  junxit,  amores 
Abstulitj  ille  habeat  secum  servetque  sepjdcro. 


1  Dollinger  objects  to  the  instance  from  i  Cor.  v.  t,  because 
he  says  there  is  no  Greek  word  for  "  incest,"  so  that  the 
Apostle  was  obliged  to  use  porneia.  Why  porneia  rather 
than  w»«VA«a?  As  to  Amos  vii.  17,  "Thy  wife  will  commit 
fornication  in  the  city,"  he  urges  that  this  defilement  was  not 
to  be  voluntary  on  the  woman's  part,  and  therefore  wasnt 
adultery.  This  argument  proves  too  much.  If  it  was  noi 
adultery  because  not  wilful,  no  more  was  it  "  fornication. ' 


MARRIAGE. 


131 


And  this  feeling,  of  which  there  are  many 
traces  among  the  heathen,  was  yet  more 
natural  in  Christians,  who  might  well  look 
to  a  continuance  in  a  better  world  of  the 
love  which  had  begun  and  grown  stronger 
year  by  year  on  earth.  Moreover,  the 
apostle  puts  those  who  had  married  again 
at  a  certain  disadvantage,  for  he  excludes 
them  (i  Tim,  iii.  2  ;  Titus  i.  6)  from  the 
episcopate  and  priesthood.  And  the 
church,  though  she  held  fast  the  lawfulness 
of  second  marriage  and  condemned  the 
error  of  the  Montanists  (see  Tertullian 
"De  Monog."  "Exhortat.  Castitatis")  and 
of  some  Novatians  (Concil.  Nic.  i.  Canon  8), 
treated  such  unions  with  a  certain  disfavor. 
This  aversion  was  much  more  strongly 
manifested  in  the  East  than  in  the  West, 
Athenagoras  ("Legat."  33)  says  Chris- 
tians marry  not  at  all,  or  only  once,  since 
they  look  on  second  marriage  as  a 
"specious  adultery  "  {eupretes  estimoicheict), 
Clement  of  Alexandria  ("Strom,"  iii.  i.  p. 
551,  ed.  Potter)  simply  repeats  the  apos- 
tolic injunction,  "  But  as  to  the  second 
marriage,  if  thou  art  on  fire,  says  the 
apostle,  marry,"  (In  iii.  12,  p,  551,  he  is 
referring  to  simultaneous  bigamy.)  Early 
in  the  fourth  century  we  find  Eastern 
councils  showing  strong  disapproval  of 
second  marriage.  Thus  the  Council  of 
Neocaesarea  (Canon  7)  forbids  priests  to 
take  part  in  the  feasts  of  those  who  mar- 
ried a  second  time,  and  assumes  that  the 
latter  must  do  penance.  The  Council  of 
Ancyra  (Canon  19)  also  takes  this  for 
granted,  and  the  Council  of  Laodicea 
(Canon   i)   only  admits  those   who    have 


married  again  to  communion  after  prayer 
and  fasting.  Basil  treats  this  branch  of 
church  discipline  in  great  detail.  For 
those  who  married  a  second  time  he  pre- 
scribes, following  ancient  precedent,  a  pen- 
ance for  one  year,  and  of  several  years  for 
those  who  marry  more  than  once.  (See  the 
references  in  Hefele,  "Concil."  i.  p.  339; 
"  Beitrage,"  i.  p.  50  seq)  Basil's  rigorism 
had  a  decided  influence  on  the  later  Greek 
church.  A  Council  of  Constantinople,  in 
920,  discouraged  second,  imposed  penance 
for  third,  and  excommunication  for  fourth, 
marriage.  Such  is  the  discipline  of  the 
modern  Greek  church.  At  a  second  mar- 
riage the  "benediction  of  the  crowns" 
is  omitted,  and  "  propitiatory  prayers " 
are  said ;  and  although  some  concessions 
have  been  made  with  regard  to  the  former 
ceremony,  Leo  Allatius  testifies  that  it  was 
still  omitted  in  some  parts  of  the  Greek 
church  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century. 
A  fourth  marriage  is  still  absolutely  prohib- 
ited.i 

The  Latin  Church  has  always  been 
milder  and  more  consistent.  The  "  Pastor 
Hermae"  (lib.  ii.  Mandat.  iv.  4)  emphati- 
cally maintains  that  there  is  no  sin  in 
second  marriage.  St.  Ambrose  ("De 
Viduis,"  c.  1 1)  contents  himself  with 
saying,  "  We  do  not  prohibit  second 
marriages,  but  we  do  not  approve 
marriages  frequently  reiterated,"  Jerome's 
words  are,  "  I  do  not  condemn  those  who 
marry  twice,  three  times,  nay,  if  such  a 

1  The  Oriental  sects  (Copts,  Jacobites,  Armenians)  are 
even  stricter  than  the  Greeks.  The  Nestorians,  however,  are 
as  might  have  been  expected,  free  from  any  spirit  of  strictnesf 
in  this  point,     Denzinger,  Rit.  Orient,  i.  p.  i8o. 


132 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


thing  can  be  said,  eight  times  {non  damno 
digainoSf  into  et  trigavtos,  et,  si  did  potest, 
octogamos,)'''  but  he  shows  his  dislike  for 
repeated  marriage  (Ep.  Ixvii.  "Apol.  pro 
libris  adv.  Jovin.").  Gregory  III.  advises 
Boniface,  the  apostle  of  Germany,  to 
prevent,  if  he  can,  people  marrying  more 
than  twice,  but  he  does  not  call  such 
unions  sinful.  Nor  did  the  Latin  Church 
impose  any  penance  for  reiterated 
marriage.  We  do,  indeed,  find  penance 
imposed  on  those  who  married  again  in 
the  penitential  books  of  Theodore,  who 
became  archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  668. 
But  Theodore's  view  came  from  his  Greek 
nationality ;  and  if  Herardus,  archbishop 
of  Tours,  speaks  of  third  marriage,  etc.,  as 
"adultery,"  this  is  probably  to  be 
explained  by  the  Greek  influence  which 
had  spread  from  England  to  France. 
Anyhow,  this  is  the  earliest  trace  of  such 
•rigorism  in  the  West. 

The  Latin  Church,  however,  did  exhibit 
one  definite  mark  of  disfavor  for  reiterated 
marriage.  The  "  Corpus  Juris  "  contains 
two  decretals  of  Alexander  IH.  and  Urban 
IIL,  forbidding  priests  to  give  the  nuptial 
benediction  in  such  cases.  Durandus 
(died  1296)  speaks  of  the  custom  in  his 
time  as  different  in  different  places.  The 
"Rituale  Romanum  "  of  Paul  V.  (1605- 
162 1)  forbids  the  nuptial  benediction,  only 
tolerating  the  custom  of  giving  it,  when  it 
already  existed,  if  it  was  the  man  only 
who  was  being  married  again.  The 
present  Rubric  permits  the  nuptial  bene- 
diction except  when  the  woman  "has  been 
married  before. 


V.  Ceremonies  of  Marriage.  —  From 
the  earliest  times  and  in  all  times  Chris- 
tians have  been  wont  to  celebrate  their 
marriages  in  church,  and  to  have  them 
blessed  by  the  priest ;  nor  can  they  cele- 
brate them  otherwise  without  sin,  except 
in  case  of  necessity.  "  It  is  fitting," 
Ignatius  writes  ("Ad  Polycarp."  5),  "for 
men  and  women  who  marry  to  form  this 
union  with  the  approval  of  the  bishop,  that 
their  union  may  be  according  to  God." 
"  What  words  can  suffice,"  Tertullian  sayy 
("  Ad  Uxor."  ii.  9),  "  to  tell  the  happiness 
of  that  marriage  which  the  church  unites, 
the  oblation  confirms,  and  the  blessing 
seals,  the  angels  announce,  the  Father 
acknowledges !  " 


Martyr. 


Martyr  {martus,  then  martur,  which 
was  originally  the  JEoMc  form).  A  witness 
for  Christ.  In  early  times  this  title  was 
given  generally  to  those  who  were  distin- 
guished witnesses  for  Christ,  then  to  those 
who  suffered  for  Him  ^ ;  lastly,  after  the 
middle  of  the  third  century,  the  title  was 
restricted  to  those  who  actually  died  for 
Him.  The  very  first  records  of  the 
Church  which  we  possess  tell  us  of  the 

1  Martus  and  the  cognate  words  begin  to  assume  their 
later  technical  sense  in  Acts  xxii.;  Apoc.  ii.  13.  This 
technical  sense  is  probab'y  intended  in  Clem.  Rom.  i,  Ad  Cor. 
5  ;  certainly  in  Ignat.  Ad  Ephes.  i  ;  Mart.  Polyc.  19  ;  Melito 
(apud  Euseb.  H.  E.  iv.  26);  Dionys.  Corinth,  {ib.  ii.  25.); 
Hegesippus  (,ib.  ii.  23,  iv.  22);  Epist.  Gall.  {ib.  v.  1,2); 
Anon.  Adv.  Cataph.  {ib.  v.  16) ;  Iren.  i.  28,  i,  etc.;  though  at 
the  same  time  the  words  were  also  used  of  testimony  which  was 
not  sealed  by  death.  The  Epistle  of  the  Martyrs  of  Vienna 
and  Lyons  just  quoted  distinguishes  between  confessors 
(homologoi)  and  martyrs,  but  in  Clement  Alex.  (Strom,  iv.  g, 
p.  596)  and  even  in  Cyprian  the  distinction  is  not  observed 
The  Decian  prosecution  tended  to  fix  it. 


MARTYR. 


133 


honors  done  to  the  martyrs.  It  was  the 
martyrs  who,  first  of  all,  were  regarded  as 
saints  ;  the  relics  of  the  martyrs  which 
were  first  revered  ;  to  the  martyrs  that 
the  first  churches  were  dedicated.  The 
name  "  martyrium  "  {ntarttirion),  which  at 
first  meant  the  church  built  over  a 
martyr's  remains,  was  given  to  churches 
generally,  even  if  dedicated  to  saints  who 
were  not  martyred,  though  this  usage  was 
partly  justified  by  the  fact  that  a  church 
was  not  consecrated  till  the  relics  of  some 
martyr  had  been  placed  in  it. 

Benedict  XIV.,  in  his  work  on  "Canon- 
ization "  (lib.  iii.  cap.  1 1  scq),  gives  the 
modern  law  of  the  church  on  the  recogni- 
tion of  martyrdom  with  great  fulness. 
He  defines  martyrdom  as  the  "voluntary 
endurance  of  death  for  the  faith,  or  some 
other  act  of  virtue  relating  to  God."  A 
martyr,  he  says,  may  die  not  only  for  the 
faith  directly,  but  also  to  preserve  some 
virtue  —  e.  g.  justice,  obedience,  or  the 
like,  enjoined  or  counselled  by  the  faith. 
He  mentions  the  dispute  among  theolo- 
gians whether  a  person  who  died  for 
confessing  the  Immaculate  Conception  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  in  his  time  had 
not  been  defined,  would  be  a  martyr.  He 
gives  no  decided  opinion  on  the  point,  but 
says  that  "  in  other  cases  the  safe  rule  is 
that  one  who  dies  for  a  question  not  yet 
defined  by  the  church  dies  in  a  cause 
insufficient  for  martyrdom."  Further,  he 
explains  that  to  be  a  martyr  a  man  must 
actually  die  of  his  sufferings  or  else  have 
endured  pains  which  would  have  been 
his  death  but  for  miraculous  intervention. 


J^artyrology. 


A  LIST  of  martyrs  and  other  saints,  and 
the  mysteries  commemorated  on  each  day 
of  the  year,  with  brief  notices  of  the  life 
and  death  of  the  former.  It  is  these  brief 
notices  which  distinguish  a  Martyrology 
from  a  mere  calendar.  It  is  read  in 
monastic  orders  at  Prime  after  the  prayer 
"  Deus,  qui  ad principium."  It  is  followed 
by  the  versicle  "  Precious  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  saints,"  and 
by  a  petition  for  the  intercession  of  the 
heavenly  court ;  and  these  words  are 
retained  even  in  the  secular  office,  when 
the  Martyrology  is  not  actually  recited. 
Mr.  Maskell  has  collected  many  proofs 
that  in  England  the  Martyrology  used  to 
be  said  in  the  monastic  chapter,  not,  like 
the  office,  in  the  choir.  This  custom, 
however,  was  in  no  way  peculiar  to  Eng- 
land, as  may  be  seen  from  the  notes  of 
Meratus  on  the  subject  (Pars.  II.  sect.  v. 
cap.  xxi.).  After  Prime,  or  sometimes 
after  Tierce,  the  monks  adjourned  to  the 
chapter,  heard  the  Martyrology,  and  said 
the  prayers  which  now  form  part  of  Prime, 
"  Dcus,  in  adjutoriwn  memn  "  /  "  Dignare, 
Domine,  die  ista"  etc.,  before  setting  out 
to  their  daily  labor. 

Gregory  the  Great  speaks  of  a  Martyr- 
ology used  by  the  Roman  Church  in  his 
day,  but  we  do  not  know  for  certain  what 
it  was.  A  Martyrology  attributed  to 
Jerome  is  printed,  e.  g.  in  Vallarsi's  edi- 
tion of  his  works.  It  has  undergone 
many  revisions  and  later  editions.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  Jerome  may  have  col- 


1 34 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


lected  a  Martyrology  from  the  various 
calendars  of  the  Church,  and  that  the 
Martyrology  which  goes  by  his  name,  as 
we  have  it,  is  the  corruption  of  a  book 
used  in  St.  Gregory's  time  at  Rome.  The 
lesser  Roman  Martyrology  was  found  at 
Ravenna  by  Ado,  archbishop  of  Vienna, 
about  850.  A  third  Martyrology  is  attrib- 
uted (erroneously,  Hefele  says)  to  Bede, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  work  may 
probably  come  from  him.  All  western 
Martyrologies  are  based  on  these  three. 
We  have  Martyrologies  from  Florus,  Ado, 
Usuard,  in  France ;  from  Rabanus  and 
Notker  of  St.  Gall,  in  Germany. 

The  Roman  Martyrology  mentioned,  as 


we  have  seen,  by  Gregory  the  Great,  is 
mentioned  again  at  the  English  Council 
of  Cloveshoo.  Such  a  work  is,  of  course, 
subject  to  constant  alterations  from  the 
addition  of  new  feasts,  etc.  A  revision 
of  the  Roman  Martyrology  was  made  by 
Baronius  and  other  scholars  in  1584.  It 
was  revised  again  under  Urban  VIII.  (See 
Laemmer,  "De  Mart.  Rom."  Ratisbonae,^ 
1878.) 

1  This  scholar  classifies  Martyrologies  thus :  (i )  that 
attributed  to  Jerome ;  (2)  Martyr.  Rom.  Parv.  published 
by  Rosweyd  in  1613,  and  written  in  Rome  about  740;  (3)  a 
genuine  Martyrology  of  Bede,  with  interpolations  from  Florus 
of  Lyons  ;  (4)  that  of  Usuard,  dedicated  to  Charles  the  Bald, 
used  from  the  ninth  century,  not  only  in  Benedictine  houses, 
but  throughout  the  West.  In  the  fifteenth  century  no  other 
was  in  use  except  in  St.  Peter's,  and  even  there  the  Martyr* 
ology  was  but  a  translation  of  Usuard 


^ 


><^ 


•!•!•        •!•!•        •*•!•        •'•!•        •!!•        •!•!■ 


CHAPTER     XXI. 

•  #         # 


HNTICHRIST. 


I^ 


WORD  which,  so  far  as  the 
New  Testament  is  concerned, 
only  occurs  in  St.  John's 
Epistles.  In  itself  it  might 
mean  —  "  like  Christ,"  or  "in- 
stead of  Christ,"  as  antitheos 
signifies  Godlike,  or  anthupatos  pro-consul, 
but  the  Antichrist  of  St.  John  is  Christ's 
adversary.  "Ye  have  heard,"  he  says, 
"that  Antichrist^  is  coming,  and  now 
there  have  been  many  Antichrists.  .  .  . 
This  is  the  Antichrist  who  denies  the 
Father  and  the  Son."  In  the  fourth 
chapter  he  makes  the  characteristic  of 
Antichrist  {to  ton  antichristou)  consist  in 
not  confessing  Jesus  ^ ;  and  more  fully  in 
the  seventh  verse  of  the  Second  Epistle, 
he  places  the  guilt  of  Antichrist  in  his 
denial  that  Christ  has  "come  in  the  flesh." 
Thus  St.  John  identifies  the  Antichristian 
spirit  with  the  Docetic  heresy,  though  he 
seems  also  to  allude  to  a  single  person 


1  I  Ep.  ii.  18.  The  reading  ho  an,  "that  the  Antichrist 
comes,"  is  that  of  the  received  text,  but  Lachmann,  Tischen- 
dorf,  and  Tregelles  omit  the  article. 

2  "  Every  spirit  which  does  not  confess  Jesus."  So  the 
Greek,  according  to  the  editions  just  quoted.  The  Vulgate 
has  "  every  spirit  which  dissolves  Jesus." 


who  is  to  come  in  the  last  days.  St.  Paul» 
in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalo. 
nians,  is  more  explicit.  He  does  not, 
indeed,  use  the  word  "  Antichrist,"  but  he 
speaks  of  a  person  whom  he  describes  as 
the  "  man  of  sin,"  "  the  son  of  perdition 
who  opposeth  and  raiseth  himself  over  all 
that  is  called  God,  or  is  an  object  of  awe, 
so  as  to  sit  in  the  temple  of  God,  exhibit- 
ing himself  as  God."  At  present,  there  is 
a  power  which  hinders  his  manifestation. 
The  Thessalonians  looked  on  the  "  day  of 
the  Lord  "  as  already  imminent.  Not  so, 
St.  Paul  replies  ;  three  things  must  happen 
first  —  an  apostasy  or  defection  must 
occur ;  the  hindrance  to  the  manifestation 
of  Antichrist  must  be  removed,  and  then 
Antichrist  himself  revealed.  This  "man 
of  sin "  is  usually  called  "  Antichrist," 
and  to  this  terminology  we  shall  conform 
during  the  rest  of  the  article. 

As  to  this  Antichrist,  we  must  distin- 
guish between  what  is  certain  and  what  is 
doubtful. 

It  is  the  constant  belief  of  the  whole 
Church,  witnessed  by  Father  after  Father 


13S 


I-^ft 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


from  Irenaeus  downwards,  that  before  our 
Lord  comes  again,  a  great  power  will  arise 
which  will  persecute  the  Church,  and  lead 
many  into  apostasy.  All  that  is  "  lawless," 
all  that  oppose  "lawful  authority"  in 
Church  or  State,  partake  so  far  of  his 
spirit,  who  is  called,  in  the  words  of  the 
apostle,  the  "lawless  one"  by  pre-emi- 
nence. But  this  must  not  lead  us  to  treat 
Antichrist  as  a  mere  personification  of 
evil,  or  to  forget  the  universal  belief  of 
Fathers  and  theologians  that  he  is  a  real 
and  individual  being  who  is  to  appear 
before  the  end  of  the  world. 

So  much  for  what  is  certain.  When  we 
come  to  details,  the  Fathers,  Bossuet  says, 
"  do  but  grope  in  the  dark,  a  sure  mark 
that  tradition  had  left  nothing  decisive  on 
the  subject."  All,  or  nearly  all,  are  agreed 
in  considering  that  the  "  mystery  of  ini- 
quity already  worked  "  in  Nero,  that  the 
power  which  hindered  the  appearance  of 
Antichrist  was  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
that  he  was  to  appear  as  the  Messias  of  the 
Jews,  and  to  possess  himself  of  their  tem- 
ple. Further,  from  very  early  times,  St. 
Paul's  "  man  of  sin "  was  identified  with 
one  of  the  two  Apocalyptic  beasts,  in 
Apoc.  xiii.,  and  with  the  little  horn,  in 
Daniel  vii.,  which  roots  out  the  other  ten 
horns,  or  kings,  speaks  blasphemies,  and 
destroys  the  saints.  A  time  was  expected 
when  the  Roman  power  would  be  divided 
into  ten  kingdoms.  Antichrist  was  to 
destroy  three  of  these,  to  subdue  the  rest, 
till,  after  a  reign  of  three  and  a  half  years, 
he,  in  turn,  was  destroyed  by  Christ.  It 
was  also  commonly  held  that  Antichrist 


was  to  be  a  Jew,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan, 
because  that  tribe  is  described  as  a  serpent 
by  the  dying  Jacob,^  and  is  omitted  from 
the  list  of  tribes  in  the  Apocalypse.* 
Many  other  features  in  the  picture  might 
be  given.  Some  regarded  Antichrist  as 
generated  by  Satan ;  others,  as  actually 
Satan  incarnate.  The  Arian  persecution 
in  Africa,  the  domination  of  Islam,  were 
looked  upon  as  likely  to  usher  in  the  reign 
of  Antichrist.  Among  other  curious 
beliefs  we  may  mention  that  of  some 
among  the  Beguines,  who  supposed  that 
as  Lucifer  had  come  from  the  highest 
order  of  angels,  so  Antichrist  would  spring 
from  the  most  perfect  Order,  viz.  the 
Franciscan.  In  contrast  with  these  aber- 
rations of  fancy,  St.  Augustine  in  the 
West,  and  St.  John  Damascene  in  the 
East,  preserve  a  marked  moderation  of  tone 
in  discussing  this  subject. 

At  the  Protestant  Reformation,  an 
entirely  new  view  appeared  on  the  field. 
Even  heretics  had  not  ventured  to  assert 
that  St.  Paul,  in  the  "man  of  sin,"  meant 
to  describe  the  Pope.  Wicliffe,  indeed, 
had  called  the  Pope  "  Antichrist,"  while 
the  name  was  applied  to  Pope  Sylvester  by 
the  Waldensians,  to  John  XXII.  by  the 
Beguines ;  but  the  word  was  used  in  that 
vague  sense  in  which  every  one  who  does 
or  teaches  evil  is  an  Antichrist.  Indeed, 
till  Luther's  time  it  was  generally  agreed 
that  Antichrist  was  to  be  an  individual, 
and  this  fact,  which  the  plain  sense  of  St. 
Paul's  words  implies,  is  enough  of  itself  ta 

iGen.  xlix.  17. 
2  Apoc.  vii.  5. 


ANTICHRIST. 


^n 


I 


refute  the  absurd  opinion  that  Antichrist 
means  the  line  of  Popes.  All  Protestant 
writers  of  respectable  attainments  have 
now  rejected  this  monstrous  interpreta- 
tion. Yet  it  is  well  not  to  forget  that  it 
was  once  almost  an  article  of  Protestant 
faith,  and  it  was  actually  made  a  charge 
against  Archbishop  Laud  on  his  trial  that 
he  refused  to  recognize  Antichrist  in  the 
Bishop  of  Rome. 

(Chiefly   taken  from  Dollinger's  "  First 
Age  of  the  Church,"  Appendix  I.) 

/\sK    Wedr\esday. 

The  first  day,  according  to  our  present 
observance,  of  the  forty  days'  fast  of  Lent. 
But  that  it  did  not  come  within  the  quad- 
ragesimal period  in  primitive  times  we 
know  from  the  testimony  of  Gregory  the 
Great,  who,  in  speaking  of  the  fast, 
describes  it  as  of  thirty- six  days'  duration 
—  that  is,  as  extending  over  six  weeks, 
from  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent  to  Easter 
Day,  omitting  Sundays.  Thirty-six  days 
are  nearly  a  tenth  part  of  the  year,  and 
thus,  by  observing  the  fast.  Christians 
were  thought  to  render  a  penitential  tithe 
of  their  lives  to  God.  Lent,  therefore,  at 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  began  on  the 
first  Sunday,  and  we  know  from  the  Sacra- 
mentary  of  Gelasius  that  the  practice  was 
the  same  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  century. 
At  what  time  Ash  Wednesday  and  the 
three  following  days  were  added  to  the 
jfast  has  not  been  precisely  ascertained. 
It  is  true  that  in  the  Sacramentary  of  Pope 


Gregory  there  is  a  Mass  for  Ash  Wednes- 
day, under  the  heading  "  Feria  IV.,  caput 
jejunii "  (beginning  of  the  fast)  ;  whence 
it  might  be  inferred  that  Pope  Gregory,  in 
spite  of  the  words  cited  above,  had  himself 
before  his  death  sanctioned  the  alteration 
in  question.  But  this  would  be  an  unsafe 
conclusion,  for  one  of  the  best  MSS.  of  the 
Sacramentary  does  not  contain  this  head- 
ing. However  this  may  be,  a  Capitulary 
of  the  Church  of  Toulon  (714)  and  the  litur- 
gical work  of  Amaury  (about  820) 
describe  the  Lenten  usage  as  identical  with 
our  own.  There  can  be  no  difficulty  in 
understanding  the  motive  of  the  change ; 
for  by  the  addition  of  the  four  days  pre- 
ceding the  first  Sunday,  the  number  of 
fasting  days  before  Easter  (the  Sundays 
being  omitted)  becomes  exactly  forty,  and 
accords  with  the  fasts  recorded  of  Moses 
and  Elias,  and  with  that  of  our  Saviour  in 
the  wilderness  of  Judea. 

The  office  for  Ash  Wednesday  opens 
with  the  solemn  ceremony  which  has  given 
the  day  its  name.^  After  an  introit  and 
four  collects,  in  which  pardon  and  mercy 
are  implored  for  the  penitent,  the  faithful 
approach  and  kneel  at  the  altar  rails,  and 
the  priest  puts  ashes  on  the  forehead  of 
each,  saying,  "  Memento,  homo,  quia  pulvis 
es,  et  in  pulverem  reverteris  "  (Remember, 
man,  that  thou  art  dust,  and  shalt  return 
to  dust).  The  ashes  are  obtained  by  burn- 
ing the  palms  of  the  previous  year.  The 
Lenten  pastorals  of  Bishops,  regulating 
the  observance  of  the  season,  usually 
prescribe  that  the  fast  on  Ash  Wednesday 

1  Billuart,  Z)e  Myster,  Diss.  xiv.  a.  i. 


138 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY, 


shall  be  more  rigorously  kept  than  on  any 
other  day  in  Lent  except  the  last  four  days 
of  Holy  Week. 

The  administration  of  the  ashes  was  not 
originally  made  to  all  the  faithful,  but  only 
to  public  penitents.  These  had  to  appear 
before  the  church  door  on  the  first  day  of 
Lent,  in  penitential  garb  and  with  bare 
feet.  Their  penances  were  there  imposed 
upon  them  ;  then  they  were  brought  into 
the  church  before  the  bishop  who  put 
ashes  on  their  heads,  saying,  besides  the 
words  ^^  Memento ^^  etc.,  ^^  age  poenitentiam 
ut  habeas  vitani  aternatn  "  (Repent  (or,  do 
penance),  that  thou  mayest  have  eternal 
life).  He  then  made  them  an  address, 
after  which  he  solemnly  excluded  them 
from  the  church.  Out  of  humility  and 
affection,  friends  of  the  penitents,  though 
not  in  the  same  condition,  used  to  join 
themselves  to  them,  expressing  in  their 
outward  guise  a  similar  contrition,  and 
ojffering  their  foreheads  also  to  be  sprinkled 
with  ashes.  The  number  of  these  persons 
gradually  increased,  until  at  length  the 
administration  of  ashes  was  extended  to 
the  whole  congregation,  and  the  rite  took 
its  present  form.  ("Diet,  of  Antiq." 
Smith  and  Cheetham ;  Kossing,  in  Wetzer 
and  Welte.) 


Asperges. 


A  NAME  given  to  the  sprinkling  of  the 
altar,  clergy,  and  people  with  holy  water  at 
the  beginning  of  High  Mass  by  the  cele- 
brant. The  name  is  taken  from  the  words, 
"Asperges  me,"  "Thou  shalt  wash  me,  O 


Lord,  with  hyssop,"  etc.,  with  which  tha 
priest  begins  the  ceremony.  During  the 
Easter  season  the  antiphon  "  Vidi  aquam  " 
is  substituted.  This  custom  of  sprinkling 
the  people  with  holy  water  is  mentioned  in 
the  Canon  of  a  synod  quoted  by  Hincmar 
of  Rheims,  who  lived  at  the  beginning  of 
the  ninth  century. 


/\ss\jrT\ptior\. 


After  the  death  of  her  divine  Son  the 
Blessed  Virgin  liyed  under  the  care  of  St. 
John.  It  is  not  quite  certain  where  she 
died.  Tillemont  conjectures  from  a  pas- 
sage in  a  letter  of  the  Fathers  assembled  in 
the  General  Council  of  Ephesus  that  she 
was  buried  in  that  city,  but  the  common 
tradition  of  the  church  represents  her  as 
having  died  at  Jerusalem,  where  her 
empty  tomb  was  shown  to  pilgrims  in  the 
seventh  century.  In  any  case,  it  is  certain 
that  she  really  died,  and  that  her  exemp- 
tion from  sin  original  and  actual  did  not 
prevent  her  paying  this  common  debt  of 
humanity.  The  very  fact  that  she  had 
received  a  passible  nature  rendered  her 
liable  to  death.  Except  for  the  special  gift 
of  immortality  which  he  received  from 
God,  Adam  would  have  died  in  the  course 
of  nature,  even  if  he  had  never  sinned ; 
and  St.  Augustine  declares  that  our 
Blessed  Saviour  would  have  died  by  the 
natural  decay  of  old  age,  if  the  Jews  had 
not  laid  violent  hands  upon  Him.* 

1  In  French,   Marcredi  des  Cendres  \  in   German,   Asci^ 
mittwoche. 


ASSUMPTION. 


139 


Still,  although  the  Blessed  Virgin  tasted 
of  death,  her  body  was  preserved  from  cor- 
ruption and  it  was  united  to  her  soul  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  church  signi- 
fies her  belief  in  this  fact  by  celebrating  the 
feast  of  her  Assumption  on  the  fifteenth 
of  August.  There  is  no  distinct  assertion 
of  the  r^;^)^/'^/ assumption  in  the  prayers  of 
the  feast,  but  it  is  plain  that  the  church 
encourages  and  approves  this  belief  from 
the  fact  that  she  selects  for  the  lessons 
during  the  octave  a  passage  from  St.  John 
Damascene  in  which  the  history  of  this 
corporal  assumption  is  given  in  detail. 
This  pious  belief  is  recommended  by  its 
intrinsic  reasonableness,  for  surely  it  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  our  Lord  did  not 
suffer  that  sacred  body  in  which  He  Him- 
self had  dwelt  and  from  which  He  had 
formed  His  own  sacred  humanity  to  become 
a  prey  to  corruption.  It  is  confirmed  by 
the  testimonies  of  St.  Andrew  of  Crete,  of 
St.  John  Damascene,  and  of  many  ancient 
Martyrologies  and  Missals,  cited  by  Butler 
in  his  note  on  this  feast.  It  is,  moreover, 
a  striking  fact  that,  notwithstanding  the 
zeal  of  the  early  church  in  collecting  and 
venerating  relics,  no  relics  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin's  body  have  ever  been  exhibited. 
Much  weight,  too,  must  be  given  to  the 
common  sentiment  of  the  faithful. 
"Admirable,"  says  Petavius,  "is  the 
admonition  of  Paulinus  of  Nola,  an  author 
of  the  greatest  weight,  who  bids  us  adhere 
to  the  common  voice  of  the  faithful,  since 
'^he  spirit  of  God  breathes  upon  them 
all."i 

'  Petav  D€  Incarmat.  xiv,  3. 


The  corporal  assumption  is  not  an  article 
of  faith.  Still  Melchior  Canus  sums  up 
the  general  teaching  of  theologians  on 
this  head  when  he  says  :  —  "  The  denial  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin's  corporal  assumption 
into  heaven,  though  by  no  means  contrary 
to  the  faith,  is  still  so  much  opposed  to  the 
common  agreement  of  the  Church,  that  it 
would  be  a  mark  of  insolent  temerity."^ 

The  feast,  according  to  Butler,  was 
celebrated  before  the  sixth  century  in  the 
East  and  West.  The  Greeks  called  it 
koitnesis  or  metastasis ;  the  Latins,  dor- 
mitio,  pausatio,  transitus,  assumptio. 


/\ttritiorA. 


Attrition,  as  distinct  from  contrition, 
is  an  imperfect  sorrow  for  sin.  Contrition 
is  that  sorrow  for  sin  which  has  for  its 
motive  the  love  of  God,  when  the  sinner 
has  offended.  Attrition  arises  from  a 
motive  which  is  indeed  supernatural,  — 
that  is  to  say,  apprehended  by  faith,  —  but 
which  still  falls  short  of  contrition.  Such 
motives  are  —  the  fear  of  hell,  the  loss  of 
heaven,  the  turpitude  of  sin.  By  this  last, 
we  understand  the  turpitude  of  sin  as 
revealed  by  faith.  We  may  also,  for  the 
sake  of  clearness,  exclude  from  our  defi- 
nition that  kind  of  sorrow  which  theolo- 
gians call  serviliter  servilis  —  the  sorrow 
which  makes  a  man  renounce  sin  because 
he  is  afraid  of  hell,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  would  be  ready  to  offend  God  if 
he  could  do  so  without  incurring  the 
penalty. 

1  Melchior  Canus,  De  Locis  Theolog.  xiL  10. 


140 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


All  Cathol'cs  are  bound  to  hold  that 
attrition,  as  explained  above,  is  good  and 
an  effect  of  God's  grace.  This  is  clear 
from  the  words  of  our  Lord,  "  Fear  him 
who  can  destroy  both  body  and  soul  in 
hell " ;  from  the  declaration  of  the 
Tridentine  Council,  that  attrition  which 
proceeds  from  considering  "  the  baseness 
of  sin,  or  from  the  fear  of  hell  and  pun- 
ishment, if  it  excludes  the  purpose  of 
sinning  and  includes  the  hope  of  pardon, 
*  *  *  *  is  a  true  gift  of  God  and  an 
impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit  "  ;  ^  and  from 
subsequent  pronouncements  of  the  Popes, 
particularly  of  Alexander  VIII.  The 
Council  put  forward  this  Catholic  truth 
against  Luther,  and  succeeding  Popes 
against  the  Jansensists. 

Further,  the  Council  of  Trent  teaches  ^ 
that  attrition  does  not  of  itself  avail  to 
justify  the  sinner.  Sin  which  separates 
the  soul  from  God  is  only  annulled  by  love 
which  unites  it  to  Him. 

But  a  question  was  long  keenly  debated 
among  Catholic  divines,  viz.  whether  if  a 
man  comes  with  attrition  to  the  sacrament 
of  penance  and  receives  absolution,  this 
avails  to  restore  him  to  God's  grace.  The 
negative  opinion  was  held  by  the  French 
clergy  in  their  assembly  general  of  the 
year  1700,  and  prevailed  in  the  universities 
of  Paris  and  Louvain.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  affirmative,  according  to  which  a  sinner 
who  receives  absolution  with  attrition  is 
justified  though  the  grace  which  the 
sacrament  confers,  has  always  apparently 

1  Concil.  Trident,  sess.  xiv.  cap.  4,  De  Penit. 
« Ibid. 


been  the  commoner  tenet  in  the  schools. 
It  rests  on  the  strong  argument  that  as 
perfect  contrition  justifies  without  the 
actual  reception  of  the  sacrament  of 
penance,  it  is  hard  to  see  why  this  sac- 
rament should  have  been  instituted,  if 
perfect  contrition  is  needed  to  get  any 
good  from  it.  Alexander  VII.  in  1667 
forbade  the  advocates  of  either  opinion  to 
pronounce  any  theological  censure  on  their 
opponents.  But  at  present  the  opinion 
that  attrition  with  the  sacrament  of 
penance  suffices  is  universally  held.  St. 
Liguori^  calls  it  "  certain." 


/\\jreole. 


Aureole  (from  aursolus,  golden,  gilt,  of 
golden  color),  i.  In  Christian  art  it  is  the 
gold  color  surrounding  the  whole  figure  in 
sacred  pictures,  and  representing  the 
glory  of  the  person  represented.  It  is 
distinct  from  the  nimbus,  which  only 
covers  the  head.  The  aureole  (also  called 
scutum,  vesica,  piscis,  etc.)  was  usually 
reserved  for  pictures  of  the  three  divine 
Persons,  of  Christ,  and  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  along  with  the  Holy  Child.  (Kraus, 
"  Archaeol.  Diet.") 

2.  In  theology,  it  is  defined  as  a  certain 
accidental  reward  added  to  the  essential 
bliss  of  heaven,  because  of  the  excellent 
victory  which  the  person  who  receives  it 
has  attained  during  his  warfare  upon  earth. 
It  is  given,  according  to  St.  Thomas,^  to 

1  Moral  Theol.  vi.  n.  440. 

2  Supplem.  qu.  xcvi. 


AUREOLE. 


141 


virgins,  martyrs,  and  to  doctors  and 
preachers.  Virgins  have  triumphed  with 
special  glory  over  the  flesh ;  martyrs, 
over  the  world,  which  persecuted  them  to 
death ;  preachers,  over  the  devil,  whom 
they  have  driven,  not  only  from  their  own 
hearts,  but  also  from  those  of  others. 


AVe  Maria. 

This  familiar  prayer,  called  also  the 
Angelical  Salutation,  consists  of  three 
parts —  (i)  the  salutation  of  the  archangel 
Gabriel,  Ave  [Maria.] gratia />/c;ia,  Dominus 
tecum  ;  benedicta  tit  in  tnulieribus ;  (2)  the 
words  of  Elizabeth  to  our  Lady,  et  bene- 
dictus  fncctus  ventris  tui ;  (3)  an  addition 
made  by  the  church,  Sancta  Maria,  Mater 
Dei,  ora  pro  nobis  peccatoribus  nunc 
et  in  hora  mortis  nostrcB.  Parts  i 
and  2  seem  to  have  come  into  common 
use  as  a  formula  of  devotion  towards  the 
end  of  the  twelfth  century  ;  the  use  of 
them  is  enjoined  by  the  Constitutions  of 
Odo,  bishop  of  Paris,  in  1196.  The  third 
part  gives  a  compact  and  appropriate 
expression  to  the  feelings  with  which 
Christians  regard  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
The  words  nunc  .  .  .  nostra  are  said  to 
come  from  the  Franciscans  ;  the  rest  of 
the  verse  is  believed  to  have  first  come 
into  use  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  whole  Ave  Maria  as  it 
now  stands  is  ordered  in  the  breviary 
of  Pius  V.  ( 1 568 )  to  be  used  daily 
before  each  canonical  hour,  and  after 
Compline. 


B 


arvAs. 


The  proclamation  of  intended  marriage, 
in  order  that  if  any  one  is  aware  of  an 
impediment,  he  may  state  it  to  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  so  prevent 
the  celebration  of  the  wedding.  Such 
proclamations  were  introduced  first  of  all 
by  the  custom  of  particular  places,  but  it 
was  not  till  12 15  that  they  were  imposed, 
at  the  Fourth  Lateran  Council,  by  a 
general  law  binding  the  whole  church.^ 
The  Council  of  Trent^  orders  the  banns  to 
be  proclaimed  by  the  parish  priest  of  the 
persons  who  intend  to  marry,  during 
Mass  on  three  continuous  festivals.  At 
the  same  time  it  permits  the  ordinary  to 
dispense  from  the  obligation  of  proclaim- 
ing the  marriage  for  a  grave  reason. 
According  to  theologians  and  the  S. 
Congregation  of  the  Council,  the  banns 
must  be  proclaimed  in  the  parish  church 
of  the  contracting  parties,  and  in  each 
parish  church  if  they  live  in  different 
parishes,  at  the  principal  mass  on  three 
continuous  Sundays  or  holidays  of  obliga- 
tion — or  at  least  on  days  when  there  is 
sure  to  be  a  concourse  of  people  in  the 
church.  It  is  generally  held  that  if  the 
marriage  does  not  take  place  within  two 
months,  or  at  most  four,  of  the  last  publica- 
tion, the  banns  must  be  proclaimed  anew. 

Zxcommurxicatiorv. 

An   ecclesiastical  censure  by  which  a 
Christian  is  separated  from  the  communion 

1  Fleury,  Hist.  Ixxvii.  52. 
*  Sess.  xxiv.  c.  i. 


142 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


of  the  church.  It  is  a  power  included  in 
the  power  of  the  keys,  or  of  binding  and 
loosing,  given  by  Christ  to  Peter  and  the 
apostles,  and  may  be  deduced  from  our 
Saviour's  words  (Matt,  xviii.  17) — "If  he 
will  not  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  to 
thee  as  the  heathen  and  publican."  For 
to  treat  a  man  as  a  heathen  and  a  publican 
is  to  repel  him  from  the  church  and  all 
things  sacred  —  that  is,  to  excommunicate 
him.  We  find  it  put  in  practice  by  St. 
Paul  (i  Cor,  V.  3),  when  he  said  of  the 
incestuous  Corinthian  — "  I  .  .  .  have 
already  judged  .  .  .  him  that  hath  so 
done,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  you  being  gathered  together  and 
my  spirit,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord 
Jesus,  to  deliver  such  a  one  to  Satan,"  etc. 
St.  Augustine  explains  :  "  Because  outside 
the  church  is  the  devil,  as  within  it  is 
Christ,  and  accordingly  he  who  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  conimunion  of  the  church 
is,  as  it  were,  delivered  to  the  devil." 

Excommunication  is  of  two  kinds,  the 
major  and  the  minor.  The  minor  kind  is 
an  ecclesiastical  censure,  by  which  a 
Christian  is  deprived  of  the  right  to 
participation  in  sacraments,^  and  indirectly, 
as  a  consequence,  of  the  right  of  receiving 
a  benefice.  It  is  incurred  by  communicat- 
ing with  a  person  under  major  excom- 
munication, in  any  case  where  such 
communication  is  not  excused. 

The  major  excommunication  deprives 
of  all  ecclesiastical  communion,  and  is 
equivalent  in  substance  to  anathema,  from 
which   it   only   differs   in    regard   to   the 

1  Ferraris. 


formalities  by  which  the  latter  is  sur- 
rounded. For  the  major  excommunication 
can  be  inflicted  by  mere  force  of  law,  or 
by  the  written  sentence  of  a  judge, 
whereas  an  anathema  is  publicly  pro- 
nounced, and  "  cum  strepitu." 

Those  under  major  excommunication 
again  fall  into  two  classes  :  tolerati,  whom 
the  faithful  are  not  bound  to  avoid  ;  and 
noji  tolerati  (i.  e.  those  excommunicated  by 
name  and  publicly  denounced,  and  those 
notoriously  guilty,  by  themselves  or  others, 
of  violence  to  clerics),  with  whom  the 
faithful  are  forbidden  to  hold  either  relig- 
ious or  civil  communication.  Civil  inter- 
course is,  however,  permitted,  for  the  sake 
of  the  faithful  themselves,  under  various 
circumstances  and  to  various  classes  of 
persons. 

Excommunications  are  also  divided  — 
and  this  is  a  most  important  distinction  — 
into  those  ferendcg  sententicB,  and  those 
latce  sententics.  In  the  case  of  the  former, 
it  is  enjoined  that  a  sentence  of  excom- 
munication be  pronounced  (e.  g.  "we  for- 
bid this  on  pain  of  excommunication; 
whoever  does  it,  let  him  be  excommuni- 
cated," or  "will  incur  excommunication," 
etc.),  but  the  delinquent  does  not  actually 
incur  the  sentence  till  it  has  been  inflicted 
by  a  competent  judge.  In  the  second 
case,  the  words  of  the  law  or  other  instru- 
ment are  so  chosen  that  upon  a  given  act 
being  done  the  doer  of  it  falls  at  once 
under  the  ban  of  the  Church,  as  when  it 
is  said,  "  let  him  incur  excommunication 
ipso  factoy  Nor  are  such  sentences 
unjust,    as    some    have   argued,    on    the 


EXCOMMUNICA  TION. 


143 


ground  that  the  delinquents  who  incur 
them  have  not  been  duly  warned,  as  the 
Gospel  requires,  of  the  nature  of  their 
offence ;  for  the  law  itself,  which  they 
must  be  presumed  to  know,  is  a  standing 
and  perpetual  warning.  At  the  same 
time,  the  excommunication  latcz  sententicB 
is  operative  only  in  the  internal  forum, 
and  in  the  sight  of  God ;  to  make  it 
effectual  in  the  external  forum  also,  it 
is  necessary  that  the  guilt  be  proved 
before,  and  declared  by,  a  competent 
judge. 

Excommunications  are  also  divided  into 
those  reserved  to  the  Pope,  and  those  not 
reserved.  Those  of  the  first  class  now 
in  force  are  enumerated  in  the  constitu- 
tion "  Apostolicae  Sedis,"  issued  by  Pius 
IX.  in  1869,  in  which  are  also  specified  all 
excommunications  lat(2  setitentice  and  ipso 
facto  incurred  henceforth  in  vigor. 

If  it  be  asked.  Who  can  excommuni- 
cate }  it  may  be  answered,  those  who 
possess  ordinary  or  delegated  jurisdiction 
in  the  external  forum  in  regard  to  those 
subject  to  them ;  but  not  parish  priests 
(who  have  as  such  only  jurisdiction  in  the 
forum  of  conscience),  and  never  laymen 
or  women.  To  the  question,  Who  can 
be  excommunicated }  the  answer  is,  that 
only  Christians,  alive  and  of  sound  mind, 
guilty  of  a  grave  offence  and  persisting  in 
it,  and  subject  to  the  judge  giving  sen- 
tence, can  be  excommunicated.  Not  Jews, 
therefore,  nor  Pagans,  nor  the  unbaptized 
heathen,  nor  the  dead  ;  but  the  sentence 
may  justly  be  inflicted  on  heretics  or 
schismatics. 


The  effects  of  excommunication  are 
thus  summed  up  :  "  As  man  by  baptism 
is  made  a  member  of  the  Church,  in  which 
there  is  a  communication  of  all  spiritual 
goods,  so  by  excommunication  he  is  cast 
forth  from  the  Church  and  placed  in  the 
position  of  the  heathen  man  and  the  pub- 
lican, and  is  deprived  accordingly  of  sacra- 
ments, sacrifices,  sacred  offices,  benefices, 
dignities,  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  and 
power,  ecclesiastical  sepulture, —  in  a  word, 
of  all  the  rights  which  he  had  acquired  by 
baptism, —  until  he  make  amends,  and 
satisfy  the  Church."  * 

Fathers    of    the    GKvirck 

The  appellation  of  Fathers  is  used  in  a 
more  general  and  a  more  restricted  sense. 
In  a  general  sense,  it  denotes  all  those 
Christian  writers  of  the  first  twelve  centu- 
ries who  are  reckoned  by  general  consent 
among  the  most  eminent  witnesses  and 
teachers  of  the  orthodox  and  Catholic 
doctrine  of  the  Church.  Taken  in  this 
sense,  it  includes  some  names  on  which 
there  rests  more  or  less  the  reproach  of 
heterodox  doctrine.  Origen,  whose  works, 
as  we  have  them,  contain  grave  errors 
frequently  condemned  by  the  highest 
authority  in  the  Church,  is  one  of  these. 
Nevertheless,  his  writings  are  of  the  high- 
est value  for  their  orthodox  contents. 
Eusebius  of  Caesarea  is  another.  Ter- 
tullian  became  an  open  apostate  from  the 
Catholic   Church,   yet   his  writings,  as   a 

^  Soglia,  lib.  iv.  cap.  4. 


144 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Catholic,  are  among  the  most  excellent  and 
precious  remains  of  antiquity.  There  are 
some  others  included  among  the  Fathers 
in  this  greater  latitude  of  designation  who 
have  not  the  mark  of  eminent  sanctity. 

In  its  stricter  sense,  the  appellation 
denotes  only  those  ancient  writers  whose 
orthodoxy  is  unimpeachable,  whose  works 
are  of  signal  excellence  or  value,  and 
whose  sanctity  is  eminent  and  generally 
recognized.  The  following  list  includes 
the  names  of  the  most  illustrious  Fathers, 
according  to  the  most  exclusive  sense  of 
this  honorable  title : 

First  Century  —  St.  Clement  of  Rome. 
Second  Century  —  St.  Ignatius,  St.  Justin, 
St.  Irenaeus.  Third  Century  —  St.  Cyprian, 
St.  Dionysius  of  Alexandria.  Fourth 
Century  —  St.  Athanasius,  St.  Hilary  of 
Poitiers,  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  St.  Basil, 
St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  St.  Gregory  of 
Nyssa,  St.  Ephrem,  St.  Ambrose,  St. 
Optatus,  St.  Epiphanius,  St.  John  Chrys- 
ostom.  Fifth  Century  —  St.  Jerome,  St. 
Augustine,  St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  St. 
Leo  the  Great,  St.  Prosper,  St.  Vincent  of 
Lerins,  St.  Peter  Chrysologus,  Sixth  Cen- 
tury—  St.  Caesarius  of  Aries,  St.  Gregory 
the  Great.  Seventh  Century  —  St.  Isi- 
dore of  Seville.  Eight  Century  —  Ven. 
Bede,  St.  John  Damascene.  Eleventh 
Century  —  St.  Peter  Damian,  St.  Anselm. 
Twelve  Century  —  St.  Bernard.  A  com- 
plete collection  of  the  works  of  the 
Fathers  contains  many  more  names  than 
these.  Moreover,  it  is  plain  that  the 
Fathers  of  the  first  six  centuries,  by  the 
mere  fact  of  their  priority  in   time,  are 


much  more  valuable  witnesses  to  primitive 
faith  and  order,  and  that  their  writings  are 
in  a  stricter  sense  sources  of  theological 
tradition,  than  the  works  of  those  who 
came  later,  however  illustrious  the  latter 
may  be.  There  is  also  a  gradation  of  rank 
among  the  Fathers,  some  having  a  much 
higher  authority  than  others.  As  private 
doctors,  no  one  of  them  has  a  final  and 
indisputable  authority  taken  singly,  except 
in  so  far  as  his  teaching  is  warranted  by 
some  extrinsic  and  higher  criterion,  or 
supported  by  its  intrinsic  reasons.  As 
witnesses,  each  one  singly,  or  several  con- 
curring together,  must  receive  that  cre- 
dence which  is  reasonably  due  in  view  of 
all  the  qualities  and  circumstances  of  the 
testimony  given.  Their  morally  unani- 
mous consent  concerning  matters  pertain- 
ing to  faith  has  a  decisive  and  irrefragable 
authority.  It  has  always  been  held  that 
God  raised  up  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the 
Church  these  highly  gifted,  learned,  and 
holy  men,  and  endowed  them  with  special 
and  extraordinary  graces,  that  they  might 
be  the  principal  teachers  of  the  mysteries 
and  doctrines  of  the  faith.  Their  writings 
are  the  great  source  of  light  and  truth  in 
theology,  after  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The 
authority  of  their  doctrine,  in  the  proper 
sense  of  th^t  word,  is  nevertheless  derived 
from  the  sanction  of  the  Ecclesia  Docens, 
the  only  supreme  and  infallible  tribunal. 


Qervviflexior\. 


Genuflexion     (the     bending    of    the 
knee)  is   a   natural   sign  of  adoration   or 


GENUFLEXION. 


H5 


reverence.  It  is  frequently  used  in  the 
ritual  of  the  Church.  Thus  the  faithful 
genuflect  in  passing  before  the  taber- 
nacle where  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is 
reserved ;  the  priest  repeatedly  genu- 
flects at  Mass  in  adoration  of  the  Eucha- 
rist, also  at  the  mention  of  the  Incarnation 
in  the  Creed,  etc.  Genuflexion  is  also 
made  as  a  sign  of  profound  respect 
before  a  bishop  on  certain  occasions.  A 
double  genuflexion  —  i.  e.  one  on  both 
knees  —  is  made  on   entering  or  leaving 


a  church  where  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is 
exposed. 

The  early  Christians  prayed  standing  on 
Sundays,  and  from  Easter  till  Pentecost, 
and  only  bent  the  knee  in  sign  of  penance ; 
hence  a  class  of  penitents  were  known  as 
Genuflectentes.  A  relic  of  this  penitential 
use  of  genuflexion  survives,  according  to 
Gavantus  (P.  I.  tit.  i6),  in  the  practice 
enjoined  by  the*rubric  of  genuflecting  at 
the  verse  "Adjuva  nos,"  in  the  Tract  of 
Masses  during  Lent. 


^^^>^^^^^ 


^^^^fiff^^f^'^^ 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


•!«i  i^i  •!•;  •!•!•  *ji  •••  •!#}  •!•}  i*i  •!•;  i*i  *A  i*:  *ji  {•i  •!•}  •Ji  •!•!•  {•i 

•«•  •«•  •»•  •«•  •»•   «j«  •*•  •»•  •«•  •«•  •»•   •«•  •»•  •»•  •«•  •»•  •»•  •#•  •#• 

t      CEL-IBKCY.  f 

••*•  ?•}  %•;  'Mi  'Mi  '?«  '?J  i?.   'J^i  'Jfi  'Jii't  {?J  •?•*  'Jii  •^•*  'V  '?•  •?•  '•!• 


ELIBACY  of  the  clergy.  The 
law  of  the  Western  Church 
forbids  persons  living  in  the 
married  state  to  be  ordained, 
and  persons  in  holy  orders  to 
marry.  A  careful  distinction 
must  be  made  between  the  principles  on 
which  the  law  of  celibacy  is  based  and  the 
changes  .which  have  taken  place  in  the 
application  of  the  principle. 

The  principles  which  have  induced  the 
church  to  impose  celibacy  on  her  clergy 
are  (a)  that  they  may  serve  God  with  less 
restraint,  and  with  undivided  heart  (see 
I  Cor.  vii.  32) ;  and  (d)  that,  being  called 
to  the  altar,  they  may  embrace  the  life  of 
continence,  which  is  holier  than  that  of 
marriage.  That  continence  is  a  more  holy 
state  than  that  of  marriage  is  distinctly 
affirmed  in  the  words  of  our  Blessed  Lord 
("There  are  eunuchs  who  have  made  them- 
selves eunuchs  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's 
sake.  He  that  can  receive  it,  let  him 
receive  it").  It  is  taught  by  St.  Paul 
("He  that  giveth  his  virgin  in  marriage 
doeth  well,  and  he  that  giveth  her  not 
doeth  better"),  and  by   St.  John  (Apoc. 


xiv.  4. ).  Christian  antiquity  speaks  with 
one  voice  on  this  matter,  and  the  Council 
of  Trent,  sess.  xxiv.  De  Matr.  can.  10, 
anathematizes  those  who  deny  that  "  it  is 
more  blessed  to  remain  in  virginity  or  in 
celibacy  than  to  be  joined  in  marriage." 
Thus  all  Catholics  are  bound  to  hold  that 
celibacy  is  the  preferable  state,  and  that  it 
is  specially  desirable  for  the  clergy.  It 
does  not,  however,  follow  from  this  that 
the  church  is  absolutely  bound  to  impose  a 
law  of  celibacy  on  her  ministers,  nor  has 
she,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  always  done  so. 

There  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any 
apostolic  legislation  on  the  matter,  except 
that  it  was  required  of  a  bishop  that  he 
should  have  been  only  once  married.  In 
early  times,  however,  we  find  a  law  of  celi- 
bacy, though  it  is  one  which  differs  from 
the  present  Western  law,  in  full  force. 
Paphnutius,  who  at  the  Council  of  Nicaea 
resisted  an  attempt  to  impose  a  continent 
life  on  the  clergy,  still  admits  that,  accord, 
ing  to  ancient  tradition,  a  cleric  must  not 
marry  after  ordination.  This  statement  is 
confirmed  by  the  Apostolic  Constitutions, 
vi.  17,  which  forbids  bishops,  priests,  and 


li6 


CELIBACY. 


147 


deacons  to  marry,  while  the  27th  {al.  25th) 
Apostolic  Canon  contains  the  same  prohibi- 
tion. One  of  the  earliest  councils,  that  of 
Neocaesarea  (between  314  and  325  ),  threat- 
ens a  priest  who  married  after  ordination 
10  degradation  to  the  lay  state.  Even  a 
deacon  could  marry  in  one  case  only — viz. 
if  at  his  ordination  he  had  stipulated  for 
liberty  to  do  so,  as  is  laid  down  by  the 
Council  of  Ancyra,  in  314.  Thus  it  was 
the  recognized  practice  of  the  ancient 
church  to  prohibit  the  marriage  of  those 
already  priests,  and  this  discipline  is  still 
maintained  in  the  East 

A  change  was  made  in  the  West  by  the 
33d  Canon  of  Elvira  (in  305  or  306).  It 
required  bishops,  priests,  and  all  who 
served  the  altar  ( *^ positis  in  ministerio  " ) 
to  live,  even  if  already  married,  in  conti- 
nence. The  Council  of  Nicaea  refused  to 
impose  this  law  on  the  whole  church,  but 
it  prevailed  in  the  West.  It  was  laid 
down  by  a  synod  of  Carthage  in  390,  by 
Innocent  I.  20  years  later ;  while  Jerome 
(against  Jovinian)  declares  that  a  priest, 
who  has  "  always  to  offer  sacrifice  for  the 
people,  must  always  pray,  and  therefore 
always  abstain  from  marriage."  Leo  and 
Gregory  the  Great,  and  the  Eighth  Council 
of  Toledo  in  653,  renewed  the  prohibitions 
against  the  marriage  of  subdeacons. 

So  the  law  stood  when  Hildebrand, 
afterwards  Gregory  VII.,  began  to  exercise  a 
decisive  influence  in  the  church.  Leo  IX., 
Nicolas  II.,  Alexander  II.,  and  Hildebrand 
hims(.lf  when  he  came  to  be  Pope,  issued 
stringent  decrees  against  priests  living  in 
concubinage.     They  were  forbidden  to  say 


Mass  or  even  to  serve  at  the  altar ;  they 
were  to  be  punished  with  deposition,  and 
the  faithful  were  warned  not  to  hear  their 
Mass.  So  far  Gregory  only  fought  against 
the  corruption  of  the  times,  and  it  is  mere 
ignorance  to  represent  him  as  having  insti- 
tuted the  law  of  celibacy.  But  about  this 
time  a  change  did  occur  in  the  canon  law. 
A  series  of  synods  from  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth  century  declared  the  marriage 
of  persons  in  holy  orders  to  be  not  only 
unlawful  but  invalid.  With  regard  to 
persons  in  minor  orders,  they  were  allowed 
for  many  centuries  to  serve  in  the  church 
while  living  as  married  men.  From  the 
twelfth  century,  it  was  laid  down  that  if 
they  married  they  lost  the  privileges  of  the 
clerical  state.  However,  Boniface  VIII., 
in  1300,  permitted  them  to  act  as  clerics, 
if  they  had  been  only  once  married  and 
then  to  a  virgin,  provided  they  had  the 
permission  of  the  bishop  and  wore  the 
clerical  habit.  This  law  of  Pope  Boniface 
was  renewed  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  sess. 
xxiii.  cap,  6,  De  Reform,  The  same 
Council,  can.  9,  sess.  xxiv.,  again  pro- 
nounced the  marriage  of  clerks  in  holy 
orders  null  and  void.  At  present,  in  the 
West,  a  married  man  can  receive  holy 
orders  only  if  his  wife  fully  consents  and 
herself  makes  a  vow  of  chastity.  If  the 
husband  is  to  be  consecrated  bishop,  the 
wife  must  enter  a  religious  order. 

We  may  now  turn  to  the  East,  and 
sketch  the  changes  which  the  law  of  celi- 
bacy has  undergone  among  the  Greeks, 
In  the  time  of  the  Church  historian  Soc- 
rates (about  450),  the  same  law  of  clerical 


148 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


celibacy  which  obtained  among  the  Latins 
was  observed  in  Thessaly,  Macedonia,  and 
Achaia.  Further,  the  case  of  Synesius 
in  410  proves  that  it  was  unusual  for 
bishops  to  live  as  married  men,  for  he 
had,  on  accepting  his  election  as  bishop, 
to  make  a  stipulation  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  live  with  his  wife.  The  synod 
in  Trullo  (692)  requires  bishops,  if  mar- 
ried, to  separate  from  their  wives,  and 
forbids  all  clerics  to  marry  after  the 
subdiaconate.  However,  a  law  of  Leo 
the  Wise  (886-911)  permitted  subdeacons, 
deacons,  and  priests,  who  had  married 
after  receiving  their  respective  orders, 
not  indeed  to  exercise  sacred  functions, 
but  still  to  remain  in  the  ranks  of  the 
clergy  and  exercise  such  offices  (e.  g. 
matters  of  administration)  as  were  con- 
sistent with  the  marriage  which  they  had 
concluded. 

The  practical  consequences  of  these 
enactments  are  (i)  that  Greek  candidates 
for  the  priesthood  usually  leave  the  semi- 
naries before  being  ordained  deacons,  and 
return,  having  concluded  marriage,  com- 
monly with  daughters  of  clergymen  ;  (2) 
that  secular  priests  live  as  married  men, 
but  cannot,  on  the  death  of  their  wife, 
marry  again  ;  (3)  that  bishops  are  usually 
chosen  from  the  monks.  (From  Hefele, 
**  Beitrage  zur  Kirchengeschichte,  Archao- 
logie  und  Liturgik.") 

Ver\eratipr\  of  Images. 

The  idolatrous  worship  of  images  is 
vehemently  condemned  in  the  Scriptures, 


and  in  the  Old  Testament  two  forms  of 
idolatry  are  specially  reprobated.  First, 
we  find  denunciations  of  worship  paid  to 
images  of  false  gods,  such  as  Moloch. 
Astarte,  etc.  Here  the  whole  meaning 
and  intention  of  the  religious  act  was  bad. 
No  respect  was  due  to  such  a  divinity  as 
Baal ;  to  worship  him  was  an  act  of  trea- 
son against  the  living  God,  so  that  there 
could  be  no  possible  excuse  for  venerating 
his  image.  But  besides  this,  the  law  and 
the  prophets  condemn  worship  given  to 
images  of  the  true  God.  It  seems  clear 
that  the  calf-worship  begun  at  Mount 
Sinai,  and  continued  in  the  northern  king- 
dom at  Bethel,  etc.,  was  meant  as  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  set  before  Israel  in 
this  symbolical  forra.^  But  this  worship 
also  is  denounced  —  e.  g.  by  Amos  and 
Osee — and  was  really  idolatrous,  because 
it  conveyed  false  notions  of  God,  who  is  a 
pure  spirit,  so  that  although  e.  g.  Jeroboam 
professed  to  worship  Jehovah,  he  was 
really  serving  a  god  of  his  own  imagina- 
tion. To  prevent  such  idolatrous  errors, 
to  which  the  Jews  were  constantly  tempted 
by  the  example  of  the  surrounding  heathen, 
the  Hebrew  worship  was  regulated  in  each 
detail  by  God.  Images  they  had  in  their 
tabernacle  and  the  Temple,  for  the  cheru- 
bim were  placed  in  the  holy  of  holies,  and 
the  walls  and  pillars  were  adorned  with 
figures  of  psalms,  pomegranates,  etc.  But 
these  figures  were  placed  in  the  tabernacle 
from  which  the  pattern  of  the  Temple  was 

ISee  Exod.  xxxii.  5,  where  Aaron  calls  the  idolatroai 
feast  a  feast  to  Jehovah  ;  and  3  Kings  xxii.  6,  from  which  it 
appears  that  prophets  who  sanctioned  the  calf-worsliip  wen 
siiU  considered  prophets  of  Jehovah. 


CELIBACY. 


149 


taken  by  the  express  ordinance  of  God,  and 
the  Jews  were  by  no  means  left  to  their 
own  discretion  in  the  use  of  sacred  images 
and  symbols. 

The  prohibition  of  idolatry  conveyed  in 
the  first  commandment  continues,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  in  full  force.  Idolatry 
is  evil  in  its  own  nature,  and  necessarily  a 
sin  of  the  deepest  dye,  whoever  it  may  be 
that  commits  it.  Moreover,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  commit  this  sin  without  falling  into 
the  gross  and  brutal  error  of  identifying  a 
lifeless  image  with  the  divinity.  There- 
fore the  Council  of  Trent  (Sess.  xxv.  "  De 
Invocatione,"  etc.)  not  only  reprobates  the 
delusion  that  the  godhead  can  be  really 
portrayed  by  material  figures  ;  it  also  states 
that  in  images  there  is  no  divinity  or  "vir- 
tue, on  account  of  which  they  are  to  be  wor- 
shipped^' that  no  petitions  can  be  addressed 
to  them,  and  that  no  trust  is  to  be  placed 
in  them. 

At  the  same  time  the  Tridentine 
Fathers,  following  the  Second  Council  of 
Nicaea,  advocate  the  true  use  of  images. 
The  danger  of  idolatry  has  at  least  to  a 
very  great  extent  passed  away  from  Chris- 
tian nations.  Further,  God  Himself  has 
taken  a  human  form  which  admits  of  being 
represented  in  art.  So  that  the  reasoning 
of  Moses  in  Deut.  iv.  15  no  longer  holds,^ 
and  on  the  whole  matter  the  liberty  of  Chris- 
tians is  very  different  from  the  bondage  of 
Jews.  Images,  according  to  the  Tridentine 
definition,  are  to  be  retained  and  honored, 

1"  Ye  did  not  see  any  likeness  on  the  day  that  the  Lord 
spak*  to  you  on  Horeb  from  the  midst  of  the  fire,  lest  ye 
should  act  wickedly  and  make  for  yourselves  a  graven  image," 
ete. 


but  abuses  and  all  occasion  of  scandal  to 
the  rude  and  ignorant  are  to  be  removed. 
The  object  of  images  is  to  set  Christ,  his 
Blessed  Mother,  the  saints  and  angels 
before  our  eyes,  while  the  council  adds  that 
"the  honor  which  is  given  to  them  is 
referred  to  the  objects  {prototypes)  which 
they  represent,  so  that  through  the  images 
which  we  kiss,  and  before  which  we 
uncover  our  heads  and  kneel,  we  adore 
Christ  and  venerate  the  saints,  whose  like- 
nesses they  are."  "  The  Council,"  says 
Petavius,  ("De  Incarnat."  xv.  17,)  "could 
not  have  declared  more  expressly  that  the 
cultus  of  images  is  simply  relative  {scheti- 
kon)  \  that  they  are  not  in  themselves  and 
strictly  speaking  {per  se  et proprie)  adored 
or  honored,  but  that  all  adoration  and  ven- 
eration is  referred  to  the  prototypes,  in- 
asmuch as  images  have  no  dignity  or 
excellence  to  which  such  honor  properly 
appertains."  We  cannot  imagine  any  bet- 
ter exposition  than  that  of  this  great  theo- 
logian, who,  among  many  other  merits,  is 
always  distinguished  for  his  sobriety  and 
his  avoidance  of  useless  subtleties.  His 
words  explain  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
and  remove  all  possibility  of  scandal,  when 
we  find  the  Church  in  the  Good  Friday 
office  inviting  the  faithful  to  adore  the 
cross.  It  is  the  suffering  Saviour,  not  the 
dead  wood,  which  Catholics  adore. 

The  use  of  images  in  the  Church  dates 
from  the  very  earliest  times.  The  Church 
no  doubt  was  cautious  in  her  use  of 
images,  both  because  the  use  of  them  in 
the  midst  of  a  heathen  population  might 
easily  be  misunderstood,  and  also  because 


I50 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


the  images  might  be  seen  and  profaned  by 
the  heathen  persecutors.  It  is,  as  Hefele 
and  De  Rossi  maintain,  for  this  latter 
reason  that  the  Council  of  Elvira,  in  the 
year  306,  forbade  the  placing  of  "  pictures 
in  the  churches,  lest  what  is  worshipped 
and  adored  should  be  painted  on  the 
walls."  Certainly  the  Church  of  that 
time  did  not  reject  the  use  of  Christian 
art  —  witness  the  numerous  sacred 
pictures  recently  brought  to  light  in  the 
Roman  catacombs.  Many  ancient  works 
of  art  which  have  come  down  to  us  from 
the  old  Spanish  church  —  e.  g.  the 
beautiful  sarcophagi  of  Saragossa  —  prove 
that  there  was  no  difference  of  feeling  or 
opinion  on  this  matter  between  Spanish 
and  Roman  Christians.  But  whereas  the 
F.oman  churches  were  under,  the  Spanish 
were  above,  ground.  Hence  the  anxiety 
of  the  council  to  avoid  the  mockery  and 
actual  danger  which  the  sight  of  images 
might  have  created. 

We  can  trace  the  veneration  of  images 
and  the  Tridentine  doctrine  concerning  it 
through  the  whole  history  of  the  Church, 
but  here  a  few  instances  must  suffice.  The 
early  Christian  poet  Prudentius  speaks  of 
himself  ("  Peristeph."  ix.  9  seq)  as  praying 
before  an  image  of  the  martyr  Cassian, 
We  read  that  at  a  conference  held  between 
St.  Maximus  and  the  bishop  Theodosius 
the  Fathers  present  bent  the  knee  to  the 
images  of  Christ  and  the  Blessed  Virgin.^ 
The  principles  of  Gregory  the  Great  on 
the  respect  due  to  images  are  well  known. 
When     Serenus,    Bishop     of     Marseilles, 

1  See  Kxaus,  Encyclop'dd.,  art.  "  Bilderverehriing." 


removed  images  from  the  church  on  the 
ground  that  they  had  proved  an  occasion 
of  idolatry,  Gregory  tells  him  (Ep.  ix.  105) 
that  he  ought  not  to  have  broken  images 
placed  in  the  church  as  means  of  instruc- 
tion, not  objects  of  adoration.  In  sending 
Secundinus  images  of  Christ,  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Gregory 
writes  (Ep.  ix.  52):  "  I  know  you  do  not 
ask  for  the  image  of  our  Saviour  to 
worship  it  as  God,  but  that,  being 
reminded  of  the  Son  of  God,  you  may  be 
inflamed  anew  with  love  of  Him  whose 
image  you  long  to  see.  And  we  on  our 
part  do  not  prostrate  ourselves  before  it  as 
a  divinity,  but  we  adore  Him  whom  by 
means  of-  the  image  we  bring  to  mind  in 
His  birth,  in  His  passion,  or  as  He  sits  on 
His  throne." 

Two  qualifications  must  be  made  to  the 
doctrine  stated  in  a  previous  part  of  this 
article.  We  have  said  that  no  images  can 
really  resemble  the  divine  nature,  which  is 
immaterial.  But  there  is  no  harm  in 
symbolical  representations  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  or  of  the  divine  Persons  singly. 
The  contrary  proposition  was  condemned 
by  Pius  VI.  (Synod  of  Pistoia,  prop.  69), 
in  the  bull  "Auctorem  fidei."  Again, 
though  images  have  no  virtue  in  them- 
selves, God  may  be  pleased  to  give  special 
graces  at  particular  shrines.  This  is 
taught  in  the  same  bull,  and  the  words  of 
St.  Augustine  (Ep.  'jZ)  are  aptly  quoted  : 
"  God,  who  divides  special  gifts  to  each 
according  as  He  wills,  was  not  pleased 
that  these  [marvels]  should  take  place  in 
all  the  shrines  of  the  saints." 


HE  Meaning  of  the  Doctrine. — 
Benedict  XIV.  ("De  Fest." 
clxxxvii.  seq),  quoting  Frassen, 
a  Scotist  theologian,  distin- 
guishes between  active  and  pas- 
sive conception.  The  former 
consists  in  the  act  of  the  parents  which 
causes  the  body  of  the  child  to  be  formed 
and  organized,  and  so  prepared  for  the 
reception  of  the  rational  soul  which  is 
infused  by  God.  The  latter  takes  place 
at  the  moment  when  the  rational  soul  is 
actually  infused  into  the  body  by  God.  It 
is  the  passive,  not  the  active,  conception 
which  Catholics  have  in  view  when  they 
speak  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 
For  there  was  nothing  miraculous  in 
Mary's  generation.  She  was  begotten 
like  other  children.  The  body,  while  still 
inanimate,  could  not  be  sanctified  or 
preserved  from  original  sin,  for  it  is  the 
soul,  not  the  body,  which  is  capable  of 
receiving  either  the  gifts  of  grace  or  the 
stain  of  sin.  Moreover,  from  the  fact  that 
Mary   sprang   in   the  common  way  from 


Adam,  our  first  father,  it  follows  that  she 
was  the  daughter  of  a  fallen  race  and 
incurred  the  "  debt "  or  liability  to 
contract  original  sin.  Adam  was  the 
representative  of  the  human  race  :  he  was 
put  on  his  trial,  and  when  he  fell  all  his 
descendants  fell  with  him,  and  must, 
unless  some  special  mercy  of  God  inter- 
posed, receive  souls  destitute  of  that  grace 
in  which  Adam  himself  was  created.  In 
Mary's  case,  however,  God's  mercy  did 
interpose.  For  the  sake  of  Him  who  was 
to  be  born  of  her  and  for  "  His  inerits 
foreseen,"  grace  was  poured  into  her  soul 
at  the  first  instant  of  its  being.  Chris- 
tian children  are  sanctioned  at  the  font : 
St.  John  the  Baptist  was  sanctified  while 
still  unborn.  Mary  was  sanctified  earlier 
still  —  viz.  in  the  first  moment  of  her 
conception.  She  received  a  gift  like  that 
of  Eve,  who  was  made  from  the  first 
without  sin,  only  the  immaculate  concep- 
tion is  rightly  called  a  privilege,  and  a 
privilege  altogether  singular,  because  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  things  the  Blessed 


151 


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CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Virgin  would  have  been  conceived  and 
born  ill  original  sin.  We  beg  the  reader 
to  remember  that  what  we  have  written  up 
to  this  point  is  the  universal  teaching  of 
theologians,  and  we  have  carefully 
abstained  from  entering  on  scholastic 
disputes  (e.  g.  as  to  the  remote  and  proxi- 
mate debt  of  sin),  because  we  believe  that 
the  mere  statement  of  the  doctrine  is 
enough  to  remove  many  prejudices  from 
the  minds  of  candid  Protestants.  So  far 
from  derogating  from,  the  Catholic 
doctrine  exalts,  the  merits  of  Christ.  He 
who  redeemed  us  redeemed  her.  He  who 
sanctified  us  in  baptism  sanctified  her  in 
her  conception.  Nor  could  any  Catholic  . 
dream  of  comparing  Mary's  exemption 
from  sin,  we  do  not  say  with  the  sinless- 
ness  of  Divine  nature,  for  such  a  compar- 
ison would  be  insane  as  well  as  blas- 
phemous, but  with  the  sinlessness  of 
Christ  as  man.  Sin  was  a  physical  impos- 
sibility in  the  human  soul  of  Christ, 
because  it  was  hypostatically  united  to 
the  Divinity,  Mary,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  sinless  by  the  grace  of  God.  "  Thou 
art  innocent,"  says  Bossuet,  addressing 
Christ,  "  by  nature,  Mary  only  by  grace ; 
Thou  by  excellence,  she  only  by  privilege  ; 
Thou  as  Redeemer,  she  as  the  first  of 
those  whom  Thy  precious  blood  has 
purified "  ("  Sermon  pour  la  fite  de  la 
Conception  de  la  Sainte  Vierge " ).  No 
better  summary  could  be  given  of  the 
church's  doctrine. 

2.  History  of  the  Controversy  on  the 
Doctrine. —  The  controversy,  so  far  as  we 
know,  began  in  the  twelfth  century.     The 


church  of  Lyons  had  adopted  the  custom, 
which  already  prevailed  elsewhere  (see  the 
article  on  the  feast),  of  celebrating  the 
feast  of  Mary's  conception.  St.  Bernard 
{d.  1 153)  remonstrated  sharply  with  them, 
in  great  measure  because  the  feast  had 
not  been  approved  at  Rome.  The  authen- 
ticity of  this  letter  has  been  disputed,  bitt 
on  grounds,  as  Benedict  XIV.  impliea, 
absolutely  insufficient.  Besides,  little 
would  be  gained  even  if  the  letter  were 
spurious,  for  Petavius  ("De  Incarnat." 
xiv.  2)  has  proved,  from  other  passages  in 
his  works,  Bernard's  opinion  to  have  been 
that  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  not  conceived 
immaculate,  but  was  sanctified  in  the 
womb  like  Jeremias  and  St.  John  the 
Baptist.  Benedict  XIV.,  following 
Mabillon,  declines  to  accept  the  theory  that 
St.  Bernard  had  the  active,  not  the  passive, 
conception  in  his  mind.  At  the  same 
time  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
saint  refers  the  whole  matter  of  his  dispute 
with  the  canons  of  Lyons  to  the  judgment 
of  the  Roman  Church.  The  quotations  of 
Petavius  from  St.  Peter  Damian,  St. 
Anselm,  Peter  Lombard,  and  others, 
abundantly  prove  that  St.  Bernard's 
opinion  was  the  prevalent  one  before  and 
during  his  own  age.  In  the  following 
century  St.  Thomas  (iii.  27,  2)  held  that 
Mary  was  only  sanctified  in  the  womb 
after  her  body  was  already  informed  by 
the  soul  {post  ejus  animationem),  and  he 
argues  that  if  the  Virgin  "  had  not  incurred 
the  stain  of  original  guilt,"  she  would  have 
stood  in  no  need  of  being  saved  and 
redeemed  by   Christ,  whereas  Christ,   a» 


MEANING   OF  DOCTRINE  OF  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION. 


153 


the  apostle  declares,  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
men.^  But  the  strongest  evidence  to  the 
prevalence  of  the  belief  that  the  Virgin 
was  not  conceived  without  sin  is  supplied 
by  Scotus  (In  Lib.  III.  Sentent,"  d.  iii.  qu. 
I,  n.  4).  He  gives  his  own  opinion  in 
favor  of  the  immaculate  conception  with  a 
timidity  which  clearly  betrays  his 
consciousness  that  the  general  opinion 
was  on  the  other  side.  After  maintaining 
that  God  might,  had  He  so  chosen,  have 
exempted  the  Blessed  Virgin  from  original 
sin,  and  might  on  the  other  hand  have 
allowed  her  to  remain  under  it  for  a  time 
and  then  purified  her,  he  adds  that  "  God 
knows  "  which  of  these  possible  ways  was 
actually  taken  ;  "  but  if  it  is  not  contrary 
to  the  authority  of  the  church  or  of  the 
saints,  it  seems  commendable  {probabile) 
to  attribute  that  which  is  more  excellent 
to  Mary." 

Scotus,  however,  farther  on  in  the  same 
work  (d.  18.  qu.  i.  n.  4),  expresses  a  more 
decided  view,  and  he  inaugurated  a  new 
state  of  opinion,  though  the  change  did 
not  come  at  once,  and  the  story  told  by 
Cavellus,  an  author  of  the  fourteenth 
century  whom  Benedict  XIV.  quotes,  is 
probably  a  mere  legend.  According  to 
this  story,  Scotus  defended  the  doctrine  of 
the  immaculate  conception  at  Cologne  and 
Paris,  and  a  disputation  which  he  held  in 
the  latter  place  induced  the  Paris 
University  to  adopt  the  doctrine,  and  won 

1  Cardinal  Lambruschini,  in  a  polemical  dissertation  on  the 
Immaculate  Conception  (Romae,  1842),  declared  that  here, 
as  in  other  places,  the  MSS.  of  St.  Thomas  had  been 
corrupted.  But  this  position  does  not  admit  of  serious 
defence 


for  Scotus  himself  the  title  of  the  "  Subtle 
Doctor."  Scotus  died  in  1308,  and  events 
which  happened  in  1387  show  how  rapidly 
the  Scotist  opinion  had  spread  and  how 
deeply  it  had  struck  root  at  least  in  France. 
A  Dominican  doctor,  John  Montesono,  had 
publicly  denied  the  immaculate  conception, 
whereupon  he  was  condemned  by  the 
University  and  by  the  Bishop  of  Paris; 
and  though  he  appealed  to  the  Pope  (or 
anti-Pope)  Clement  VII.,  he  did  not  dare 
to  appear,  and  was  condemned  for  con- 
tumacy. The  Fathers  of  the  Council  of 
Basle  begged  Cardinal  Torquemada 
(Turrecremata)  to  prepare  a  treatise  on 
the  question,  and  so  he  did ;  but  circum- 
stances prevented  him  from  laying  it 
before  the  council,  and  his  treatise,  which 
was  adverse  to  the  doctrine,  was  practi- 
cally unknown  till  it  was  published  by 
the  Master  of  the  Sacred  Palace  with 
the  consent  of  Paul  III.,  then  Pope.  The 
decree  of  Basle,  which  defined  that  the 
doctrine  asserting  Mary's  immunity  from 
original  sin  was  "to  be  approved,  held, 
and  embraced  by  all  Catholics,  as  being 
pious  and  consonant  to  the  worship  of  the 
Church,  to  Catholic  faith,  right  reason, 
and  Holy  Scripture,"  was  passed  in  1439, 
when  the  council  had  become  schismatical, 
so  that  it  in  no  way  bound  the  consciences 
of  Catholics.  It  serves,  however,  to  mark 
the  general  feeling  of  the  time  ;  and  other 
signs  of  the  hold  the  doctrine  had  obtained 
are  not  wanting.  It  was  asserted  at  a 
provincial  synod  in  Avignon  in  1457. 
Forty  years  later  the  University  of  Paris 
required   an   oath   to  defend  the   doctrine 


154 


CATHOLIC   CHURCH  HISTORY. 


from  all  who  proceeded  to  the  doctor's 
degree,  and  the  tenet  was  embraced  with 
ardor  by  the  Carmelites,  the  different 
branches  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and  by 
men  of  the  highest  distinction  among  the 
secular  clergy. 

The  matter  gave  rise  to  keen  discussion 
at  Trent,  and  although  most  of  the 
bishops  held  the  doctrine,  the  council 
contented  itself  with  a  declaration  that  in 
defining  the  truth  that  the  whole  human 
race  fell  under  original  sin  it  did  not  intend 
to  include  in  the  decree  "  the  blessed  and 
immaculate  Virgin  Mary,"  but  desired  that 
the  Constitutions  of  Sixtus  IV.  should  be 
observed.  These  Constitutions  had  been 
issued  in  1476  and  in  1483.  In  the  former 
the  Pope  granted  indulgences  to  those  who 
said  the  Mass  and  office  which  he  had 
approved  for  the  feast  of  the  Conception. 
In  the  latter  he  condemned  those  who 
accused  persons  who  celebrated  the  feast 
of  mortal  sin,  or  those  who  maintained 
that  the  doctrine  itself  was  heretical. 
Pius  v.,  in  1570,  forbade  all  discussion  of 
the  doctrine  in  sermons,  permitting, 
however,  the  question  to  be  handled  in 
assemblies  of  the  learned.  Paul  V.,  in 
161 7,  prohibited  attacks  on  the  doctrine 
in  public  assemblies  of  any  kind,  while 
Gregory  XV.,  in  1622,  strictly  forbade 
any  one  to  maintain,  even  in  private  dis- 
cussions, that  the  Blessed  Virgin  was 
conceived  in  original  sin.  He  made  an 
exception,  however,  in  favor  of  the 
Dominicans,  to  whom  he  granted  leave  to 
maintain  their  own  opinion  in  discussions 
held  within   their  own   order,  and   he  was 


careful  to  add  that  he  in  no  way  meant  to 
decide  the  theological  question,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  forbade  any  one  to  accuse  those 
who  denied  the  immaculate  conception  of 
heresy  or  mortal  sin.  Benedict  XIV., 
writing  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, sums  up  the  whole  state  of  the 
question  in  his  day  thus  :  "  The  Church 
inclines  to  the  opinion  of  the  immaculate 
conception  ;  but  the  Apostolic  See  has 
not  yet  defined  it  as  an  article  of  faith." 

So  matters  stood,  when  on  February  i, 
1849,  Pius  IX.  wrote  from  Gaeta  to  the 
bishops  of  the  Catholic  world.  He  asked 
them  for  an  account  of  their  own  opinion 
and  of  the  feeling  entertained  in  the 
churches  subject  to  them  on  the  expediency 
of  defining  the  doctrine  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin  was  immaculate  in  her  conception. 
The  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese 
bishops,  about  490  in  number,  were  nearly 
unanimous  in  their  wish  for  the  definition. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  were  bishops  of 
great  eminence  in  France,  Germany,  and 
Switzerland  who  were  of  a  different  mind. 
Some  of  these  last  thought  that  the 
doctrine  was  not  prominent  enough  in 
Scripture  or  tradition  to  be  made  an  article 
of  faith  ;  others  deprecated  a  definition 
which  would  put  fresh  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  Protestants  or  timid  Catholics ; 
others,  again,  were  afraid  to  pronounce  at 
all  on  so  hard  a  matter.  Nearly  six  years 
later  the  question  was  closed.  On 
December  8,  1854,  Pius  IX.,  in  the  pres- 
ence  of  more  than  200  bishops,  issued  his 
solemn  definition  that  the  immaculate 
'  conception  of  Mary  was  a  truth  contained 


MEANING    OF  DOCTRINE   OF  IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION. 


155 


?n  the  original  teaching  of  the  apostles 
and  an  article  of  divine  faith.  The  defi- 
nition was  accepted  by  Gallicans  as  well  as 
by  Ultramontanes,  for  it  was  notorious 
that  the  entire  episcopate  gave  full  assent 
to  the  doctrines  of  the  Papal  bull.  Indeed, 
the  opposition  made  within  the  Church  to 
the  new  definition  was  of  the  most  insig- 
nificant kind. 

3.   TJie  Doctrine  in  its  Relations  to  Scrip- 
ture and  Tradition. — A  Catholic  is  bound 
to  hold  that  the  doctrine  recently  defined 
was  contained  in  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints  by  the  apostles.     On  the  other 
hand,  he  is  under  no  obligation  of  believ- 
ing it  possible  to  produce  cogent  historical 
proof  (over  and  above  the  Church's   decis- 
ion) that  the  doctrine  was  so   contained. 
It  is  enough  to  show  that  no  decisive  argu- 
ment can  be  brought  against  the  apostolic 
origin  of  the  Church's  present  belief,  and 
there  are  at   least  probable  traces  of  its 
existence  in  the  Church  from  the  earliest 
times.     Petavius  —  justly,  as  we  think  — 
dismisses  many  passages  from  the  Fathers, 
which  have  been  cited  in  support  of  the 
doctrine.       He    points    out    that    if   the 
Fathers    speak   of    Mary  as    "  stainless," 
"  incorrupt,"     "  immaculate  "     {achrantos, 
aphthartos,  amiantos),  it  by  no  means  fol- 
lows that  they  believed  her  to  have  been 
conceived  immaculate.    Still,  tradition  does 
supply  solid   arguments   for  the  belief  in 
question. 

First,  from  the  earliest  times,  and  in 
every  part  of  the  Church,  Mary,  in  her 
office  at  the  Incarnation,  was  compared 
and  contrasted  with  Eve  before  the  fall. 


We    find    the    parallel   between   the   two 
drawn  by  Justin  Martyr  ("  Trypho,"  100), 
by   Irenaeus    (iii.  22,  34,  v.    19),   by  Ter- 
tullian  ('•  De  Carne  Christi,"   17),  not  to 
speak  of  later  Fathers ;  indeed,  the   doc- 
trine   that    Mary   is    in   some  sense  the 
second  Eve  is   a   commonplace   of  primi- 
tive   theology.      This   comparison   enters 
into   the  very  substance  of  the   theology 
of    St.    Irenaeus.      He  urges  the   parallel 
between  Mary  and  Eve,  just  as  he  insists 
on  the  resemblance   between   Adam   and 
Christ,  the  second  Adam.     As  Eve  was 
married  and  yet  a  virgin,  so  Mary,   "  hav- 
ing   an    appointed    husband,    was    yet   a, 
virgin."     Eve  listened  to  the  words  of  an 
angel ;  so  also  Mary.     Eve's  disobedience 
was  the  cause  of  our  death  ;  Mary,  "  being 
obedient,  became  both  to  herself  and  all 
mankind  the   cause  of  salvation."     "The 
knot  of  Eve's  disobedience  was  loosed  by 
Mary's    obedience."      The   Virgin    Mary 
became  "  the  advocate  of  the  virgin  Eve." 
It  is  true  that  whereas  Eve  of  course  was 
made    immaculate,   yet    this   is  just   the 
point   where   Irenaeus   fails  to   draw   the 
parallel  between  Eve  and  Mary.     It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  in  Irenaeus, 
as  in  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  generally, 
there  is  no  explicit  statement  of  the  doc- 
trine of  original  sin,  so   that   we  cannot 
expect   an   explicit   statement  that   Mary 
was  exempt  from  it.     There  is  further  a 
presumption  that   if  Irenaeus    could   have 
had  the  question  "  Was  Mary  conceived  in 
sin } "  proposed   to   him,    he   would   have 
answered    in    the   negative.       His   whole 
theory  of  the   Incarnation  turns   on   the 


156 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORIC. 


proposition,  "  Man  could  not  break  the 
bonds  of  sin,  because  he  was  already 
bound  f^st  by  them."  He  in  Adam  had 
been  already  worsted  by  the  devil.  When, 
therefore,  he  tells  us  that  Mary  untied  the 
knot  of  Eve's  disobedience,  we  may  infer 
that  she  never  had  been  bound  by  it  in 
her  own  person. 

The  tradition  that  Mary  was  the  second 
Eve  was  familiar  to  great  Fathers  of  the 
later  Church.  But  one  of  these,  St. 
Ephrem  (a.  d.  379),  gives  much  more 
explicit  evidence — the  most  explicit  evi- 
dence, so  far  as  we  know,  to  be  found 
in  patristic  writings  —  of  belief  in  the 
immaculate  conception.  Not  many  years 
ago  the  famous  Syriac  scholar,  Bickell, 
edited,  with  a  Latin  version  of  the  Syriac, 
the  "Carmina  Nisibena "  of  the  saint. 
There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  authenticity 
of  these  poems.  In  hymn  27,  strophe  8, 
St.  Ephrem  speaks  thus :  "  Truly  it  is 
Thou  and  Thy  Mother  only,  who  are  fair 
altogether.  For  in  Thee  there  is  no  stain, 
and  in  Thy  Mother  no  spot.  But  my  sons 
[i.  e.  the  members  of  the  Church  of 
Edessa  ]  are  far  from  resembling  this  two- 
fold fairness."  Elsewhere  Ephrem  places 
first  among  fallen  men  infants  who  die  in 
baptismal  innocence;  so  that  it  must  be 
freedom  from  original  not  actual  sin  which 
he  ascribes  to  Mary.  So  (ii.  327  a.),  "  Two 
were  made  simple,  innocent,  perfectly  like 
each  other,  Mary  and  Eve,  but  afterwards 
one  became  the  cause  of  our  death,  the 
other  of  our  life."  It  is  most  important 
to  appreciate  this  testimony  at  its  real 
value.     It  is  not   only  or  chiefly  that   it 


proves  the  existence  of  the  belief  which 
we  are  discussing  in  the  fourth  century. 
This  no  doubt  it  does,  and  it  enables  us 
summarily  to  dismiss  the  confident  assump- 
tion of  many  Protestant  scholars  that  the 
belief  arose  for  the  first  time  in  the  middle 
ages.  But  besides  and  above  this,  St. 
Ephrem  supplies  an  authentic  commentary 
on  the  meaning  of  the  tradition  that  Mary 
was  the  second  Eve.  We  may  well 
believe,  considering  how  early  and  in  what 
various  quarters  it  appears,  that  this  tra- 
dition was  apostolic.  And  just  at  the 
time  when  the  doctrine  of  original  sin 
becomes  prominent  in  Christian  theology, 
St.  Ephrem  assumes,  without  doubt  or 
question,  that  this  tradition  implies  Mary's 
entire  exemption  from  the  cause,  and 
supplies  us  with  reasonable  grounds  for 
believing  that  the  doctrine  of  the  immacu- 
late conception  is  coeval  with  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Christian  Church. 

A  word  or  two  must  be  said  about  St. 
Augustine.  Undoubtedly  his  theory  on 
the  transmission  of  original  sin  by  the  act 
of  generation  drove  him  to  believe  that 
Mary,  being  conceived  in  the  ordinary  way, 
must  have  been  conceived  in  sin.  So 
Petavius  understands  him,  and  the  saint's 
own  language  seems  to  be  clear  and  decisive 
on  this  point.  Thus  ("De  Nuptiis  et  Con- 
cep."  i.  12,),  he  teaches  that  all  flesh  born 
"  de  concubitu  "  is  "  flesh  of  sin,"  and  ( "  In 
Genesim  ad  lit."  x.  118)  he  expressly 
affirms  that  on  this  ground  Mary's  flesh 
was,  while  Christ  was  not,  "  caro  peccati.^^ 
Again,  in  "Contr.  Julian."  v.  15,  his  lan- 
guage is   still   more  definite,  for  he   says 


MEANING  OF  DOCTRINE  OF  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION. 


157 


that  original  sin  passes  to  the  child  from 
the  **  conctipiscentia'^  of  the  parents,  and 
that  therefore  original  sin  could  not  infect 
the  flesh  of  Christ,  since  His  Virgin 
Mother  conceived  Him  without  concu- 
piscence. It  may,  we  think,  be  affirmed 
without  irreverence  to  so  great  a  doctor, 
that  this  language  about  sin  passing  to 
the  flesh  involves  confusion  of  thought, 
and  probably  very  few  nowadays  would 
maintain  that  "  concupiscentia,**  in  itself 
natural  and  innocent,  though  caused  as  a 
matter  of  fact  by  the  fall,  can  possibly  be 
the  cause  of  original  sin.  The  fact  that 
St.  Augustine  is  driven  to  the  position  he 
takes  with  regard  to  Mary  by  the 
exigencies  of  a  theological  theory,  probably 
mistaken,  and  certainly  never  approved  by 
the  Church,  diminishes,  if  it  does  not 
altogether  destroy,  the  force  of  his 
testimony.  On  the  other  hand,  great 
weight  belongs  to  the  testimony  which  St. 
Augustine  bears  to'  the  immaculate  con- 
ception, because  in  giving  it  he  speaks,  not 
as  a  theologian,  but  as  a  Christian.  He  is 
impelled  in  this  latter  case  by  Catholic 
instinct  and  tradition,  not  by  any  theory 
of  his  own  His  testimony  is  as  follows. 
He  is  arguing  ("  De  Natura  et  Gratia,"  cap 
36)  against  the  Palagian  theory  that  some 
of  the  saints  had  been  wholly  exempt  from 
actual  sin.  He  denies  the  truth  of  the 
statement  altogether  All  have  sinned, 
"  excepting  the  Holy  Virgin  Mary,  con- 
cerning whom  for  the  honor  of  the  Lord  I 
would  have  no  question  raised  in  treating 
of  sin.  For  how  do  we  know  what  excess 
of  grace  to  conquer  sin  on  every  side  was 


bestowed  on  her  whose  lot  it  was  {qua 
meruit)  to  conceive  and  bring  forth  Him 
who  certainly  had  no  sin."  We  fully 
admit  that  it  is  actual,  not  original  sin 
which  St.  Augustine  is  thinking  of 
directly.  But  on  his  own  principles  he 
was  bound  to  hold  that  exemption  from 
actual  implied  freedom  from  original  sin. 
Thus  he  asserts  categorically  ("  Contr. 
•Julian."  V.  15)  that  if  Christ  had  been 
conceived  in  sin.  He  must  needs  have 
committed  actual  sin  {" peccatum  major 
fecissit,  si  parvulus  habuisset'').  Let  the 
reader  observe  that  this  theory,  unlike  that 
referred  to  above  on  the  transmission  of 
sin,  is  supported  by  the  tradition  and 
subsequent  decision  of  the  Church.  It  is 
of  course  conceivable  that  Mary  might 
have  been  conceived  in  sin  and  then 
enabled  by  a  special  and  extraordinary 
grace  to  avoid  all  actual  trespass.  In  any 
case  we  may  safely  say  that  St.  Augustine 
might  easily  have  accepted  the  Church's 
present  doctrine.  It  would  have  satisfied 
most  fully  this  inclination  to  believe  that 
Mary,  "for  the  honor  of  the  Lord,"  was 
enabled  to  "  overcome  sin  on  every  side." 
The  freedom  from  actual  would  have 
followed  suitably  upon  her  preservation 
from  Qriginal  sin,  and  the  progress  of  her 
life  would  have  been  consonant  with  its 
beginning. 

Finally,  the  rapid  acceptance  of  the 
doctrine  within  the  Church,  when  once  it 
came  under  discussion,  might  of  itself 
dispose  individual  CI»ristians  to  believe  it 
and  prepare  the  way  for  definition.  The 
one   positive   objection  was  that   if  Mary 


158 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


was  conceived  immaculate,  Christ  could 
not  have  been  her  saviour  and  redeemer. 
When  once  the  truth  was  apprehended 
that  Mary's  exemption  from  original  sin 
was  due  to  the  merits  of  her  Divine  Son, 
and  magnified  instead  of  detracting  from 
them,  the  belief  in  this  exemption  grew 
and  spread  throughout  the  Catholic  world. 
We  cannot  expect  Protestants  to  appre- 
ciate this  argument.  But  to  a  Catholic,' 
who  believes  that  the  Holy  Spirit  directs 
the  minds  of  the  faithful,  and  specially 
those  of  the  saints,  the  very  fact  of  the 
doctrine's  acceptance  affords  a  strong 
presumption  of  its  truth.  He  would 
naturally  be  loth  to  believe  that  God 
allowed  the  Christian  people  to  cling  so 
zealously  to  a  doctrine  which  had  no  solid 
foundation,  and  which,  if  untrue,  would  be 
an  error  of  a  very  serious  kind.  He  would 
recognize  in  the  belief  of  so  many  saints  a 
judgment  superior  to  his  own,  and  a 
greater  quickness  to  discover  the  "  analogy 
of  the  faith."  The  solemn  definition  of 
the  Church  would  but  enable  him  to  hold 
with  greater  security  what  he  already  held 
as  a  certain  and  pious  opinion. 

(The  evidence  for  and  against  the  doc- 
trine is  given  by  Petavius,  "  De  Incarnat." 
xiv.  2.  Perrone  published  his  treatise 
"De  Immaculato  B.  V.  M.  Conceptu:  an 
dogmatico  decreto  definiri  possit,"  at  Rome 
in  1853.  Still  better  known  is  the  work 
of  Passaglia,  also  at  that  time  a  Jesuit, "  De 
Immaculato  B.  V.  Conceptu,"  Romae,  1854. 
A  collection  of  ancient  documents  relating 
to  the  doctrine  was  made  by  a  third  Jesuit, 
Ballerini). 


Seasorv    of    Adv^ervt. 

The  period,  of  between  three  and  four 
weeks  from  Advent  Sunday  (which  is 
always  the  Sunday  nearest  to  the  feast  of 
St.  Andrew)  to  Christmas  eve,  is  named 
by  the  Church  the  season  of  advent.  Dur- 
ing it  she  desires  that  her  children  should 
practice  fasting,  works  of  penance,  medi- 
tation, and  prayer,  in  order  to  prepare 
themselves  for  celebrating  worthily  the 
coming  {adventum)  of  the  Son  of  God  in 
the  flesh,  to  promote  His  spiritual  advent 
within  their  own  souls,  and  to  school  them- 
selves to  look  forward  with  hope  and  joy  to 
His  second  advent,  when  He  shall  come 
again  to  judge  mankind. 

It  is  impossible  to  fix  the  precise  time 
when  the  season  of  Advent  began  to  be 
observed.  A  canon  of  a  Council  at  Sara- 
gossa,  in  380,  forbade  the  faithful  to  absent 
themselves  from  the  Church  services  dur- 
ing the  three  weeks  from  December  17th 
to  the  Epiphany  :  this  is  perhaps  the  earli- 
est trace  on  record  of  the  observance  of 
Advent.  The  singing  of  the  "greater 
antiphons "  at  Vespers  is  commenced, 
according  to  the  Roman  Ritual,  on  the 
very  day  specified  by  the  Council  of  Sara- 
gossa ;  this  can  hardly  be  a  mere  coinci- 
dence. In  the  fifth  century  Advent  seems 
to  have  been  assimilated  to  Lent,  and 
kept  as  a  time  of  fasting  and  abstinence 
for  forty  days  or  even  longer  —  i.  e.  from 
Martinmas  (Nov.  1 1)  to  Christmas  eve. 
In  the  Sacramentary  of  Gregory  the  Great 
there  are  masses  for  five  Sundays  in 
Advent ;  but  about  the  ninth  century  these 


SEASON  OF  ADVENT. 


159 


were  reduced  to  four,  and  so  they  have 
ever  since  remained.  "  We  may  there- 
fore consider  the  present  discipline  of  the 
observance  of  Advent  as  having  lasted  a 
thousand  years,  at  least  as  far  as  the  Church 
of  Rome  is  concerned."  ^ 

With  regard  to  fasting  and  abstinence 
during  Advent,  the  practice  has  always 
greatly  varied,  and  still  varies,  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Church.  Strictness  has 
been  observed,  after  which  came  a  period 
of  relaxation,  followed  by  a  return  to 
strictness.  At  the  present  time  the  Fri- 
days in  Advent  are  observed  as  fast 
days  in  most  parts  of  the  United  States ; 
but  in  France  and  other  Continental 
countries  the  ancient  discipline  has  long 
ago  died  out,  except  among  religious  com- 
munities. 

There  is  a  marvellous  beauty  in  the  oflfi- 
ces  and  rites  of  the  Church  during  this 
season.  The  lessons,  generally  taken  from 
the  prophecies  of  Isaias,  remind  us  how 
the  desire  and  expectation,  not  of  Israel 
only,  but  of  all  nations,  carried  forward 
the  thoughts  of  mankind,  before  the  time 
of  Jesus  Christ,  to  a  Redeemer  one  day  to 
be  revealed  ;  they  also  strike  the  note  of 
preparation,  watchfulness,  compunction, 
hope.  In  the  Gospels  we  hear  of  the  terrors 
of  the  last  judgment,  that  second  advent 
which  those  who  despise  the  first  will  not 
escape  ;  of  the  witness  borne  by  John  the 
Percursor,  and  of  the  "  mighty  works  "  by 
which  the  Saviour's  life  supplied  a  solid 
foundation  and  justification  for  that   wit- 

1  Gu6ranger's  Liturgical  Year,  translated  by  Dom  Shep- 
herd, 1867. 


ncss.  At  Vespers,  the  seven  greater  anti- 
phons,  or  anthems  — beginning  on  Decem- 
ber 17,  the  first  of  the  seven  greater  Ferias 
preceding  Christmas  eve — are  a  note- 
worthy feature  of  the  liturgical  year. 
They  are  called  the  O's  of  Advent,  on 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  they  com- 
mence ;  they  are  all  addressed  to  Christ ; 
and  they  are  double  —  that  is,  they  are 
sung  entire  both  before  and  after  the  Mag- 
nificat. Of  the  first,  O  Sapientia,  qiice  ex 
ore  Altissimi  prodiisti,  etc.,  a  trace  still 
remains  in  the  words  O  Sapientia  printed 
in  the  calendar  of  the  Anglican  Prayer 
Book  opposite  December  16  —  words  which 
probably  not  one  person  in  ten  thousand 
using  the  Prayer  Book  understands.  The 
purple  hue  of  penance  is  the  only  color 
used  in  the  services  of  Advent,  except  on 
the  feasts  of  saints.  In  many  other  points 
Advent  resembles  Lent ;  during  its  con- 
tinuance, in  Masses  de  Tempore,  the 
Gloria  in  excelsis  is  suppressed,  the  organ 
is  silent,  the  deacon  sings  Benedicamus 
Domino  at  the  end  of  Mass  instead  of 
lie  Missa  est,  and  marriages  are  not 
solemnized.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Alle- 
luia, the  word  of  gladness,  is  only  once 
or  twice  interrupted  during  Advent,  and 
the  organ  finds  its  voice  on  the  third 
Sunday ;  the  Church,  by  these  vestiges 
of  joy,  signifying  that  the  assured  expec- 
tation of  a  Redeemer  whose  birth  she 
will  soon  celebrate  fills  her  heart,  and 
chequers  the  gloom  of  her  mourning  with 
these  gleams  of  brightness.  ( Fleury, 
"Hist.  Eccles."  xvii.  57;  Gueranger's 
"Liturgical  Year.") 


i6o 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


WKat    Heresy    Is. 

Heresy    {kairesis,   from    haireisthai,  to 
choose)  is  used  in  a  later  Greek  (e.  g.  by 
Sextus  Empiricus)  to  denote  a  philosophi- 
cal  sect   or  party.     In   the   Acts   of  the 
Apostles  (e.  g.  v.  17,  xv.  5)  it  is  applied  to 
the  parties  of  Sadducees   and  Pharisees, 
who  were  divided  from  each  other  in  relig- 
ious and  political  views.     But  in  the  New 
Testament     we      also     find     the      word 
employed  in  a  distinctly  bad  sense.     In  i 
Cor.  xi.  1 8,  it  indicates  an  aggravated  form 
of  division  {dichostasid)  among  Christians 
' —  i.  e.  of  division  grown  into  distinct  and 
organized  party.     We  find  St.   Paul  (Gal- 
V.    19),   placing  "heresies"  on  the   same 
level  with  the  most  heinous  sins,  and  St. 
Peter  (2  Ep.  ii.  i.)  speaks  of  fafse  teachers 
among  Christians,  who  will  bring  in  "  here- 
sies [or  sects]  of  perdition."     St.  Ignatius 
in  his  epistles  also  uses  the  word  as  a  term 
of  bitter  reproach,  and  Tertullian  ("  Prae- 
script."  5  and  6)  accurately  draws  out  the 
meaning  of  the  term.     The  name,  he  says, 
is  given  to  those  who  of  their  own   free 
will  choose  false  doctrine,  either  institut- 
ing sects  themselves,  or  receiving  the  false 
doctrine    of   sects   already   founded.     He 
adds  that  a  heretic  is  condemned  by  the 
very  fact  of  his  choosing  for  himself,  since 
a  Christian  has  no  such  liberty  of  choice, 
but  is  bound  to  receive  the  doctrine  which 
the  apostles  received  from  Christ. 

The  nature  of  heresy  is  further  explained 
by  St.  Thomas  in  the  "  Summa,"  (2  2nd£e, 
qu.  1 1).  Heresy,  according  to  St.  Thomas, 
implies  a  profession  of  Christian  belief,  so 


that  persons  who  have  never  been  Chris 
tians,  or  who  have  utterly  renounced 
Christianity,  are  infidels  and  apostates, 
but  not  heretics.  The  heretic,  he  says, 
is  right  in  the  end  which  he  proposes  or 
professes  to  propose  to  himself  —  viz.  the 
profession  of  Christian  truth  —  but  he 
errs  in  his  choice  of  the  means  he  takes  to 
secure  this  end,  for  he  refuses  to  believe 
one  or  more  of  the  articles  of  faith  "  deter- 
mined by  the  authority  of  the  universal 
Church."  St.  Thomas  adds  that  this 
rejection  of  Catholic  dogma  must  be 
deliberate  and  pertinacious,  so  that  his 
teaching,  which  is  that  of  all  theologians, 
may  be  summed  up  in  the  following  defini' 
tion.  Heresy  is  error  pertinaciously  held 
and  manifestly  repugnant  to  the  faith, 
on  the  part  of  one  who  professes  the 
faith  of  Christ.  It  is  clear  from  this  that 
such  Protestants  as  are  in  good  faith  and 
sincerely  desirous  of  knowing  the  truth 
are  not  heretics  in  the  formal  sense,  inas- 
much as  they  do  not  pertinaciously  reject 
the  Church's  teachings.  Their  heresy  is 
material  only  —  i.  e.  their  tenets  are  in 
themselves  heretical,  but  they  are  not 
formal  heretics  :  i.  e.  they  do  not  incui 
the  guilt  of  heresy,  and  may  belong  to  the 
soul  of  the  Church. 

Formal  heresy  is  a  most  grievous  sin 
for  it  involves  rebellion  against  God,  whc 
requires  us  to  submit  our  understanding: 
to  the  doctrine  of  His  Church.  Thii 
guilt,  if  externally  manifested,  is  visitec 
by  the  Church  with  greater  excommunica 
tion,  absolution  from  which,  except  in  th( 
i  article  of  death,  can  only  be  given  by  th( 


WHA  T  HERESY  IS. 


I6l 


Pope,  although  the  power  of  imparting  it 
is  communicated  to  bishops,  under  certain 
restrictions,  in  their  quinquennial  faculties, 
and  to  priests  in  missionary  countries, 
such  as  England.  Ecclesiastics  who  fall 
into  heresy  are  liable  to  irregularity, 
perpetual  deprivation  of  their  offices  and 
benefices,  and  to  deposition  and  degrada- 
tion. The  sons  of  an  heretical  mother, 
the  sons  and  grandsons  of  an  heretical 
father,  are  incapable  of  entering  the 
clerical  state.^ 


J4errT\it. 


Eremita  (from  the  Gr.  eremos,  desert), 
a  dweller  in  the  desert.  Anchorite 
(anacohretes,  one  who  has  retired  from  the 
world)  has  the  same  meaning.  On  the 
life  of  St.  Paul,  the  first  hermit,  who  was 
born  in  the  Thebaid  about  230,  and  died 
in  342,  after  ninety  years  spent  in  solitude, 
see  Alban  Butler  for  Jan.  15,  and  the 
"Acta  Sanctorum."  Though  the  lives  of 
the  hermits  are  not  proposed  by  the 
church  for  the  imitation  of  ordinary 
Christians,  she  holds  them  up  for  our 
admiration,  as  men  who,  committing 
themselves  to  the  might  of  divine  love, 
buoyed  up  by  continual  prayer,  and 
chastened  by  lifelong  penance,  have 
vanquished  the  weakness  and  the  yearning 
of  nature,  and  found  it  possible  to  live  for 
God  alone.  "  They  appear  to  some,"  says 
St.    Augustine,^    "  to     have     abandoned 


1  Provided  the  heresy  was  notorious,  and  that  the  parents 
died  in  it.    St.  Lig.  Theol.  Moral,  lib.  vii.  §  363, 
•^  De  Mor.  Eccl.  Cath.  i.  31,  quoted  by  Thoniassia 


human  things  more  than  is  right,  but  such 
do  not  understand  how  greatly  their  souls 
profit  us  in  the  way  of  prayer,  and  their 
lives  in  the  way  of  example,  though  we  are 
not  allowed  to  see  their  faces  in  the  flesh." 
St.  Paul  fled  to  the  desert  during  the 
persecution  of  Decius,  when  he  was 
twenty-two  years  old,  and  never  afterwards 
left  it.  He  was  visited  in  his  cell  by  St. 
Anthony  shortly  before  he  died  (see  his 
Life  by  St.  Jerome).  Experience  soon 
proved  that  it  was  seldom  safe  for  a  man 
to  essay  the  life  of  a  solitary  at  the 
beginning  of  his  religious  career.  The 
prudent  plan  was  found  to  be,  to  spend 
some  years  in  a  monastery,  in  rigorous 
conformity  to  all  the  ascetical  rules  of  the 
coenobitic  life,  and  then,  the  spiritual 
strength  being  tested  and  the  passions 
subdued,  to  pass  on  to  the  hermit's  cell. 
Thus  we  read  in  Surius  ("  Vita  Euthymii 
abbatis " )  of  an  abbot  Gerasimus,  who 
presided  over  a  great  monastery  near  the 
Jordan,  round  which  there  was  a  Laura 
consisting  of  seventy  separate  cells. 
Gerasimus  kept  every  one  who  came  to 
him  for  some  years  in  the  monastery ; 
then,  if  he  thought  him  fit  for  solitary  life, 
and  the  disciple  himself  aspired  to  it,  he 
allowed  him  to  occupy  one  of  ,the  cells, 
where  he  lived  during  five  days  in  the 
week  on  bread  and  water,  in  perfect 
solitude,  but  on  Saturday  and  Sunday 
rejoined  his  brethren  in  the  monastery 
and  fared  as  they  did. 

Among  the  more  famous  English  her- 
mits were  Bartholomew  of  Fame,  St. 
Godric   of  Finchale,   and    St.    Wulfric   of 


1 62 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Haslebury ;  all  thes*»  flourished  in  the 
twelfth  century.  -Gi  "Cuthbert  lived  an 
eremitical  life  or,  .VV.ine  Island  for  nine 
years,  from  6~J^  tj  685.  Helyot,  in  his 
history  of  the  />iOra.stic  orders,  mentions  a 
Spanish  or«iev  r/  Hermits  of  St.  John  of 
Penance,  ^^nJ  two  Italian  orders,  one 
called  V^*onii,  the  other,  of  Mrnte 
Sen  an  o. 


Hierarchy. 


Hierarchy  (Jtierarckes,  a  president  of 
sacred  rites,  a  hierarch  ;  whence  hie- 
rarchia,  the  power  or  office  of  a  hierarch). 
The  word  first  occurs  in  the  work  of  the 
pseudo-Dionysius  (a  Greek  writer  of  the 
fifth  century)  on  the  Celestial  and  Ecclesi- 
astical Hierarchies.  This  author  appears 
to  mean  by  it  "  administration  of  sacred 
things,"  nearly  in  accordance  with  its  ety- 
mology. The  signification  was  gradually 
modified  until  it  came  to  be  what  it  is  at 
present ;  a  hierarchy  now  signifies  a  body 
of  officials  disposed  organically  in  ranks 
and  orders,  each  subordinate  to  the  one 
above  it.  Thus  we  speak  of  the  "judicial 
hierarchy,"  and  the  "  administrative  hie- 
rarchy." However,  when  the  hierarchy  is 
spoken  of,  what  is  meant  is  the  organiza- 
tion of  ranks  and  orders  in  the  Christian 
Church.  In  a  wide  and  loose  sense,  when 
the  whole  Catholic  Church  is  considered 
as  existing  in  the  midst  of  heretics,  schis- 
matics, and  the  heathen,  even  the  laity 
may  be  considered  as  forming  a  portion  of 
the  hierarchy.  With  this  agrees  the 
expression  of  St.  Peter,  calling  the  general 


body  of  Christians  in  the  countries  to 
which  he  is  sending  his  epistle  "  a  kingly 
priesthood  "  and  "a  holy  nation"  (i  Pet. 
ii.  9).  St.  Ignatius,  writing  to  the  Smyr- 
naeans,^  salutes  "  the  bishop  worthy  of 
God,  and  the  most  religious  presbytery, 
my  fellow-servants  the  deacons,  and  all  of 
you  individually  and  in  common."  So  at 
the  Mass,  the  priest,  turning  to  the  people, 
bids  them  pray  that  "  his  and  their  sacri- 
fice "  may  be  acceptable  to  God  ;  and  at 
the  incensing  before  the  Sanctus,  the 
acolyte,  after  the  rite  has  been  performed 
to  all  the  orders  of  the  clergy  within  the 
sanctuary,  turns  towards  and  bows  to  the 
laity,  and  incenses  them  also.  But, 
according  to  its  ordinary  signification,  the 
word  "  hierarchy "  only  applies  to  the 
clergy  —  with  varieties  of  meaning  which 
must  be  clearly  distinguished,  I.  There 
is  a  hierarchy  of  divine  right,  consisting, 
under  the  primacy  of  St.  Peter  and  his 
successors,  of  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons, 
or,  in  the  language  of  the  Tridentine 
canon,  "ministers."  "If  any  one  shall 
say,"  defines  the  council,^  *'  that  there  is 
not  in  the  Catholic  Church  a  hierarchy 
established  by  the  divine  ordination,  con- 
sisting of  bishops,  presbyters,  and  minis- 
ters, let  him  be  anathema."  The  term 
"  ministers "  comprehends  those  minor 
orders  of  ecclesiastical  institution  which, 
as  occasion  arose,  were,  so  to  speak, 
carved  out  of  the  diaconate.  II.  There 
is  also  a  hierarchy  by  ecclesiastical  right, 
or  a  hierarchy  of  order.     This  consists — • 

1  Ad  Smyrn.  xii. 

2  Sess.  xxiii.  can.  6. 


HIERARCHY. 


163 


besides  the  Roman  Pontiff  and  the  three 
original  orders  of  bishops,  priests,  and 
deacons  —  of  the  five  minor  orders  (two 
in  the  East)  of  sub-deacons,  acolytes,  exor- 
cists, lectors,  and  porters  {osiiarit),  which, 
as  was  said  above,  were  in  the  course  of 
time  severed  from  the  diaconate.  III. 
There  is  also  the  hierarchy  of  jurisdiction. 
This  is  of  ecclesiastical  institution,  and 
consists  of  the  administrative  and  judicial 
authorities,  ordinary  and  delegated,  which, 
under  the  supreme  pastorate  of  the  Holy 
See,  are  charged  with  the  maintenance  of 
the  purity  of  the  faith,  and  of  union  among 
Christians,  with  the  conservation  of  disci- 
pline, etc.  These  authorities  exercise 
powers  conferred  on  them  by  delegation, 
expressed  or  implied,  from  the  order  above 
them  :  thus,  the  powers  of  cardinals,  patri- 
archs, exarchs,  metropolitans,  and  arch- 
bishops, proceed  from  the  Pope,  either 
expressly  or  by  implication ;  again,  the 
powers  of  archpriests,  archdeacons,  rural 
deans,  vicar-general,  foran,  etc.,  are  derived 
to  them  from  bishops.  (Thomassin,^  I.  iii. 
23  ;  art.  by  Phillips  in  Wetzer  and  Welte.) 


J4ol\j    Water. 


Holy  Water  {aqua  benedict  a).  Wash- 
ing with  water  is  a  natural  symbol  of 
spiritual  purification.  "  I  will  pour  out 
upon  you,"  says  God  by  the  prophet 
Ezekiel,  xxvi.  25,  "clean  water,  and  you 
shall  be  clean."  In  the  tabernacle  a  laver 
was  placed  in  the  court  between  the  altar 

1  Thomassin's    Vetus  et  Nova  Eccl.  Disciplina  is  quoted 
by  the  part,  book,  chapter,  and  paragraph. 


and  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  for  the 
priests  to  wash  their  hands  and  feet  before 
offering  sacrifice  ;  and  the  later  Jews,  as 
may  be  inferred  from  Mark  vii.  3,  devel- 
oped the  frequent  washing  of  the  hands 
into  a  matter  of  ritual  observance.  If  we 
look  into  a  modern  Jewish  prayer-book,  we 
find  the  same  importance  attached  to 
ritual  ablutions,  and  in  particular  washing 
of  the  hands  is  prescribed  before  prayer. 
The  use  of  the  *' aqua  lustralis"  with 
which  the  Romans  sprinkled  themselves 
or  were  sprinkled  by  the  priest,  shows  that 
the  same  symbolism  existed  among  the 
heathen. 

A  like  custom,  beautiful  and  natural  in 
itself,  though  of  course  it  may  degenerate 
and  often  has  degenerated  into  supersti- 
tion, has  been  adopted  by  the  church. 
Water  and  salt  are  exorcised  by  the  priest 
and  so  withdrawn  from  the  power  of  Satan, 
who  since  the  fall  has  corrupted  and 
abused  even  inanimate  things ;  prayers 
are  said,  that  the  water  and  salt  may  pro- 
mote the  spiritual  and  temporal  health  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  applied,  and  may 
drive  away  the  devil  with  his  rebel  angels  ; 
and  finally  the  water  and  salt  are  mingled 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity.  The  water 
thus  blessed  becomes  a  means  of  grace. 
Even  common  water,  if  devoutly  used  as  a 
memento  of  the  purity  of  heart  which  God 
requires,  might  well  prove  useful  for  the 
health  of  the  soul.  But  as  the  church  has 
blessed  holy  water  with  solemn  prayers, 
we  may  be  sure  that  God,  who  answers  the 
petitions  of  His  church,  will  not  fail  to  in- 
crease the  charity,  contrition,  etc.,  of  those 


164 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


who  use  it,  and  to  assist  them  in  their 
contests  with  the  powers  of  evil.  The 
reader  will  observe  that  we  do  not  attri- 
bute to  holy  water  any  virtue  of  its  own. 
It  is  efficacious  simply  because  the 
church's  prayers  take  effect  at  the  time  it 
is  used. 

Holy  water  is  placed  at  the  door  of  the 
church  in  order  that  the  faithful  may 
sprinkle  themselves  with  it  as  they  enter, 
accompanying  the  outward  rite  with  inter- 
nal acts  of  sorrow  and  love.  Before  the 
High  Mass  on  Sundays  the  celebrant 
sprinkles  the  people  with  holy  water ;  and 
holy  water  is   employed  in  nearly  every 


blessing  which  the  church  gives.  And  at 
all  times,  on  rising  and  going  to  bed,  leav- 
ing the  house  or  returning  home,  in  temp- 
tation and  in  sickness,  pious  Catholics  use 
holy  water. 

The  use  of  holy  water  among  Christians 
must  be  very  ancient,  for  the  Apostolical 
Constitutions  (viii.  28,  ed.  Lagarde)  contain 
a  formula  for  blessing  water  that  it  may 
have  power  "  to  give  health,  drive  away 
diseases,  put  the  demons  to  flight,"  etc. 
But  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  evi- 
dence that  it  was  customary  for  the  priest 
to  sprinkle  the  people  with  holy  watet 
before  the  ninth  century. 


CHAPTKR    XXIV. 


^^"^jiiTfrffri'imiii"^ 


.;  i.orioc^~m^:irirgc^y  x-ygriric^i^^^^^i^?^^ 


<^ 


H-** 


HE  week  in  which  the  church 
commemorates  Christ's  death 
and  burial,  and  which  is  spoken 
of  by  ancient  writers  as  the 
Great,  the  Holy  Week,  the 
Week  of  the  Holy  Passion  (ton 
hagion  pathon,  tou  soteriou  pathous,  pascha 
staufosimon),  the  Penal  Week,  the  Week 
of  Forgiveness  {Jiebdomas  indiilgentice). 
The  observance  of  Holy  Week  is  men- 
tioned by  Irenseus  (apud  Euseb.  "  H.  E." 
V.  24),  towards  the  end  of  the  second 
century;  while  Eusebius  (ii.  17)  evidently 
believed  that  the  custom  of  keeping  Holy 
Week  dated  from  apostolic  times.  In  the 
East,  Holy  Week  was  distinguished  from 
the  rest  of  Lent  by  the  extreme  strictness 
of  the  fast.  Thus  Dionysius  of  Alexandria, 
in  his  Epistle  to  Basilides,  tells  us  that 
some  Christians  kept  an  absolute  fast  the 
whole  week,  others  did  so  for  one,  two, 
three,  or  four  days.^  Epiphanius,  in  his 
exposition  of  the  orthodox  faith,  says  much 


1  This  strictest  form  of  fasting,  which  implies  a  total  absti- 
nence from  food  till  the  dawn  of  the  next  day,  was  called 
huptrtkesis  or  superpositio. 


the  same.  In  the  Latin  Church  (accord- 
ing to  Thomassin,  "Trait6  des  Jeiines,"  p. 
50),  it  is  difficult  to  discern  any  proof  that 
the  fast  of  Holy  Week  exceeded  the  strict- 
ness of  the  ordinary  Lenten  fast. 

We  have  said  that  in  Holy  Week  the 
Church  commemorates  Christ's  Passion, 
and  it  may  be  objected  that  the  definition 
is  incomplete,  since  on  Palm  Sunday,  the 
first  day  of  Holy  Week,  it  is  Christ's 
triumphant  entry  into  Jerusalem  which  is 
chiefly  contemplated.  But,  in  fact.  Holy 
Week  begins  with  the  Monday,  not  with 
the  Sunday.  At  least  this  is  the  reckon- 
ing of  St.  Cyril,  Theophilus,  and  St. 
Epiphanius,  quoted  by  Routh  in  his  "  Reli- 
quiae Sacrae"  (tom.  ii.  p.  52).  We  there- 
fore reserve  our  account  of  Palm  Sunday 
for  a  special  article,  and  confine  ourselves 
here  to  the  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week. 

The  Tenebrce. —  This  is  the  name  given 
to  the  matins  and  lauds  of  the  following 
day,  which  are  usually  sung  on  the 
afternoon  or  evening  of  Wednesday, 
Thursday,  and  Friday  in  Holy  Week. 
The   "  Gloria  Patri  "   at  the  end  of  tho 


i66 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Psalms,  and  in  the  responsories,  the 
hymns,  antiphons  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
etc.,  are  omitted  in  sign  of  sorrow.  The 
lessons  of  the  first  nocturn  are  taken 
from  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremias,  the 
Hebrew  letter  which  begins  each  verse  in 
these  acrostic^  poems  being  retained  in 
Latin.  At  the  beginning  of  the  office 
thirteen  lighted  candles  are  placed  on  a 
triangular  candelabrum,  and  at  the  end  of 
each  psalm  one  is  put  out,  till  only  a  single 
candle  is  left  lighted  at  the  top  of  the 
triangle.  During  the  singing  of  the 
Benedictus  the  candles  on  the  high  altar 
are  extinguished,  while  at  the  antiphon 
after  the  Benedictus  the  single  candle  left 
alight  is  hidden  at  the  Epistle  corner  of 
the  altar,  to  be  brought  out  again  at  the 
end  of  the  office.  This  extinction  of 
lights  (whence  probably  the  name  tenebr<z 
or  darkness)  is  best  explained  by  Amala- 
rius  Fortunatus,  who  wrote  in  820.  It 
figures,  he  says,  the  growing  darkness  of 
the  time  when  Christ,  the  light  of  the 
world,  was  taken.  The  last  candle, 
according  to  Benedict  XIV.,  is  hidden,  not 
extinguished,  to  signify  that  death  could 
not  really  obtain  dominion  over  Christ, 
though  it  appeared  to  do  so.  The 
clapping  made  at  the  end  of  the  office  is 
said  to  symbolize  the  confusion  consequent 
on  Christ's  death. 

Holy  Thursday. —  On  this  day  one  Mass 
only  can  be  said  in  the  same  church,  and 
that  Mass  must  be  a  public  one.  The 
Mass   is    celebrated   in   white   vestments, 

1  I.   e.  acrostic  in  the  original   Hebrew.     No  attempt  is 
Hiade  to  preserve  the  acrostic  in  the  Vulgate. 


because  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist  is 
joyfully  commemorated,  but  at  the  same 
time  there  are  certain  signs  of  the  mourn- 
ing proper  to  Holy  Week.  The  bells, 
which  ring  at  the  Gloria,  do  not  sound 
again  till  the  Gloria  in  the  Mass  of  Holy 
Saturday,  and  the  church  returns  to  her 
ancient  use  of  summoning  the  faithful  or 
arousing  their  attention  by  a  wooden 
clapper.  Nor  is  the  embrace  of  peace 
given.  The  celebrant  consecrates  an 
additional  Host,  which  is  placed  in  a 
chalice  and  borne  in  procession  after  the 
Mass  to  a  place  prepared  for  it.  In 
ancient  times  this  procession  occurred 
daily,  for  there  was  no  tabernacle  over  the 
altar  for  reserving  the  particles  which 
remained  over  after  the  communion  of  the 
faithful.  Mediaeval  writers  connect  the 
procession  with  the  Blessed  Sacrament  on 
Holy  Thursday  with  our  Lord's  journey 
to  the  Mount  of  Olives  after  the  Last 
Supper.  The  "  Pange  lingua  "  is  sung 
during  the  procession,  and  the  place  to 
which  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  removed 
—  often  called  the  Sepulchre,  but  properly 
the  altar  of  repose  —  is  decked  with 
flowers  and  lights.  Afterwards  the  altars 
are  stripped.  This  used  to  be  done, 
according  to  Vert  in  his  explanation  of 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Mass,  every  day 
after  the  celebration  of  the  sacrifice,  and 
is  retained  on  Holy  Thursday  to  remind 
the  Christians  of  the  way  in  which  their 
Master  was  stripped  of  his  garments.  In 
St.  Peter's  the  chief  altar  is  washed 
with  wine,  and  a  similar  custom  prevails 
among   the   Dominicans   and    Carmelites, 


HOLY  WEEK. 


167- 


and  in  some  churches  of  France  and 
Germany.^ 

The  stripping  of  the  altars  is  followed 
by  the  washing  of  the  feet,  called  "  Manda- 
tum  "  from  the  words  of  the  first  antiphon 
sung  during  the  ceremony  — "  Mandatum 
novum,"  etc.,  "A  new  commandment  I 
give  unto  you,  that  you  love  one  another  "; 
whence  our  English  word  Maundy  Thurs- 
day, The  principal  priest  or  prelate  of 
the  church,  assisted  by  deacon  and  sub- 
deacon,  washes  the  feet  of  twelve  poor 
men.  The  Pope  washes  the  feet  of 
thirteen  poor  persons,  all  of  whom  are 
priests ;  and  some  churches  follow  the 
Papal  custom.  The  observance  of  the 
Mandatum  is  mentioned  as  a  recognized 
custom,  and  is  enforced  under  penalties, 
by  the  twenty-second  council  of  Toledo 
in  694. 

Since  the  seventh  century  the  holy  oils, 
formerly  consecrated  at  any  time,  have 
been  blessed  by  the  bishop  in  the  Mass  of 
this  day.  Twelve  priests  and  seven 
deacons  assist  as  witnesses  of  the  cere- 
mony. The  bishop  and  priests  breathe 
three  times  upon  the  oil  of  the  catechu- 
mens and  the  chrism,  meaning  by  this 
action  that  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  about  to  descend  on  the  oils  ;  and  after 
the  consecration  is  complete  they  salute 
the  oils  with  the  words,  "  Hail,  holy  oil ; 
hail,  holy  chrism,"  Another  rite  proper 
to  Holy  Thursday,  now  passed  into  disuse, 
was  the  reconciliation  of  penitents.  This 
reconciliation  on  Holy  Thursday  is 
mentioned  by  Pope  Innocent  I.  and  St, 

i  So  says  Benedict  XIV,  spealdng  of  his  own  time. 


Jerome.  The  Mass  now  celebrated  is  one 
out  of  three  which  used  to  be  said,  the 
other  two  being  for  the  crns-c-ition  of 
the  chrism  and  the  reconciliation  of 
penitents. 

Good  Friday  {pascha  staurosimon,  para- 
sceve,  or  paras keue  —  i.  e.  the  day  of  prepar- 
ation for  the  Jewish  Sabbath  — cana  pura, 
dies  absolutionis,  dies  salutaris). —  On  this 
day  the  Church  commemorates  the  Passion 
of  Christ,  so  that  it  is  the  most  sad  and 
solemn  of  all  the  days  in  Holy  Week. 
The  officiating  clergy  appear  in  black  vest- 
ments, and  prostrate  themselves  before 
the  altar,  which  still  remains  stripped. 
Nor  are  the  candles  lighted.  After  a 
short  pause,  the  altar  is  covered  with 
white  cloths,  and  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament,  followed  by  the  history  of  the 
Passion  from  St.  John,  are  read.  Next, 
the  Church  prays  solemnly  for  all  condi- 
tions of  men,  for  all  the  members  of  the 
hierarchy,  for  the  prosperity  of  Christian 
people,  for  catechumens,  heretics,  Jews, 
and  Pagans,  Before  each  prayer  the 
sacred  ministers  genuflect,  except  before 
that  for  the  Jews,  when  the  genuflection  is 
omitted  in  detestation  of  the  feigned 
obeisance  with  which  the  Jews  mocked 
Christ.  When  the  prayers  are  ended,  the 
cross,  which  has  been  up  to  this  time 
covered  with  black,  is  exposed  to  view, 
"  adored "  [  see  the  article  Cross]  and 
kissed  by  clergy  and  people.  During  the 
adoration  the  "  Improperia"  are  sung, 
each  improperium  being  followed  by  the 
Trisagion  in  Greek  and  Latin.  Impro- 
perium is  a  barbarous  word  used  by  Latin 


[68 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


writers  of  a  late  age,  meaning  "  reproach," 
and  these  "reproaches"  are  addressed  in 
dramatic  form  by  Christ  to  the  Jewish 
people.  They  begin  with  the  touching 
words :  "  My  people,  what  have  I  done  to 
thee,  wherein  have  I  vexed  thee  ?  Answer 
Me."  The  Trisagion  is  so  called  because 
the  word  "  holy  "  occurs  three  times  in  it : 
"  Holy  God,  holy  [and]  strong,  holy  [and] 
immortal,  have  pity  on  us."  It  was  first 
introduced  at  Constantinople,  and  it  is 
probably  because  of  its  Greek  origin  that 
it  is  recited  in  the  Good  Friday  office  in 
Greek  as  well  as  in  Latin, 

We  have  now  to  speak  of  the  most 
striking  and  singular  feature  in  the  Good 
Friday  ritual.  From  very  ancient  times, 
as  appears  from  the  Council  of  Laodicea, 
canon  49,  and  the  Synod  in  Trullo,  canon 
52,  the  Greek  Church  abstained  from  the 
celebration  of  Mass  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  word  during  Lent,  except  on  Satur- 
days and  Sundays,  and  substituted  for  it 
the  Mass  of  the  Presanctified,  in  which 
the  priest  received  as  communion  a  Host 
previously  consecrated.  The  Greeks  still 
observe  this  ancient  use,  but  the  Latin 
Church  contents  herself  with  abstaining 
from  the  celebration  of  Mass  on  Good 
Friday,  the  day  on  which  Christ  was 
offered  as  a  bleeding  victim  for  our  sins. 
This  Mass  of  the  Presanctified  on  Good 
Friday  is  mentioned  by  Pope  Innocent  I. 
in  his  letter  to  Decentius.  The  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  borne  in  procession  from  the 
chapel  where  it  was  placed  the  day  before, 
while  the  choir  sing  the  hymn  "  Vexilla 
Regis,"     The  priest  places   the   Host   on 


the  altar,  the  candles  of  which  are  now 
lighted.  The  Blessed  Sacrament  is  ele- 
vated and  adored  while  the  wooden 
clapper  is  sounded ;  it  is  divided  into 
three  parts,  one  of  which  is  put  into 
a  chalice  containing  wine  and  water. 
Finally  the  priest  receives  the  portions  of 
the  Host  which  remain  on  the  paten,  and 
then  takes  the  wine  with  the  third  portion 
of  the  Host.  According  to  a  Roman 
Ordo  written  about  the  year  8cx)  and 
quoted  by  Thomassin  ("  Traite  des  Fes- 
tes  "),  the  ceremony  ended  with  the  silent 
communion  of  the  faithful ;  but  the  pres- 
ent discipline  of  the  Church  forbids  com- 
munion to  be  given  on  Good  Friday^ 
except  in  the  case  of  sickness. 

Holy  Saturday. —  Before  entering  on  the 
history  of  the  ceremonies  for  this  the  last 
day  of  Holy  Week,  it  is  necessary  to  say 
something  about  the  time  at  which  they 
are  performed.  We  learn  from  the  Epistle 
of  Pope  Innocent,  already  quoted,  that  in 
his  time  no  Mass  was  said  during  the  day 
hours  of  Holy  Saturday.  The  office  began 
at  the  ninth  hour,  i.  e.  at  three  o'clock 
p.  M.  ;  the  faithful  kept  vigil  in  the  churchy 
and  the  Mass  celebrated  at  midnight 
belonged  rather  to  the  morning  of  Easter 
Sunday  than  to  Holy  Saturday.  This 
state  of  things  lasted  till  late  in  the 
middle  ages.  Hugo  of  St.  Victor  (died 
1 140)  mentions  the  custom  then  creeping 
in  of  anticipating  the  vigil  office  ;  but  the 
old  mode  of  observance  is  spoken  of 
as  still  subsisting  in  some  churches,  by 
Durandus  (lived  about  1280)  and  Thomas 
Waldensis  (after  1400).     Though  the  time 


HOLY  WEEK. 


169 


is  changed,  the  words  of  the  office  remain 
g_,  as  they  were.     This   explains   the  joyous 
character  of  the  Mass,  the  fact  that   the 
history  of  the  resurrection  is  sung  in  the 
Gospel,  and  the  allusion  to  the  night  time 
\  in    the    Preface,  the   "  Communicantes," 
and  the  maje&tic  language  of  the  Collect, 
*'  O  God,   who   didst   illumine   this   most 
holy  night  with  Ihe  glory  of  the  Lord's 
r  resurrection." 

At  present  the  ceremonies  begin  early 
in  the  morning  with  the  blessing  of  the 
new  fire  struck  from  the  flint.  This 
blessing  was  unknown  at  Rome  in  the 
time  of  Pope  Zacharias  (anno  751),  though 
it  is  recognized  about  a  century  later  by 
Leo  IV.  Apparently  it  was  the  custom  in 
some  churches  daily  to  bless  the  fire 
struck  for  the  kindling  of  the  lamps,  and 
about  the  year  iioo  this  benediction  was 
reserved  exclusively  for  Holy  Saturday, 
when  the  fire  is  an  appropriate  image  of 
the  Light  of  light  rising  again  like  "  the 
sun  in  his  strength."  From  this  fire  a 
candle  with  three  stems,  and  placed  on  a 
reed,  is  lighted  and  carried  up  the  church 
by  a  deacon,  who  three  times  chants  the 
words  "  Lumen  Christie  The  same  sym- 
bolism reappears  in  the  paschal  candle, 
which  is  blessed  by  the  deacon,  wi^o  fixes 
in  it  five  grains  of  blessed  incense  in 
memory  of  the  wounds  of  Christ  and  the 
precious  spices  with  which  he  was  anointed 
in  the  tomb,  and  afterwards  lights  it  from 
the  candle  on  the  reed.  The  use  of  the 
paschal  candle  goes  back  very  far, —  as  far 
at  least  as  the  time  of  Zosimus,  who  was 
made    Pope  in    417, — and    the   sublime 


words  of  the  '' Exultet^  a  triumphant 
hymn  of  praise  which  the  deacon  sings  in 
the  act  of  blessing  the  candle,  can  scarcely 
be  less  ancient.  The  great  critic,  Mar 
tene,  attributes  it  to  St.  Augustine. 

The  blessing  of  the  candle  is  followed 
by  the  twelve  prophecies,  and  after  they 
have  been  read,  the  priest  goes  in  proces- 
sion to  bless  the  font.  This  last  blessing 
carries  us  back  to  the  days  of  the  ancient 
Church,  in  which  the  catechumens  were 
presented  to  the  bishop  for  baptism 
on  Holy  Saturday  and  the  vigil  of  Pente- 
cost. The  water  in  the  font  is  scattered 
towards  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  to 
indicate  the  catholicity  of  the  Church,  and 
the  world-wide  efficacy  of  her  sacraments  ; 
the  priest  breathes  on  the  water  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  and  plunges  the  paschal 
candle  three  times  into  the  water,  for  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  to  hallow  it,  and  the 
power  of  Christ  is  to  descend  upon  it ;  and, 
lastly,  a  few  drops  of  the  oil  of  catechu- 
mens and  of  the  chrism  are  poured,  in 
order,  says  Gavantus,  to  signify  the  union 
of  Christ  our  anointed  king  with  His  peo- 
ple. On  the  way  back  from  the  font  the 
Litanies  of  the  Saints  are  begun,  they  are 
continued  while  the  sacred  ministers  lie 
prostrate  before  the  altar,  and,  as  they 
end,  the  altar  is  decked  with  flowers  and 
the  Mass  is  begun  in  white  vestments. 
At  the  Gloria  the  organ  sounds  and 
bells  are  rung,  and  the  joyful  strains  of 
the  Alleluia  peal  forth  after  the  Epistle. 
The  vespers  of  the  day  are  inserted  in  the 
Mass  after  the  Communion. 

The  reason   for  the  iubilant   character 


170 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


of  the  Mass  has  been  given  above,  but 
there  are  some  other  peculiarities  which 
need  explanation.  The  kiss  of  peace  is 
omitted,  because  in  the  ancient  rite  the 
faithful  kissed  each  other  in  the  church  as 
day  was  breaking,  with  the  words,  "The 
Lord  is  risen " ;  there  was  therefore  a 
natural  objection  to  anticipating  the  cere- 
mony in  the  Mass  at  midnight.  The 
Agnus  Dei,  which  was  introduced  by 
Pope  Sergius  towards  the  end  of  the 
seventh  century,  was  never  added  to  this 
Mass.  The  Communion  and  Postcom- 
munion  are  simply  replaced  by  vespers. 
But  why  is  there  no  Offertory  ?  Liturgi- 
cal writers  give  many  different  answers, 
none  of  which  are  satisfactory.  Gavantus 
alleges  that  the  celebrant  alone  communi- 
cated, and  that  hence  there  was  no  obla- 
tion of  bread  and  wine  on  the  part  of  the 
faithful.  But,  though  now  custom  and  a 
decree  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  for- 
bid communion,  it  is  certain,  as  Meratus 
points  out,  from  the  Gelasian  Sacramen- 
tary,  that  the  faithful  in  former  times  did 
communicate  and  did  make  the  usual 
oblations  on  this  day.  Meratus  himself 
has  no  better  explanation  to  give  than  the 
desire  to  shorten  the  Mass  as  much  as 
possible,  on  account  of  the  long  offices 
which  preceded  it.  (Chiefly  from  Gavan- 
tus, Meratus,  Thomassin,  "  Sur  les  Fes- 
tes,"  and  Benedict  XIV.  "De  Festis.") 

Ir\    Hoc    Sigrvo    Vir\ces. 

Labarum   (derivation  uncertain).     The 
banner  of  the  cross,  used  by  Constantine 


in  his  campaigns.  Eusebius,  a  contem- 
porary writer,  in  his  "  Life  of  Constan- 
tine," gives  the  following  account  of  it : 
"  He  [Constantine]  kept  invoking  God  in 
his  prayers,  beseeching  and  imploring  that 
He  would  declare  Himself  to  him,  who 
He  was,  and  stretch  forth  His  right  hand 
over  events.  While  the  king  was  thus 
praying  and  perseveringly  entreating,  a 
most  extraordinary  sign  from  heaven 
appears  to  him,  which  perhaps  it  were  not 
easy  to  receive  on  the  report  of  any  one 
else  ;  but  since  the  victorious  king  him- 
self, a  long  time  afterwards,  when  we  were 
honored  with  his  acquaintance  and  friendly 
intercourse,  repeated  the  story  to  us  who 
are  compiling  the  record,  and  confirmed  it 
with  an  oath,  who  would  hesitate  to 
believe  the  recital,  especially  as  the  ensu- 
ing period  furnished  unerring  testimony 
to  the  tale  .■'  About  midday,  when  the 
day  was  now  on  the  turn,  he  said  that  he 
saw  with  his  own  eyes,  in  the  sky,  above 
the  sun,  the  trophy-like  figure  of  a  cross 
{stauroii  tropaion)  composed  of  light,  and 
that  a  writing  was  attached  to  it,  which 
said  *  By  this  conquer.'  That  astonish- 
ment at  the  sight  seized  upon  both  him- 
self and  all  the  troops  whom  he  was  then 
leading  on  some  expedition,  and  who 
became  spectators  of  the  portent."  That 
same  night,  Constantine  went  on  to  say, 
"the  Christ  of  God  "  appeared  to  him  in  a 
dream,  with  the  same  sign  which  he  had 
seen  in  the  sky,  and  bade  him  have  an 
imitation  of  it  made,  and  use  it  in  war. 
Constantine  sent  for  goldworkers  and 
jewellers,  and  had  a  costly  banner   made 


IN  HOC  SIGNO    VINCES. 


171 


surmounted  by  a  crown,  on  which  was 
the  monogram  formed  of  the  first  two 
letters  of  the  name  of  Christ.  With  this 
home  at  the  head  of  his  army,  he  crossed 
iutc  Italy,  defeated  Maxentius  in  several 


battles,  and  became  master  of  Rome. 
Fifty  men  of  his  guards  were  selected  to 
have  charge  of  the  Labarum,  and  vic- 
tory was  the  unfailing  attendant  of  its 
display. 


liangnage  o^  tl\e  0l\m[zi\. 


HIS  title  is  used  for  want  of  a 
better  to  denote  the  Church's 
practice  of  celebrating  Mass, 
administering  the  sacraments, 
and  generally  of  performing 
her  more  solemn  services  in 
dead  languages.  For  the  Church  cannot 
be  said  to  use,  or  even  to  prefer,  any  one 
language.  She  requires  some  of  her 
clergy  to  use  Greek,  Syriac,  Coptic, 
Armenian,  Slavonic,  in  Mass,  just  as 
strictly  as  she  requires  others  to  employ 
Latin.  Latin  no  doubt  is  far  more  widely 
used  than  other  ancient  languages  in  the 
offices  of  the  Church,  but  this  has  arisen 
chiefly  from  the  fact  that  those  who  would 
naturally  use  Greek,  etc.,  in  their  offices 
have  fallen  away  from  Catholic  com- 
munion. We  will  begin  with  an  historical 
account  of  the  discipline  observed,  and 
then  give  the  principal  reasons  adduced 
to  justify  it 

Benedict  XIV.  ("  De  Missa,"  lib.  ii.  cap. 
2)  mentions  the  opinion  of  those  who  held 
that  the  apostles  said  Mass  in  Hebrew, 
or  that  originally  Mass  was  said  only  in 


Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  the  three 
languages  on  the  title  of  the  cross  ;  and 
he  continues,  "Those  who  are  skilled  in 
ecclesiastical  history  have  shown  suffi- 
ciently that  the  apostles  and  their  suc- 
cessors did  not  only '  preach  but  also 
celebrate  the  divine  offices  in  the  vulgar 
tongue  of  the  people  in  whose  land  they 
preached  the  Gospel."  He  quotes  Bona, 
Le  Brun,  and  Martene  in  support  of  his 
own  statement,  which  surely  does  not 
need  support.  Mass,  then,  and  the  other 
offices,  were  said  originally  in  the  vernacu- 
lar, because  it  was  the  vernacular  ;  but 
the  Church,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  never 
once  allowed  a  change  in  the  language  of 
the  liturgy,  when  the  language  in  which  it 
had  been  originally  written  had  become 
unintelligible  to  the  people.  Nor  at 
present  is  Mass  ever  said  in  a  tongue 
still  generally  spoken  and  understood. 
Latin,  Coptic,  and  -^thiopic,  are,  and 
have  long  been,  dead  languages,  while  the 
ancient  Greek,  Syriac,  Armenian,  and 
Slavonic,  used  in  the  liturgies,  are  quite 
distinct  from  the  modern  languages  which 


172 


LANGUAGE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


173 


bear  the  same  names.  Even  schismatical 
and  heretical  bodies  which  have  preserved 
the  true  priesthood,  and  therefore  the  true 
Mass,  have  not  ventured  to  substitute 
translations  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  for  the 
ancient  language  of  their  liturgies. 
Indeed,  Mass  said  in  such  a  language  as 
Coptic  is  much  less  understood  than  Mass 
in  Latin,  not  only  because  Coptic  has  no 
affinity  with  the  Arabic  spoken  by  the 
people,  but  also  because  many  of  the 
Coptic  priests  can  hardly  read  the  Coptic 
words  of  their  church  books,  and  do  not 
understand  the  meaning  of  a  single 
sentence.  One  exception  may  here  be 
mentioned,  the  only  one  with  which  we 
are  acquainted,  to  the  general  rule,  that 
all  schismatical  and  heretical  bodies 
preserve  the  ancient  language  of  their 
liturgies,  and  clearly  it  is  an  exception 
which  proves  the  rule.  Le  Brun  (Tom. 
III.  diss.  vi.  a.  6)  notices  that  the 
Melchites  —  i.  e.  schismatic  Greeks  in  the 
Patriarchates  of  Alexandria,  Antioch,  and 
Jerusalem,  who  are  in  communion  with 
the  "orthodox"  Greek  Church  of  Con- 
stantinople —  sometimes  say  Mass  in 
Arabic,  because  it  is  often  hard  to  find 
deacons  and  other  assistants  who  can  even 
read  Greek.  A  friend  versed  in  liturgical 
science  and  in  the  Oriental  languages 
informs  us  that  this  exceptional  usage 
still  occurs,  e.  g.  at  Jerusalem. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Church  has  not 
pursued  the  same  uniform  policy,  in 
dealing  with  nations  newly  converted  to 
the  Christian  religion,  and  therefore 
destitute  of  a  liturgy.     In  the  middle  of 


the  ninth  century  the  Oriental  monks  St 
Cyril  and  St.  Methodius  introduced,  not  a 
Latin  or  Greek,  but  a  Slavonic  or  vernacu- 
lar liturgy  among  their  Moravian  converts. 
This  measure  of  theirs  was  approved  by 
Pope  Hadrian  II.,  and  tolerated  by  John 
VIII.  on  condition  that  the  translation 
was  faithful,  and  the  Gospel  read  first  in 
Latin,  then  in  Slavonic.  But  in  1061  the 
legate  of  Alexander  II.  in  a  council  of 
Croatian  and  Dalmatian  bishops  prohib- 
ited the  use  of  the  Slavonic  liturgy  — 
which  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
Slavonic  versions  of  the  Greek  liturgies 
still  used  — and  the  prohibition  was 
repeated  by  Gregory  VII.  in  a  letter  of 
the  year  1080  to  Ladislaus,  King  of 
Bohemia.  However,  even  as  late  as  1248 
Innocent  IV.  allowed  a  Slav  bishop  to 
use  it  by  special  dispensation.  In  16 15 
Paul  V.  gave  the  Jesuit  missionaries  leave 
to  celebrate  Mass  and  the  divine  offices  in 
Chinese,  but  the  brief  never  reached  those 
to  whom  it  was  addressed.  The  Jesuits 
renewed  their  petition,  and  a  Chinese 
version  of  the  Missal  was  presented  to 
Innocent  XI.,^  but  nothing  came  of  the 
negotiation.  In  the  "  Propylaeum  "  of  the 
Bollandist  Lives  for  May  a  summary  is 
given  of  the  reasons  urged  for  a  vernacular 
Chinese  liturgy  by  Father  Couplet, 
Procurator-General  of  the  Jesuit  missions. 
Such,  then,  is  the  rule  of  the  Church. 
She  never  allows  an  ancient  liturgy  to  be 
altered  because  the  language  in  which  it  is 


1  So  Benedict  XIV.  in  the  edition  before  us ;  but  he  says 
this  was  done  in  1631,  long  before  Innocent  XI.  began  to 
reign.     Possibly  1631  is  a  misprint  for  1681. 


174 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


\»rritten  has  been  altered  or  displaced  by  a 
modern  one,  and  she  is  unwilling,  though 
she  does  not  always  absolutely  refuse,  to 
allow  the  use  of  vernacular  liturgies  among 
nations  newly  converted.  The  Council  of 
Trent  declares  (Sess.  xxii.  cap.  8,  De  Sac- 
rific.  Missae)  that  the  Fathers  of  the 
council  thought  it  inexpedient  to  have  Mass 
"celebrated  everywhere  in  the  vulgar 
tongue,"  and  condemns  those  who  affirm 
"that  Mass  ought  only  to  be  celebrated  in 
the  vulgar  tongue  "  ijb.  can.  9).  We  must 
beware,  however,  of  pressing  these  state- 
ments too  far.  Benedict  XIV.  defends 
Colbert,  bishop  of  Rouen,  who  taught  in  a 
pastoral  that  the  ancient  mode  of  celebrat- 
ing Mass  in  the  language  of  the  people  was 
the  fittest  means  to  prepare  the  minds  of 
the  congregation  for  participation  in  the 
sacrifice ;  or  at  least  argues  that  this  con- 
viction is  not  condemned  by  the  Council 
of  Trent.  The  Church  may  have  had 
good  and  weighty  grounds  for  foregoing  a 
usage  which  in  itself  would  tend  to  the 
greatest  spiritual  edification. 

These  reasons  seem  to  consist,  first  of 
all,  in  the  jealousy  with  which  the  Church 
guards  her  ancient  rites,  and  her  unwill- 
ingness to  face  the  danger  of  constant 
change  in  them  to  meet  the  changes  in 
modern  languages.  Such  changes  might 
seriously  endanger  the  purity  of  doctrine, 
or  at  least  the  reverence  of  the  faithful  for 
the  rites  of  the  Church,  Let  the  reader 
only  consider  how  much  of  the  reverence 
which  Protestants  feel  for  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  is  due  to  the  fact  that  its 
pure   and  noble  language   has   been  pre- 


served unchanged  for  centuries.  A  new 
edition  in  modern  English  would  certainly 
be  better  understood,  but  how  much  of  its 
power  to  soothe  the  heart  and  to  inspire  a 
sober  and  rational  devotion  would  be 
lost  in  the  process  }  Again,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  ancient  forms  enables  priests 
to  celebrate  and  the  faithful  to  follow 
Mass  in  all  lands,  and  thus  impresses  upon 
us,  in  a  way  which  no  one  who  has  experi- 
enced it  can  forget,  the  unity  of  the 
Church.  Lastly,  the  words  of  the  Missal, 
admirably  fitted  as  they  are  for  the  use  of 
the  priest,  are  by  no  means  fitted  for  the 
use  of  uneducated  persons,  and  this  diffi- 
culty would  not  be  met  by  a  transla- 
tion. 

Protestant  objections  arise  to  some 
extent  from  misunderstanding  the  nature 
of  Catholic  worship.  The  Mass  is  a  great 
action  in  which  Christ's  sacrifice  is  con- 
tinued and  applied.  Those  who  are  pres- 
ent bow  their  heads  at  the  consecration, 
and  unite  themselves  in  spirit,  if  they  do 
not  actually  communicate,  with  the  com- 
munion of  the  priest.  Christ  crucified  is 
set  forth  in  their  midst,  and  they  know 
that  they,  on  their  part,  must  offer  their 
souls  and  bodies  in  constant  sacrifice  to 
God  by  a  life  of  purity,  labor,  and  self-de- 
nial. It  is  the  expressed  wish  of  the  Tri- 
dentine  Fathers  that  the  meaning  of  the 
Mass  and  its  rites  should  be  constantly 
explained  to  the  people  by  their  pastors ; 
and  surely  the  most  ignorant  person  who 
follows  Mass  in  the  way  just  described,  and 
accompanies  the  priest's  action  with 
prayers  which  come  from  his  own  heart, 


LANGUAGE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


175 


offers  to  God  a  reasonable  service.  A 
life  of  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  —  that 
is  the  great  lesson  taught  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass,  and  it  is  a  lesson  inde- 
pendent of  the  language  in  which  Mass 
is  said. 

The  texts  quoted  from  i  Cor.  xiv. 
against  the  Catholic  usage  are  not  to  the 
point.  "  I  would  rather,"  says  St  Paul, 
"  speak  fine  words  in  the  church  through 
my  intelligence,  that  I  may  instruct  others, 
than  ten  thousand  words  in  a  tongue." 
We  believe  St.  Paul  is  referring  to  ecs- 
tatic utterances  —  sighs,  exclamations, 
broken  sentences,  which  were  unintelligible 
to  others,  and  in  which  the  tongue  of  the 
speaker  was  not  controlled  even  by  his  own 
intelligence.  Be  this  as  it  may,  no  paral- 
lel can  be  drawn  between  "  speaking  in 
tongues,"  and  the  use  of  Latin  in  the 
Mass.  Strangers  would  not  think  a  priest 
"  mad "  (v.23)  if  they  heard  him  reading 
the  Latin  Missal.  The  priest  prays  with 
"  his  understanding  "  (v.  14),  for  he  knows 
Latin;  others  are  "edified"  (v.  17);  and 
no  extraordinary  gift  of  interpretation 
(v.  13)  is  needed,  for  our  English  prayer- 
books  give  translations  of  the  Mass, 
Moreover,  St.  Paul  was  familiar  with  a  cus- 
tom closely  analogous  to  ours,  and  with 
this  neither  he  nor  any  other  apostle  finds 
fault.  The  services  of  the  temple  and  the 
synagogue,  like  those  of  the  synagogue 
at  this  day,  were  in  a  dead  language, 
with  the  difference  only  that  more  pains 
are  taken  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of 
Hebrew  among  poor  Jews  than  of  Latin 
among  poor  Catholics. 


GKvjrcKiiAg  of  WorT\er\  /\fter 
CKildbirtK. 

A  BLESSING  which  the  priest  gives  to 
women  after  childbirth  according  to  a  form 
prescribed  in  the  Roman  Ritual.  He 
sprinkles  the  woman,  who  kneels  at  the 
door  of  the  church  holding  a  lighted 
candle,  with  holy  water,  and  having  recited 
the  23d  Psalm,  he  puts  the  end  of  his  stole 
into  her  hand,  and  leads  her  into  the 
church,  saying,  "  Come  into  the  temple  of 
God.  Adore  the  Son  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  who  has  given  thee  fruitfulness  in 
child-bearing."  The  woman  then  advances 
to  the  altar  and  kneels  before  it,  while  the 
priest,  having  said  a  prayer  of  thanks^ 
giving,  blesses  her,  and  again  sprinkles 
her  with  holy  water  in  the  form  of  a  cross. 
The  rubric  in  the  Ritual  reserves  this  rite 
for  women  who  have  borne  children  in 
wedlock.  Women  are  under  no  strict 
obligation  of  presenting  themselves  to  be 
churched,  though  it  is  the  "  pious  and 
laudable  custom,"  as  the  Ritual  says,  that 
they  should  do  so.  Properly  speaking, 
the  churching  of  women  is  not  counted 
among  strictly  parochial  rights ;  still  it 
ought  to  be  performed  by  the  parish  priest, 
as  appears  from  a  decision  of  the  S.  Con- 
gregation of  Rites,  December  10,  1703. 

This  rite  was  suggested  probably  by  the 
prescriptions  of  the  old  law  in  Levit.  xii. 
In  the  Christian  Church,  the  first  mention 
of  the  rite  is  said  to  be  found  in  the  so- 
called  Arabic  canons  of  the  Nicene 
council.     Among  the  Greeks,  the  blessing 


176 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


after  childbirth  is  given  on  the  fortieth 
day  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  and  the 
child  must  be  brought  with  the  mother  to 
the  church. 

Irvcervse. 

It  is  certain  from  Tertullian,  ("Apol." 
42,)  and  from  many  other  early  writers 
down  to  St,  Augustine,  that  the  religious 
use  of  incense  was  unknown  in  the 
primitive  Church.  Le  Brun  quotes  St. 
Ambrose  to  prove  that  incense  was  used 
in  the  churches  of  his  day,  but  the  quo- 
tation can  scarcely  be  said  to  prove  the 
point.  On  the  other  hand,  Dionysius  the 
Areopagite  —  whose  works  were  first 
quoted  in  532,  but  may  have  been  written 
a  good  deal  earlier — distinctly  mentions 
(*^  Hierarch.  Eccles,"  iii.  §  2)  the  censing 
of  the  altar  by  the  chief  priest.  The  use 
of  incense  is  also  mentioned  in  the  first 
Ordo  Romanus,  which  may  belong  to  the 
seventh  century,  and  in  the  liturgies 
which  go  by  the  names   of  St.  James,  St, 


Basil,  and  St.  Chrysostom.  Possibly  also 
the  fourth  {al.  third)  canon  of  the  apos- 
tles, which  forbids  anything  to  be  placed 
on  the  altar  at  the  oblation  except  "  oil  fo/ 
the  lamp  and  incense,"  may  refer  to  the 
incense  as  liturgically  used.  If  so,  we 
should  be  justified  with  Le  Brun  in  sup- 
posing that  incense  was  introduced  into 
the  Church  services  when  the  persecution 
of  the  heathen  ceased  and  the  splendor  of 
churches  and  ritual  began. 

Some  authors  believe  that  incense  was 
at  first  introduced  to  sweeten  the  air,  and 
certainly  a  "  Benediction  of  Incense  "  used 
in  the  time  of  Charlemagne  and  given  by 
Martene  points  in  this  direction.  But  the 
mystical  significations  of  incense  are 
obvious.  It  symbolizes  the  zeal  with 
which  the  faithful  should  be  consumed  ; 
the  good  odor  of  Christian  virtue ;  the 
ascent  of  prayer  to  God.  It  is  used  before 
the  introit,  at  the  gospel,  offertory  and 
elevation  in  High  Mass  ;  at  the  Magnificat 
in  vespers  ;  at  funerals  ;  etc. 


Sjij^            ^             ^             ^             M^            ^^ 

^fp       ^        ^        ^        ^        ^ 
CHAPTER     XXVI. 

' 

it: 

<•> 

1* 

*    Iradei  of  Prohibited  B©o6s.    * 

jgfe.                      i^                         ;^^                       ,^^                        ^^                     ^1^ 

^1^         w           ^          ^           ^         ^ 

INCE  the  dawn  of  civilization, 
the  perception  of  the  influence 
for  good  or  evil  exerted  by 
books  has  induced  the  authori- 
ties of  every  strongly  consti- 
tuted State  to  control  their 
circulation.  Not  to  search  for  other  instan- 
ces, the  speech  which  Livy^  puts  in  the 
mouth  of  the  consul  Postumius  (b.  c.  i86) 
shows  the  sternness  of  Roman  feeling  on 
the  subject.  Addressing  the  assembled 
people  in  the  forum,  and  about  to  denounce 
the  foul  Bacchic  rites  of  which  he  had 
discovered  the  trace,  "  How  often,"  he 
says,  "  in  the  time  of  our  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers, was  the  duty  imposed  on  the 
magistrates  of  forbidding  the  practice  of 
foreign  rites  ;  of  driving  away  [foreign] 
priests  and  prophets  from  every  corner  of 
the  city  ;  of  searching  for  and  burning  books 
of  magic ;  of  putting  a  stop  to  every 
system  of  sacrificing  that  was  not  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  Rome !  "  In  Chris- 
tian times  the  danger  of  bad  books  was 
recognized   from  the   first.     The  converts 

1  Book  xxxix.  c.  i6. 


at  Ephesus  (Acts  xix.  19)  voluntarily 
brought  their  magical  books  to  St.  Paul 
and  cast  them  into  the  flames.  One  of 
the  Apostolic  Canons  (Ix)  orders  the 
deposition  of  any  one  in  the  ranks  of  the 
clergy  who  should  publish  in  the  Church 
as  holy  "the  falsely  inscribed  books  of  the 
impious."  The  practice  of  the  primitive 
Church  in  condemning  and  suppressing 
heretical  or  dangerous  books  was  uniform. 
The  erroneous  writings  of  Origen  were 
brought  to  the  Roman  Pontiff,  Pontianus, 
to  be  condemned  by  him  ;  Leo  the  Great 
by  letter  suppressed  and  prohibited  the 
books  of  the  Priscillianists.^  Descending 
to  the  middle  ages,  we  find  Leo  IX.  in  a 
synod  at  Vercelli  (1050)  condemning  and 
ordering  to  be  burnt  the  writings  of  Erig- 
ena  and  Berengarius  on  the  Eucharist.* 
The  Council  of  Constance  (141 5)  ordered 
all  the  books  of  John  Huss  to  be  publicly 
burned  at  the  council,  and  that  all  bishops 
should  make  diligent  search  for  copies  and 
burn  them  wherever  found.     Leo  X.  in  the 


1  Fleury,  xxviL  lo. 

2  Ibid.  lix.  69. 


177 


178 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


bull  "Exsurge  Domine"  (1520),  condemned 
the  earlier  heretical  writings  of  Luther, 
The  invention  of  printing,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  facilities  of  communication  between 
State  and  State,  made  it  evident  to  the 
hierarchy  that  if  the  influence  of  books  was 
to  be  kept  under  control,  new  methods 
must  be  adopted.  When  copies  of  books 
were  slowly  multiplied  by  the  labor  of 
scribes,  it  was  sufficient  to  await  their 
publication  before  examining  them,  and 
trust  to  being  able,  if  they  were  to  be 
suppressed,  to  call  in,  get  hold  of,  and 
cancel  the  few  copies  in  circulation.  But 
when  the  printing-press  could  turn  out  a 
thousand  copies  of  a  work  in  a  few  days, 
everything  was  changed.  It  then  became 
necessary  that  the  books  should  be  exam- 
ined before  they  were  printed ;  censors 
were  appointed,  and  a  system  of  licensing 
came  into  force.  "The  first  known 
instance  of  the  regular  appointment  of  a 
censor  on  books  is  in  the  mandate  of 
Berthold,  archbishop  of  Mentz,  in  i486"  ; 
and  a  few  years  later,  in  1501,  "a  bull  of 
Alexander  VI.,  reciting  that  many  perni- 
cious books  had  been  printed  in  various 
parts  of  the  world,  and  especially  in  the 
provinces  of  Mentz,  Cologne,  Treves,  and 
Magdeburg,  forbade  all  printers  in  these 
provinces  to  publish  any  book  without  the 
Kcense  of  the  archbishop  or  their  offi- 
cials."^ 

In  the  movement  of  what  is  called  the 
Reformation,  a  deluge  of  books  containing 
doctrine  more  or  less  erroneous  was  poured 
over  Europe,  and  it  became  evident  that 

1  Hallam,  Lit.  of  Europe ,  i.  254. 


if  booksellers  were  to  know  with  certainty 
what  they  might  sell,  and  the  Christian 
faithful  what  they  might  read,  it  would 
not  do  to  trust  to  an  "  imprimatur  "  on  the 
title-page,  which  might  be  forged,  or  come 
from  Protestant  censors  ;  but  that  a  list  or 
catalogue  of  books  condemned  by  the 
Church  must  be  drawn  up  and  published. 
The  matter  was  taken  up  by  the  Council 
of  Trent  (sess.  xviii,),  which  appointed  a 
commission  of  some  of  its  members  to 
collect  and  examine  the  censures  already 
issued,  and  consider  and  report  on  the 
steps  which  it  was  advisable  to  take  about 
books  generally.  This  commission  com- 
piled an  Index  of  Prohibited  Books  accord- 
ingly ;  but  the  Council  in  its  last  session 
(1563),  finding  that  from  the  multiplicity 
of  details  it  was  not  desirable  to  frame  any 
conciliar  decision,  remitted  the  whole 
matter  to  the  Pope.  In  conforming  with 
this  reference  St.  Pius  V.,  a  few  years 
later,  erected  the  Sacred  Congregation  of 
the  Index,  with  a  Dominican  Friar  for  its 
secretary.  Sixtus  V.  confirmed  and 
enlarged  their  powers. 

"The  Congregation  of  the  Index  of 
Prohibited  Books  consists  of  a  competent 
number  of  Cardinals,  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  the  Pope,  and  has  a  sec- 
retary taken  from  the  Order  of  Preachers, 
and  a  great  number  of  theological  and 
other  professors,  who  are  called  Consultors, 
the  chief  of  whom  is  the  Master  of  the 
Apostolic  Palace  [Curia  Romana],  the 
primary  and  official  Consultor  of  this  Con- 
gregation." ^ 

1  Ferraris,  "  Congregationes," 


INDEX  OF  PROHIBITED  BOOKS. 


179 


A  Constitution  of  Benedict  XIV.  (1753) 
gives  minute  instructions  as  to  the  princi- 
ple and  methods  to  be  observed  by  the 
Congregation  in  its  work  of  examining 
and  judging  books.  Some  idea  of  these 
principles  may  be  gained  from  the  follow- 
ing paragraph.  "  Let  them  know  that 
they  must  judge  of  the  various  opinions 
and  sentiments  in  any  book  that  comes 
before  them,  with  minds  absolutely  free 
from  prejudice.  Let  them,  therefore,  dis- 
miss patriotic  leanings,  family  affections, 
the  predilections  of  school,  the  esprit  de 
corps  of  an  institute ;  let  them  put  away 
the  zeal  of  party ;  let  them  simply  keep 
before  their  eyes  the  decisions  of  Holy 
Church,  and  the  common  doctrine  of 
Catholics,  which  is  contained  in  the  de- 
crees of  General  Councils,  the  Constitu- 
tions of  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  and  the 
consent  of  orthodox  Fathers  .and  Doctors  ; 
bearing  this  in  mind,  moreover,  that  there 
are  not  a  few  opinions  which  appear  to 
one  school,  institute,  or  nation,  to  be 
unquestionably  certain,  yet  nevertheless 
are  rejected  and  impugned,  and  their  con- 
tradictories maintained,  by  other  Catho- 
lics, without  harm  to  faith  and  religion  — 
all  this  being  with  the  knowledge  and  per- 
mission of  the  Apostolic  See,  which  leaves 
every  particular  opinion  of  this  kind  in  its 
own  degree  of  probability." 

Numerous  editions  of  the  Index  have 
appeared  from  time  to  time.  That  issued 
under  Benedict  XIV.  (Rome,  1744)  con- 
tains between  nine  and  ten  thousand 
entries  of  books  and  authors,  alphabetically 
arranged;    of  these   about   one-third    are 


cross-references.  Prefixed  to  it  are  the 
ten  rules  sanctioned  by  the  Council  of 
Trent,  of  which  the  tenor  is  as  follows. 
The  first  rule  orders  that  all  books  con- 
demned by  Popes  or  General  Councils 
before  15 15,  which  were  not  contained  in 
that  Index,  should  be  reputed  to  be  con- 
demned in  such  sort  as  they  were  formerly 
condemned.  The  second  rule  prohibits  all 
the  works  of  heresiarchs,  such  as  Luther 
and  Calvin,  and  those  works  by  heretical 
authors  which  treat  of  religion  ;  their  other 
works  to  be  allowed  after  examination. 
The  third  and  fourth  rules  relate  to  ver- 
sions of  the  Scripture,  and  define  the 
classes  of  persons  to  whom  the  reading  of 
the  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue  may  be  per- 
mitted. The  fifth  allows  the  circulation, 
after  expurgation,  of  lexicons  and  other 
works  of  reference  compiled  by  heretics. 
The  sixth  relates  to  books  of  controversy. 
The  seventh  orders  that  all  obscene  books 
be  absolutely  prohibited,  except  ancient 
books  written  by  heathens,  which  were 
tolerated,  "propter  sermonis  elegantiain  et 
proprietatem"  but  were  not  to  be  used  in 
teaching  boys.  The  eighth  rule  is  upon 
methods  of  expurgation.  The  ninth  pro- 
hibits books  of  magic  and  judicial  astrol- 
ogy ;  but  "  theories  and  natural  observa- 
tions published  for  the  sake  of  furthering 
navigation,  agriculture,  or  the  medical  art, 
are  permitted."  The  tenth  relates  to  print- 
ing, introducing,  having,  and  circulating 
books.  Persons  reading  prohibited  books 
incur  excommunication  forthwith  {statim). 
Luther,  Calvin,  Melanchthon,  Cranmer, 
Jewel,  etc.,  are  named  as  in  the  first   class 


i8o 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


—  i.  e.  as  heresiarchs.  Among  books  of 
more  or  liess  note  are  named  the  Dialogo 
of  Galileo,  the  Satire  Meftipp^e,  the  Anti- 
Coton,  and  the  Augustinus  of  Jansenius. 
Among  the  English  authors  whose  works 


are  prohibited  occur  the  names  of  Jame* 
I.,  Barclay,  Usher;  bishops  Sanderson, 
Bull,  and  Pearson  ;  Cave  and  Hobbes  ;  but 
not  Hooker,  nor  Milton,  nor  Chillingworth, 
nor  Bunyan,  nor  Swift. 


i 
1 


+*■*■•*■++*■*•+++■*•  •*■+++•*•++*+  +  +  +  •*•■♦•+  +  ++ •♦•++4-+++++ 


+.i!ni(.*HH!.+++#-4--i!n>- +•!>••*■•))(•■*•■*•  4-  **■*•■*■++  +  +  •♦■  •ii"*-  +  *+*++4' 


^•^ 


f 


CAEDINAL  GIBBONS. 


t 


CHAPTER   XXVil. 


S' 


i^ATICKN     COUNCIL-. 


I 


I 


HIS  Council  met  on  December 
8,  1869,  and  is  not  yet  con- 
cluded. No  general  council 
had  been  held  for  three  hundred 
years,  and  the  author  of  the 
articles  on  Trent  in  Herzog's 
"  Encyclopaedia,"  writing  only  about  seven 
years  before  the  bishops  met  in  the  Aula 
of  the  Vatican,  speaks  of  another  general 
council  as  a  moral  impossibility.  Yet,  it  is 
easy  enough  to  see  that  the  events  of  half 
a  century  had  been  preparing  the  way  for 
the  General  Council  of  1869.  The  inter- 
ference of  statesmen  with  the  freedom  of 
the  Church  had  turned  the  law  (Concil. 
Trid.  sess.  xxiv.  "  De  Reform,"  c.  2)  which 
requires  provincial  synods  to  be  held  every 
three  years,  into  a  dead  letter.  The  same 
cause  would  also  have  proved  an  obstacle, 
and  probably  an  insuperable  one,  to  great 
assemblies  of  the  bishops  at  Rome.  But 
the  revolution  which  stripped  the  Church 
of  her  wealth  certainly  left  her  freer  in 
action.  The  first  Provincial  Synod  which 
had  been  known  for  long,  assembled  at 
Tuam  in  18 17,  and  its  decrees   were  con- 


firmed at  Rome.  It  was  followed  by  the 
National  Synod  of  Hungary,  held  at 
Pressburg  in  1822.  But  it  was  from  the 
United  States  that  the  revival  of  Provin- 
cial Councils  really  came.  There  were 
Provincial  Synods  of  Baltimore  in  1839, 
1833,  1837,  1840,  1843,  1846,  and  1849. 
Pius  IX.  in  his  early  Pontificate  urged  the 
observance  of  the  Church's  law  upon  the 
bishops.  Soon,  no  fewer  than  twenty 
provincial  councils  had  assembled  in 
France  ;  Austria  and  Hungary  followed 
the  example  in  1858  (Synods  of  Vienna 
and  Grau,)  Holland  in  1865  (Synod  of 
Utrecht,)  and  numerous  synods  were  held 
in  Germany,  in  England,  just  after  the 
hierarchy  had  been  restored,  in  Ireland,  in 
Australia,  and  in  South  America  (Quito 
and  New  Granada).  Even  the  Catholics 
of  the  Oriental  rites  were  affected  by  the 
movement.  Syrians,  Maronites,  Arme- 
nians, met  in  council,  and  the  last  Council 
of  the  Armenians  at  Constantinople  in 
1869  deserves  special  notice.  In  Italy, 
on  the  other  hand,  political  troubles  made 
the   number  of     provincial   councils   very 


l82 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


small.  Nor  was  this  revival  of  synodical 
action  the  only  preparation  for  a  general 
council.  Pius  IX.  had  three  times  seen  a 
vast  number  of  bishops  gathered  round 
him  —  viz.  at  the  definition  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception,  at  the  canonization  of 
the  Japanese  martyrs,  on  the  eighteenth 
centenary  of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Peter 
and  St,  Paul.  Since  the  Second  Lateran 
Council  of  1 139,  Rome  had  never 
witnessed  such  an  assembly  of  bishops  as 
this  last  one.  Nor  was  it  simply  the  fact 
of  these  unions  which  led  the  way  to  the 
General  Council  in  the  Vatican.  It  is 
evident  now  that  the  chief  definition  of 
this  Council  —  viz.  that  of  the  Papal 
Infallibility,  —  came  as  the  result  of  forces 
which  had  been  long  at  work.  The  French 
universities  had  disappeared  in  the  storms 
of  the  Revolution,  and  Galilean  principles 
were  dying  out  in  France  itself.  In  Italy, 
Spain,  and  Portugal,  where,  owing  to  the 
influence  of  the  Governments,  Gallicanism 
had  found,  even  late  in  the  last  century, 
such  representatives  as  Tamburini,  Bishop 
Solari,  Fontani,  Palmieri,  Degola,  Bishop 
Clement  of  Barcelona,  etc.,  it  was  now 
wholly  extinct.  Many  of  the  provincial 
councils  and  the  bishops  in  their  assem- 
blies at  Rome  had  held  language  which 
showed  that  a  proposal  to  define  the 
Pope's  infallibility  would  meet  with  no 
opposition  among  the  majority.  With  the 
German  Catholics  it  was  otherwise.  There 
many  of  the  clergy  were  still  educated  at 
"mixed"  universities  —  many  of  the 
Catholic  professors  had  already  manifested 
their  distrust  of  the   "  Roman  "  theology, 


and  some  of  them  had  come  into  collision 
with  the  Roman  Congregations,  They 
clung,  in  the  supposed  interests  of  science, 
to  methods  different  from  those  which 
prevailed  at  Rome.  And  even  in  France 
there  was  a  party,  small  in  numbers,  but 
strong  in  talent  and  character,  which  was 
attached  to  liberal  principles  in  politics 
and  distrustful  of  Roman  interference  in 
such  matters.  They  had  fought  the 
Church's  battle  for  freedom  of  instruction, 
and  they  were  unwilling  to  admit  that  the 
appeal  they  had  made  to  the  principles  of 
freedom  and  toleration  was  after  all  only 
an  argumentum  ad  hominein.  Ultramon- 
tanism  then  prevailed  throughout  the 
Church,  but  it  was  opposed  by  a  small 
band  of  Catholic  "liberals "in  France, 
and  by  a  number  of  learned  men  in 
Germany,  The  former  advocated  the 
interests  of  freedom,  as  they  understood 
it  \  the  latter,  those  of  philosophy,  history, 
and  theology,  as  they  understood  them. 
There  were,  besides.  Catholic  statesmen 
in  both  countries  who  saw  danger  to  the 
State  in  a  definition  of  Papal  infallibility. 
Pius  IX.  first  imparted  his  idea  of  con- 
voking a  General  Council  to  the  cardinals 
of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  in  Decem- 
ber, 1864;  and  shortly  afterwards  he  con- 
sulted all  the  cardinals  who  resided  in 
Rome  on  the  matter.  They  were  re- 
quested to  submit  to  the  Pope  their  opin- 
ions, in  writing,  on  the  opportuneness  of 
such  a  convocation,  and  the  subjects  which, 
supposing  the  Council  opportune,  ought  to 
be  discussed.  Nineteen  advised  the  con- 
vocation,  two   were   against   it,    one   was 


VATICAN  COUNCIL. 


183 


doubtful.  In  March,  1865,  five  cardinals 
(Patrizi,  Reisach,  Panebianco,  Bizarri,  Cat- 
erini)  weie  appointed  to  consider  the  votes 
sent  in,  and  these,  with  the  addition  of 
some  other  cardinals  and  of  consultors, 
were  formed  into  a  Congregation  of  Direc- 
tion (Cecconi,  "Storia  del  Concil.  Vatic." 
lib.  i.  cap.  i).  In  April  and  May  a  circular 
was  addressed  to  thirty-six  bishops,  beg- 
ging their  opinion  on  the  subjects  to  be 
treated  {jb.  Doc.  iii.),  and  letters  were  also 
addressed  to  the  Nuncios  at  the  various 
Courts,  asking  them  to  find  theologians  fit 
to  act  as  consultors  in  the  preliminary 
congregations  (ib.  Doc.  iv.).  Next  year, 
in  February  and  March,  certain  Oriental 
bishops  and  bishops  of  the  Greek  rite  in 
the  Austrian  Empire,  were  also  consulted 
{ib.  Doc.  vi.  and  vii.).  All  these  consulta- 
tions were  made  in  the  strictest  confi- 
dence. On  June  4,  1867,^  Cardinal  Caterini 
wrote  to  all  the  bishops  present  for  the 
centenary  of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul.  He  added  a  list  of  seven- 
teen questions  on  points  of  discipline,  and 
invited  suggestions  on  other  matters  (ib. 
Doc.  ix.). 

At  last,  in  the  same  month,  the  Pope 
announced  in  a  public  Consistory  of  some 
500  bishops,  his  intention  of  convoking 
the  Council  {ib.  Doc.  x.),  and  by  a  bull  of 
June  29,  1869  (ib.  Doc.  xxxvi.),  the  Coun- 
cil was  summoned  to  meet  at  Rome  on 
December  8,  1869.  Meantime,  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  previous  year,  "  all  bishops 


1  So  Schneemann,  Kanonen  und  BeschlUsse  (Us  Vatikan 
Concils,  EinUtt.^.  xv.     The  date  in  Cecconi — viz.  June  6, 

1886  —  must  be  a  slip. 


of  the  churches  of  Oriental  rite  not  in 
communion  with  the  Apostolic  See "  {ib. 
Doc.  xxxvii.),  and  all  ''Protestants  and 
non-Catholics"  {ib.  Doc.  xxxviii),  were 
invited  to  attend.  There  was  some  thought 
of  addressing  a  similar  invitation  to  the 
Jansenist  bishops  in  Holland,  but  it  was 
resolved  not  to  do  so  {ib.  vol.  i.  p.  119  seg). 
It  was  intended  that  these  Oriental  bishops 
should  be  allowed  no  part  in  the  Council 
till  they  professed  the  Catholic  Roman 
faith  whole  and  entire  ;  and  it  was  explained 
in  a  letter  to  Archbishop,  now  Cardinal, 
Manning  that  the  Protestants  were  only 
invited  to  attend  that  they  might  be 
referred  to  "experienced  men,"  and  have 
their  difficulties  solved.  No  effect  fol- 
lowed from  these  letters  to  Orientals  and 
Protestants,  except  a  few  protests  (Fried- 
rich,  "  Geschichte  des  Vatikan  Concils,"  i. 
p.  723  seq.).  Besides  the  Commission  of 
General  Direction,  mentioned  already,  the 
Pope  nominated  six  special  commissions  — 
for  Ceremonial,  the  Relations  of  Church 
and  State,  the  Churches  and  Missions  of 
the  East,  the  Religious  Orders,  Dogmatic 
Theology,  and  Discipline.  Each  consisted 
of  a  cardinal-president,  and  of  consultors 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Vercellone, 
Theiner,  Tarquini,  Franzelin,  Schrader, 
Perrone,  Gibert,  Freppel,  Hefele,  Hane- 
berg,  Hergenrother,  Alzog,  Molitor,  Mou- 
fang,  Hetlinger,  Feijje,  were  among  the 
consultors.  Dr.  (now  Cardinal)  Newman 
was  asked  to  be  a  consultor,  but  declined 
on  account  of  bad  health.  It  was  the 
duty  of  these  special  congregations  to 
prepare   "schemata"  —  i.  e.   draughts   of 


1 84 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


canons  and  decrees  for  the  consideration 
of  the  Fathers.  Their  members  were 
bound  to  absolute  secrecy. 

Till  the  Council  met,  nothing  was  said 
by  any  one  in  authority  of  any  intention 
to  define  Papal  infallibility.  But  attention 
was  roused  by  statements  in  the  French 
correspondence  of  the  "  Civilt^,"  Febru- 
ary 6,  1869  (reprinted  in  Cecconi,  Doc. 
cxl.).  In  this  Jesuit  organ,  published  at 
Rome,  and  believed  by  many  to  possess 
very  high  authority  in  the  Roman  Court, 
it  was  stated  that  the  Council  would  prob- 
ably set  its  seal  to  the  condemnations  of 
the  Syllabus ;  that  the  bishops  would 
define  the  Pope's  infallibility  by  acclama- 
tion, and  that  the  corporal  assumption  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  into  heaven  would  be 
made  an  article  of  faith.  This  was  the 
occasion,  soon  after,  of  the  famous  articles 
in  the  Augsburg  "Allgemeine  Zeitung," 
which  afterwards  appeared  in  the  form  of 
a  book  entitled  "Janus."  It  professed  to 
be  written  from  a  Catholic  point  of  view, 
but  was  in  reality  a  bitter  attack  on  the 
Papacy.  In  April,  1869,  Prince  Hohen- 
lohe,  Foreign  Minister  in  Bavaria,  sent  a 
circular  to  the  European  Governments, 
warning  them  of  the  political  dangers 
which  the  Council  might  cause  (Friedrich, 
ib.  i.  p.  774),  and  in  September  a  large 
majority  of  the  German  bishops  assembled 
at  Fulda,  laid  before  Pius  IX.  their  fears 
as  to  the  consequences  in  Germany  should 
Papal  infallibility  be  defined.  This  docu- 
ment was  undoubtedly  despatched  to 
the  Pope,  but  Cecconi,  after  laborious 
search,  could   not   find  it  in  the  Roman 


archives   (Cecconi,   part  i.  vol.  ii.   sect.  I 
p.  479). 

The  time  of  convocation  was  drawing 
near,  and  Pius  IX.  in  a  brief,  "  Multiplices 
inter,"  Nov.  27, 1869  {ib.  Doc.  Hi),  arranged 
the  order  of  business  at  the  Council.  The 
preparatory  commissions  had  done  their 
work,  and  were  to  be  replaced  by  new 
ones.  The  Pope  appointed  five  cardinal- 
presidents,  viz.  Reisach  (who  died  shortly 
afterwards,  and  was  replaced  by  De 
Angelis),  De  Luca,  Bizzari,  Bilio,  Capalti, 
a  secretary,  viz.  Bishop  Fessler  of  St. 
Polten,  and  a  deputation  of  members  of 
the  Council  who  were  to  examine  pro- 
posals made  by  the  bishops.  Four  other 
deputations  for  Dogma,  Discipline,  Reli- 
gious Orders,  and  Oriental  Rites,  were  to 
be  chosen  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Council, 
but  each  was  to  be  placed  under  a  cardi- 
nal-president nominated  by  the  Pope  him- 
self. The  schemata  drawn  up  by  the 
preparatory  commissions  were  to  be 
printed  and  distributed  to  the  Fathers. 
The  bishops  might  send  proposals  to  be 
examined  by  the  directive  deputation. 
These  new  schemata  or  proposals,  if 
approved  by  it,  were  also  to  be  printed 
and  circulated  among  the  bishops  some 
days  before  the  discussion  on  them  began. 
Bishops  who  wished  to  speak  on  any  subject 
must  notify  their  intention  at  least  a  day 
before.  They  were  to  do  so  in  order  of 
rank,  and  after  they  had  ended  others 
might  obtain  leave  to  speak  from  the 
presidents.  If  there  was  no  prospect  of 
agreement,  the  schemata,  according  to 
their  subject-matter,  were  to  be  referred  to 


VATICAN  COUNCIL. 


185 


the  special  commissions  for  revisal,  and 
then  voted  upon  in  general  congregation. 
Finally,  the  canon  or  decree  was  to  be 
read  in  the  Pope's  name  in  solemn  session, 
the  Fathers  were  to  answer  "Placet"  or 
" Non  placet'^ ;  the  Pope  was  to  announce 
the  result,  and,  in  case  of  acceptance  by 
the  Council,  to  confirm  its  decision  by 
apostolic  authority.  The  Council  opened 
on  Dec.  8,  1869.  There  were  719  mem- 
bers present,  and  by  March  of  the  follow- 
ing year  as  many  as  764.  Of  these,  120 
were  archbishops  or  bishops  /;/  partibiis 
infidelium,  now  called  titular  prelates,  and 
52  were  abbots,  generals  of  orders,  etc. 
(From  the  lists  in  Schneemann  ) 

Much  time  was  spent  in  discussions  on 
discipline,  the  preparation  of  a  Short 
Catechism,  etc.,  which  have  issued  as  yet 
in  no  definite  result.  The  work  actually 
finished  consists  of  two  Constitutions  — 
one,  "  De  Fide  Catholica,"  made  up  of 
chapters  and  canons  on  the  primary  truths 
of  natural  religion,  on  revelation,  on  faith, 
and  the  connection  between  faith  and 
reason  ;  the  other,  "  De  Ecclesia  Christi," 
treating  chiefly  of  the  primacy  of  the 
Roman  See,  and  defining  the  Pope's  imme- 
diate authority  over  all  Christians.  The 
former  constitution  passed  with  compara- 
tively little  difficulty.  It  was  unanimously 
accepted  by  the  667  Fathers  present,  and 
confirmed  by  the  Pope  in  the  third  public 
session,  April  24,  1870. 

Very  different  was  the  fate  of  the 
second  constitution.  We  have  seen  that 
nothing  had  been  said,  at  least  publicly 
and  by  authority,  before  the  Council  met, 


of  any  intention  to  define  the  Pope's 
infallibility,  and  Cecconi  (lib.  i.  cap.  i.) 
assures  us  that  of  the  cardinals  first  con- 
sulted by  the  Pope  —  i.  e.  in  1864  —  two 
only  even  mentioned  the  subject.  Scarcely, 
however,  had  the  Council  met,  when  a 
"  postulatum  ",  representing  the  views  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  Fathers,  begged 
that  the  question  should  be  proposed  for 
decision.  On  the  other  hand,  in  January, 
1870,  forty-five  German  and  Austrian  bish- 
ops, thirty-two  French,  joined  by  three 
Portuguese  and  four  Orientals,  twenty- 
seven  from  nations  of  English  speech, 
seventeen  Orientals,  seven  Italians,  begged 
the  Pope  to  prevent  the  discussion.  (Ori- 
ginal texts  in  Friedrich,  "  Documenta  ad 
Illustrandum  Concil.  Vatic."  Abth.  i.  pp. 
251,  254,  256,  450.)  At  the  same  time, 
outside  the  Council,  a  protest  was  made 
by  Dr.  Dollinger,  as  well  as  by  the  French 
Minister  Daru  and  the  Austrian  von 
Beust,  supported  by  the  Bavarian,  Portu- 
guese, Prussian,  and  English  Cabinets. 
Archbishops  Dechamps  of  Malines,  Man- 
ning of  Westminster,  Spalding  of  Balti- 
more, and  Bishop  Martin  of  Paderborn, 
were  prominent  on  the  side  of  the  major- 
ity ;  while  the  learned  Hefele,  who  was 
promoted  to  the  bishopric  of  Rottenburg 
in  November,  1869,  Strossmayer,  bishop 
of  Diakovar  in  Slavonia,  Cardinal  Raus- 
cher,  archbishop  of  Vienna,  Darboy,  arch- 
bishop of  Paris,  Dupanloup,  bishop  of 
Orleans,  Maret,  bishop  in  partibiis,  Ken- 
rick,  archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  in  the  United 
States,  Clifford,  bishop  of  Clifton,  were 
strenuous  supporters  of  the  opposition. 


i86 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


New  complications  arose  from  a  docu- 
ment issued  by  the  cardinal-presidents  at 
the  wish  of  the  Pope  on  Feb.  20,  1870. 
Complaints  were  made  of  the  way  in 
which  the  discussions  were  protracted, 
and  accordingly  new  arrangements  were 
devised.  In  the  discussion  on  any  amended 
schema,  no  one  was  to  take  part  without 
giving  notice  beforehand  of  that  particu- 
lar portion  of  the  said  schema  on  which 
he  meant  to  address  the  Council.  Further, 
at  the  request  of  any  ten  Fathers,  the 
presidents  might  ask  the  Council  if  they 
desired  the  discussion  to  proceed,  and  if  a 
majority  said  No,  they  might  close  it  there 
and  'then.  This  led  more  than  a  hun- 
dred prelates  to  protest,  in  a  document 
addressed  to  the  presidents,  that  by  these 
regulations  "the  freedom  of  the  Council 
might  seem  in  several  respects  to  be 
impaired,  nay,  destroyed"  {"mimd  imo 
tolli  posse  videatiir'"').  They  implored 
that  nothing  should  be  defined  except 
with  the  moral  unanimity  of  the  Fathers, 
and  appealed  to  the  example  of  Pius  IV. 
at  the  Council  of  Trent.  Otherwise 
they  feared  that  "the  character  of  the 
CEcumenical  Council  might  be  exposed 
to  doubt "  (  "  cecumcnici  concilii  character 
in  diibium  vocari  possity  Text  in  Fried- 
rich,  Abth.  i.  p.  258  seq).  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  that  the  whole  dis- 
cussion was  extended  over  seven  weeks. 
The  points  at  issue  must  have  been  per- 
fectly familiar  to  those  with  whom  the 
decision  lay,  and  the  majority  could  not 
be  expected  to  tolerate  a  protracted  dis- 
cussion which   had  no   real  influence   on 


opinion,  and  only  served  to   impede  deft, 
nition. 

Early  in  May  the  schema  "  De  Ecclesia," 
with  the  added  clauses  on  Papal  infallibil- 
ity, was  laid  before  the  Council,  and  the 
conciliar  discussion  upon  it  began.  On 
July  13,  it  was  voted  upon  in  general 
congregation  ;  of  the  Fathers  present  45 1 
said  "Placet"  sixty-two  *^  Placet  jiixta 
modum'' — i.  e.  they  were  ready  to  accept  the 
Constitution  with  modifications  but  not  as 
it  stood  ;  eighty-eight  said,  "  Non placet  "  ; 
seventy  did  not  vote  at  all.  In  the  last 
general  congregation  the  Fathers  protested 
against  the  calumnies  of  the  press,  espe- 
cially against  the  report  that  the  Council 
was  not  free.  In  a  letter  to  the  Pope 
fifty-five  bishops  declared  that  their  mind 
was  unaltered,  but  that  they  meant  to 
absent  themselves  from  the  public  session. 
This  was  held  on  July  18.  The  bull 
"  Pastor  iEternus,"  containing  the  Consti- 
tution "  De  Ecclesia,'*  and  the  definition 
of  Papal  infallibility,  was  read.  Thereupon 
535  answered  "  Placet,""  XhQ  two  others  — 
viz.  Bishop  Riccio  of  Ajaccio  and  Bishop 
Fitzgerald  of  Little  Rock  —  "  Nott placet.'" 
The  Pope  then  confirmed  the  decree  by 
Apostolic  authority.  On  that  same  day 
Napoleon  III  declared  war  against  Prussia. 
On  September  20  the  Italians  possessed 
themselves  of  Rome,  and  by  a  brief  of 
October  20  the  Pope  prorogued  the 
Council.     It  has  never  been  reassembled. 

In  the  articles  on  Faith  and  on  the 
Pope,  we  have  said  something  on  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Vatican  decrees,  and  in  that  on 
Old   Catholics   we   have   spoken  of  the 


VATICAN  COUNCIL. 


187 


opposition  made  to  them.  No  single 
bishop  refused  assent,  and  for  that  and 
other  reasons  a  schism  of  any  considerable 
magnitude  was  impossible. 

(The  histories  of  the  Council  by  Cecconi 
and  Friedrich  resemble  in  more  points  than 
one  those  of  the  Tridentine  Council  by  Pal- 
lavicino  and  Sarpi,  with  this  notable  differ- 
ence, that  Sarpi  wrote  before  Pallavicino, 
while  Friedrich  takes  care  to  write  after 
Cecconi,  and  to  use  his  materials.  Neither 
historian  has  reached  the  actual  assembly 
of  the  Council.  Cecconi  has  access  to  the 
Vatican  archives,  so  that  his  work  [first  part 
published  1873]  will  always  be  indispens- 
able. But  it  has  already  exceeded  3,000 
pages  large  octavo  ;  it  is  filled  with  much 
irrelevant  matter,  is  badly  written  and  badly 
arranged.  Friedrich's  first  volume  [1877] 
is  well  arranged  and  interesting,  and  does 
not,  as  far  as  we  can  test  it,  alter  the  facts  ; 
but  it  is  disfigured  by  a  vehement  invective 
against  the  Roman  Court  and  Ultramon- 
tanism  in  general.  For  the  actual  history 
of  the  Council  Friedrich's  collection  of  doc- 
uments [1871]  was  useful  but  incomplete, 
and  has  been  replaced  by  the  fuller  collec- 
tions of  Bishop  Martin  [1873]  and  the 
Protestant  Friedberg  [1871].  The  Jesuit 
Father  Schneemann  [1871]  has  prefixed  a 
short  history  of  the  Council  to  his  edition 
of  its  decrees,  and  there  is  another  brief  his- 
tory by  the  learned  Protestant  Frommann 
[1872]. 

.e  Veil. 


JKc 


Veil  {velum,  a  covering).     Pagan  cus- 
toms in  resrard  to  the  use  of  the  veil  can- 


not here  be  considered,  but  we  shall 
endeavor  to  give  some  account  of  the 
various  kinds  of  veil  recognized  in  the 
Catholic  ritual  for  covering  either  things 
or  persons.  Three  Eucharistic  veils  were 
in  use  in  the  ancient  Eastern  Church,  the 
paten  veil  for  covering  the  bread  before 
consecration,  the  chalice  veil,  and  a  very 
thin,  transparent  veil  for  covering  both 
paten  and  chalice.  The  offertory  veil 
{offertorium)  was  used,  according  to  the 
ritual  of  the  Church  of  Sarum,^  in  various 
parts  of  the  ceremonial  of  High  Mass. 
It  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  super- 
humeral  veil  with  which  the  subdeacon  now 
covers  the  chalice  at  High  Mass,  and 
which  is  also  used  at  Benediction.  Magri 
(quoted  in  Morone),  says  that  in  Spanish 
Churches  from  the  first  day  of  Lent  a  veil 
is  drawn  before  the  high  altar  while  the 
hours  are  recited,  and  during  Mass  on 
ferias ;  it  is  withdrawn  at  the  Gospel  and 
the  elevation  of  the  Host.  On  Wednes- 
day in  Holy  Week,  when  in  the  "  Passion  " 
the  words  occur  "  et  velum  templi  scissum 
est,'*  the  veil  is  withdrawn  and  no  more  used. 
The  nuptial  veil  or  Jlammeum,  as  is  well 
known,  was  in  use  among  the  Romans. 
St.  Ambrose  speaks  of  a  veil  {pallium) 
stretched  over  the  heads  of  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  during  the  celebration  of  mar- 
riage, with  a  mystical  significance.^  The 
priest  officiates  with  veiled  head  in  several 
Oriental  rites  —  Coptic,  of  St.  Anthony, 
Abyssinian,  Maronite. 

1  See  the  Consuetudinary  of  Sarum,  recently  edited  in  the 
Rolls  series  with  a  translation,  in  the  Register  af  St.  Osmumd, 
vol.  i.  p.  150  seg, 

2  Morone. 


1 88 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


In  Maskell's  "  Monumenta  Ritualia " 
is  printed  a  form^  for  the  "Order  of 
Consecration  of  Nuns  "  according  to  the 
use  of  Sarum,  from  which  we  shall 
extract  what  relates  to  the  ritual  of  the 
veil.  On  the  day  of  profession  the  nov- 
ices, clad  in  white,  each  bearing  on  the 
right  arm  the  "habite  that  the  religyon 
knd  professyon  requireth,  wyth  the  veyle, 
ryng,  and  scroll  of  hir  protessyon  attached 
upon  the  sayd  habits,  ^nd  in  hir  left  hand 
'>erying  a  taper  wythoute  lyght,"  go  in  pro- 
iession  from  the  place  where  they  were 
irrayed  towards  the  western  door  of  the 
choir,  with  looks  bent  on  the  ground,  sing- 
ing the  response  "  Audivivocem'''  etc.  Pass- 
ing through  the  choir  and  going  up  to  the 
altar,  they  lay  their  veils,  rings,  and  scrolls 
on  the  right  end  of  it.  They  then  make 
the  vow  of  chastity,  and  after  receiving 
the  habit  from  the  bishop  return  whence 
they  came.  After  the  Credo  the  virgins 
return  to  the  western  door  of  the  choir, 
bearing  lighted  tapers  in  their  right  hands. 
The  rite  proceeds  ;  after  the  Litanies  each 
makes  her  profession  before  the  bishop 
and  abbess,  and  signs  her  scroll  of  profes- 
sion with  a  cross.  After  the  psalm 
'' Domine,  guts  habitabit,''  during  which 
the  virgins  prostrate  themselves,  they  rise 
and  go  with  the  bishop  to  the  right  end  of 
the  altar,  and,  taking  their  veils  therefrom, 
hold  them  in  their  hands  with  their  faces 
turned  towards  the  bishop.  He,  standing 
in  his  place,  blesses  the  veils  in  the  virgin's 
hands,  "  with  orysons."  The  first  of  these 
prayers  is,  "We  suppliantly  beseech  Thee, 

1  VoL  ii.  p.  308. 


O  Lord,  that  in  Thy  clemency  a  blessing 
may  come  down  upon  these  veils  which 
are  about  to  be  placed  on  the  heads  of  Thy 
handmaidens,  so  that  they  may  be  blessed, 
and  consecrated,  and  spotless,  and  holy 
for  these  Thy  handmaidens.  Through." 
The  second,  "  O  God,  creator  of  things 
visible  and  invisible,  be  mercifully  present 
with  us,  and  vouchsafe  to  bless  and  sanc- 
tify with  the  streams  of  Thy  grace  these 
veils  which  are  the  type  of  holiness  and 
the  sign  of  humility  ;  may  Thy  servants 
deserve  through  Thy  gift  to  take  and  hal- 
low them  in  heart  and  body.  Through." 
Every  virgin,  beforethebishopputs  the  veil 
upon  her  head,  kisses  his  hand.  Being 
veiled,  she  sings,  "  The  Lord  hath  clothed 
me  with  a  garment^  woven  of  gold,  and 
with  immense  jewels  hath  He  adorned  me." 
The  ritual  of  the  ring  succeeds,  followed 
by  the  "  long  benediction,"  during  which 
the  virgins  lie  prostrate.  Before  their 
"  houselling  "  the  bishop  draws  down  their 
veils  over  their  eyes.  After  their  com- 
munion each  gives  up  her  taper  to  the 
bishop,  after  kissing  his  hand,  and  he 
gives  them  all  his  benediction.  Then  the 
abbess  pulls  their  veils  down  beneath  their 
chins,  and  so  they  remain  for  three  days. 
On  the  third  day  after  they  have  communi- 
cated, the  abbess  lifts  up  their  veils,  and 
from  that  time  "  they  shall  were  and  goo 
and  cumme  as  other  of  the  convent  doth." 
(Morone,  "  Dizion.  Eccl."  ;  Maskel,  "  Mon- 
um.  Ritualia,"  1846;  Smith  and  Cheetham.) 

1  Cyclade.  Cyclas  is  "  a  kind  of  garment  named  from  its 
roundness  drawn  in  above  and  full  below."  (See  Ducange, 
who  cites  "  circttrnttxtum  rosea  velamen  acantAo."  /Sn  i. 
649.) 


VESTMENTS. 


189 


Vestmervts. 

Their  Distinctive  Character.     It  was 
the  common  belief  in  the  middle  ages  that 
the  vestments  used  by  the  Church  at  Mass 
and  other  services  were  derived  from  the 
Jewish    temple,  though    Walafrid  Strabo 
had  a  better  notion  of  the  historical  aspect 
of  the  question,  and  affirmed  ("  De  Reb. 
Eccles."  c.   24)  that  Christian  priests  in 
e   early  ages  officiated  in  the  common 
dress  of  daily  life.     Strabo's  view  (with  a 
modification  to  be  mentioned  presently)  is 
.nfirmed,  to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Rock, 
"by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  writers 
who  have  bestowed  much  laborious  research 
upon   the  investigation  of  this  subject " 
(*' Hierurgia,"  p.  414).     No  quotation  can 
be  adduced  from  any  author  of  the  first 
five  centuries  which  so  much  as  alludes  to 
any  difference  in  form  between  the  dress 
of  priests  at  the  altar  and  of  laymen  in 
-  mmon  life.     True,  St   John   (Polycrat. 
apud  Euseb.  "  H,  E."  iil  31,  v.  24 ;  Hieron. 
*•  Vir.  Illustr."  45)  and  St.  James  (Eptphan. 
"  Haer."  Ixxviii.  14)  are  said  to  have  worn 
the     "shining    plate*'    {petalon,    lamina, 
.    .    .    .    )  of  the  Jewish  high  priest :  bnt 
even  were  we  prepared  to  accept  these  testi- 
monies as  literal  statements  of  fact,  they 
would  not  affect  the  question,  for  no  such 
nament  has    ever  found    place  in   the 
-.urch,  and  the  mitre,  which  comes  near- 
1  to  this  "plat^**  was  unknown,  as  has 
-n  already  proved,  for  centuries  after 
e    Apostolic    age.     But    the    strongest 
x)f  will  be  &>und  in  the  articles  on  the 
particular  vestments.    There  it  has  been 


shown  that  the  ecclesiastical  vestments 
had  their  origin  in  the  ordinary  dress  of 
the  Roman  Empire.*  It  was  after  the  fall 
of  the  empire  that  the  fashion  in  ordinary 
attire  underwent  a  revolution,  and  the  garb 
once  common  to  all  became  peculiar  to  the 
servants  of  the  altars,  till  at  last  the  very 
memory  of  its  original  use  was  obscured. 
This  obscuration  was,  as  we  should  expect, 
gradual  Walafrid  Strabo,  as  we  have  said, 
in  the  ninth  century  understood  the  true 
state  of  the  case,  and  another  writer  of  the 
same  age — viz.  Anastasius  ("In  ViL  S, 
Stephani,"  cf.  Baron  "AnnaL"  ad  ann. 
260,  n.  6)  — was  not  wholly  ignorant  of  it, 
for  he  says  of  Pope  Stephen :  "He 
ordained  that  priests  and  Levites  should 
not  use  the  consecrated  vestments  in  com- 
mon life,  but  only  in  the  church.*' 

Long,  however,  before  the  ecclesiastical 
vestments  were  distinguished  by  their  form 
from  those  in  common  use,  certain  gar- 
ments were  reserved  for  the  officiating 
clergy,  and  though  these  were  identical  in 
form  with  the  ordinary  garb,  they  were 
often  no  doubt  of  costlier  material  The 
Apostolic  Constitutions  (viiL  12)  describe 
the  bishop  as  clothed  in  a  "  shining  vest- 
ment'* (Jantpran  estketa  tneUndus),  and 
we  may  perhaps  take  this  as  evidence  for 
the  practice  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  or 
b^;inning  of  the  fifth  century.  A  little 
earlier,   Jerome    ("In  Ezech."  idiv.    17), 

1  The  ab  jad  pnJIcv  vliiA  ^'^  icallf  MMt  Jfte  JcwM 
inlMiati,  had  a  panff  fcodar  «rf^;«idtkeafc  b  taf: 
mariudm  aChank  4na»hf€ma€bmaUwkUh  feMddetia 
faMc  tte  SMW  aftmcMMMi  fifeaad  iaClMfcfcu  Jooaw 
(E1PJ64}  ifM»  FaftMfe  am  cbhnate  aecmmt  tt  fhe  JortA 
tvflkeHe«faaalnB 


IQO 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


speaking  of  the  vestments  of  the  Jewish 
priests,  adds :  "  Thence  we  learn  that  we 
should  not  enter  the  holy  of  holies  with 
common  attire  or  in  any  sort  of  dirty  dress, 
such  as  will  do  for  daily  life,  but  that  we 
should  with  clean  conscience  and  in  clean 
attire  handle  the  mysteries  of  the  Lord." 
It  is  not  easy  to  decide  how  far  this  pas- 
sage is  to  betaken  literally.^  Anyhow,  we 
learn  from  Theodoret  ("  H.E."  ii.  23)  that 
Constantine  gave  Macarius,  bishop  of  Jeru- 
salem, "a  sacred  dress  '\hieran  stolen)  "of 
gold  thread  "  —  i.  e.  a  dress  of  the  common 
form,  but  of  very  costly  material  and 
intended  exclusively  for  use  in  church. 
It  is  very  uncertain  when  the  blessing  of 
ecclesiastical  vestments  was  introduced, 
but  we  find  a  form  for  that  purpose,  very 
like  the  one  now  used,  in  the  Gregorian 
Sacramentary.  (See  the  reprint  in  Migne, 
"  Patrol."  Ixxviii.  p.  157.)  The  Council  of 
Poitiers,  a.d.  i  100,  can.  4  (Mansi,  xx.  1 123), 
forbids  any  one  not  a  bishop  to  give  this 
blessing,  and  Innocent  III,  ("Altar  Myst." 
i.  9)  lays  down  the  same  rule.  It  is  still 
in  force,  though  bishops  constantly  dele- 
gate the  power  to  simple  priests. 

At  first  the  vestments  were  of  one 
color  —  viz.  white.  Thus,  when  Pelagius 
alleged  that  all  splendor  in  dress  was 
irreligious,  Jerome  ("Adv.  Pelag."  i.  n. 
39)  charges  him  with  exaggeration,  and 
asks  what  harm  there  was  in  wearing  "  a 
tunic  particularly  clean"  {tunicam  mun- 
diorem),   what   objection    could  be    made. 


1  It  is  dear,  however,  from  the  passage  quoted  further  on 
in  this  article,  that  Jerome  was  familiar  with  the  use  of  special 
restmeats  by  the  clergy  in  church. 


"if  bishop,  priest,  and  deacon,  and  the 
rest  of  the  clergy  appeared  at  the  admin- 
istration of  the  sacrifice  in  white  array " 
{Candida  veste processerit).  So  Gregory  of 
Tours  ("De  Gloria  Conf."  c.  20)  describes 
the  band  of  "  priests  and  Levites  in  white 
vestments."  Black  was  sometimes  used 
in  sign  of  mourning  (Theodore  Lector, 
lib.  I,  excerpt  quoted  by  Hefele).  Even 
Pseudo-Alcuin,  in  the  tenth  or  eleventh 
century,  knows  only  of  white  vestments, 
except  that  he  speaks  of  the  scarlet 
stripes  on  the  deacon's  dalmatic  ("  Divin. 
Offic."  c.  40),  and  of  the  use  of  black 
vestments  during  the  litany  and  procession 
on  the  P^east  of  the  Purification  (c.  7). 
Innocent  III.  is  the  first  to  mention  four 
colors  —  viz.  white,  which  the  Roman 
Church  employs  on  feasts  of  confessors, 
virgins,  and  on  joyful  solemnities  generally; 
red,  used  on  the  feasts  of  martyrs,  of  the 
cross  (though  then  perhaps  white  is  to  be 
preferred),  and  on  Whitsunday,  by  some 
also  on  All  Saints,  but  not  by  the  Curia 
Romana,  in  which  white  is  the  color  ; 
black,  used  in  penitential  seasons  and 
Masses  for  the  dead ;  green,  used  on 
common  days,  because  "  midway  between 
black  and  white."  He  regards  violet, 
which  is  now  the  penitential  color,  as  a 
mere  variety  of  black,  and  says  the  former 
was  used  on  Holy  Innocents  and  Laetare 
Sunday.  So  scarlet  and  saffron-yellow 
(coccineus  et  croceus)  are  varieties  of  red 
and  green.  Rose-colored  vestments,  he 
says,  were  sometimes  used  on  feasts  of 
martyrs,  and  yellow  ones  on  feasts  of 
confessors    ("Altar.    Myst."   i.  65).       At 


VESTMENTS. 


191 


present  yellow  counts  as  white,  and  rose- 
colored  vestments  are  only  used  at  solemn 
Mass  on  the  third  Sunday  in  Advent  and 
fourth  in  Lent. 

Bishops,  when  they  celebrate  pontifically, 
take  their  vestments  from  the  altar ;  simple 
priests  put  them  on  in  the  sacristy.  But 
this  distinction  is  probably  not  very  ancient, 
for  even  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  it  was  common  custom  for 
priests,  at  least  in  England,  to  vest  in  the 
sanctuary.  (Maskell,  "  Ancient  Liturgy 
of  the  Church  of  England,"  p.  219.)  The 
present  law  on  the  use  of  vestments  at 
Mass  is  very  strict,  and  many  theologians 
(see  Benedict  XIV.  "De  Miss."  iii.  7, 
i)  believe  that  no  cause  whatever  will 
excuse  a  priest  from  observing  it.  (The 
chief  recent  authorities  are  Bock,  "  Gesch. 
der  Liturg.  Gewander "  ;  Hefele,  in  his 
"Beitrage,"  ii.  p.  150  seq.\  Wharton 
Marriott,  "Vestiarium  Christianum.") 

Dolours  of  Blessed  Virgirv. 

St.  John  mentions  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  with  other  holy  women  and  with 
St.  John,  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  cross 
when  the  other  apostles  had  fled.  At  that 
time  the  prophecy  of  Simeon,  "  a  sword 
will  pierce  thine  own  soul,"  was  most 
perfectly  fulfilled  :  and  very  naturally  the 
sorrows  of  Mary  have  been  a  favorite 
subject  of  contemplation  with  the  saints, 
among  whom  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Bernard 
deserve  particular  notice.  They  dwell 
specially  on  the   intensity  of  her  mental 


suffering,  and  on  the  supernatural  con- 
stancy with  which  she  endured  it.  The 
famous  hymn  "  Stabat  Mater  "  celebrates 
Mary's  sorrows  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  in 
sublime  language.  The  seven  founders  of 
the  Servite  order,  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  devoted  themselves  to  special 
meditation  on  the  Dolours  of  Mary,  and 
from  them  the  enumeration  of  the  Seven 
Sorrows  (i.  e.  at  the  prophecy  of  Simeon, 
in  the  flight  to  Egypt,  at  the  three  days' 
loss,  at  the  carrying  of  the  cross,  at  the 
crucifixion,  at  the  descent  of  the  cross,  at 
the  entombment)  is  said  to  have  come. 
The  feast  of  the  Dolours  was  instituted 
at  a  Provincial  Council  of  Cologne  in  1423, 
at  the  time  when  the  Hussites  were 
destroying  crucifixes  and  images  of  the 
Mother  of  Sorrows  with  fanatical  zeal. 
Benedict  XIIL,  in  1725,  caused  this  feast 
to  be  celebrated  in  the  States  of  the 
Church  on  the  Friday  after  Passion  Sun- 
day. This  feast  is  now  observed  as  a 
greater  double  throughout  the  Church. 
Pius  VII.,  in  1 8 14,  directed  that  a  second 
feast  of  the  Dolours  should  be  kept  on 
the  third  Sunday  of  September.  In 
allusion  to  her  seven  sorrows,  the  Blessed 
Virgin  is  represented  in  art  transfixed  by 
seven  swords.  (Benedict  XIV.  "  De 
Festis";  "  Manuale  Decret.") 


DorT\ir\e,  |lor\  Sum  Digr\us. 

"  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou 
shouldst  enter  under  my  roof,  but  only 
speak  with  a  word,  and  my  soul   will   be 


192 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


healed."  Words  used  by  the  priest  before 
communicating,  and  again  before  giving 
communion  to  the  people.  The  custom 
of  employing  this  prayer  before  com- 
munion is  alluded  to  by  Origen  and 
Chrysostom.  It  is  adapted  from  the 
prayer  of  the  centurion  in  Matt.  viii.  8. 

GKrisn\. 

OLrvE  oil  mixed  with  balm,  blessed  by 
the  bishop  and  used  by  the  Church  in 
confirmation  as  well  as  in  baptism,  ordina- 
tion, consecration  of  altar-stones,  chalices, 
churches,  and  in  the  blessing  of  baptismal 
water.  The  oil,  according  to  the  Roman 
Catechism,  signifies  the  fulness  of  grace, 
since  oil  is  diffusion  ;  the  balm  mixed  with 
it,  incorruption  and  the  "good  odor  of 
Christ." 

In  itself  the  word  chrism  {chrismd)  need 
not  mean  more  than  "  anything  smeared 
on";  but  even  in  classical  writers  it 
denotes  especially  a  scented  unguent,  while 
the  common  oil  was  called  elaion.  It  was 
this  simple,  unperfumed  oil  which  was 
used  in  the  earliest  times  for  sacred 
purposes,  but  from  the  sixth  century  oil 
mixed  with  balm  began  to  be  employed. 
This  balm  {balsamos,  in  the  classics 
opobalsamo7i )  is  a  kind  of  perfumed  resin, 
produced  by  a  tree  which  grows  in  Judaea 
and  Arabia.  This  Eastern  balm  was 
always  used  in  the  West  till  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  Paul  III.  and  Pius  IV. 
permitted  the  use  of  a  better  kind  of  balm, 
brought  by  the  Spaniards  from  the  West 


Indies.  The  Orientals  did  not  content 
themselves  with  simply  mixing  balm. 
Thus  the  Greeks  mingle  forty  different 
spices,  and  the  Maronites,  before  they 
were  re-united  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
prepared  their  chrism  from  oil,  saffron, 
cinnamon,  essence  of  roses,  white  incense, 
etc. 

The  consecration  of  the  oils  during  the 
Mass  goes  back  to  the  earliest  times. 
Cyprian  mentions  it  in  Ep.  70,  addressed 
to  Januarius  ;  and  St.  Basil  attributes  the 
origin  of  this  blessing  to  apostolic  tradi- 
tion. It  of  course  included  chrism  in  the 
strict  sense,  when  that  came  into  use.  In 
the  West  this  blessing  was  always  reserved 
to  bishops ;  in  the  East,  as  may  be  seen 
from  Gear's  "Euchologium,"  it  was  only 
given  by  the  patriarchs.  At  first  the  oils 
used  to  be  blessed  on  any  day  at  Mass, 
but  in  a  letter  of  Pope  Leo  to  the  emperor 
of  the  same  name,  in  the  Synod  of  Toledo 
(490),  and  in  all  the  older  Sacramentaries 
and  ritual-books,  Maunday  Thursday  is 
fixed  for  this  blessing.  It  was  only  in 
France  that  the  custom  survived  of 
blessing  the  oils  on  any  day,  till  uniformity 
with  the  use  of  other  churches  was 
introduced  by  the  Council  of  Meaux,  in 
845.  The  function  took  place  in  the 
second  of  the  three  Masses  which  used  to 
be  said  on  Maunday  Thursday ;  whence 
the  name  "  Missa  Chrismatis."  The 
blessing  of  the  chrism  was  called  **  Bene- 
dictio  chrisntatis  principalis ^  All  the 
clergy  of  the  diocese  used  to  assist,  till, 
in  the  eighth  century,  the  custom  altered, 
and  only  those  who  lived  near  the  cathe- 


CHRISM. 


193 


dral  came,  while  the  others  had  the  holy 
oils  sent  to  them.  The  chrism  used  to  be 
kept  in  a  vessel  like  a  paten  with  a 
depression  in  the  middle.  A  "patena 
chrismalis  "  of  this  kind  is  mentioned  by 
Anastasius,  in  his  Life  of  St.  Sylvester 
(Kraus,  "  Real-Encyclopadie  "). 

Seamless    Coat    of    Our 
SaViour. 

Coat,  the  Holy  ( tunica  iuconsutilis,  der 
heilige  Rock,  la  sainte  Robe).  This  cele- 
brated relic  is  in  the  treasury  of  the 
cathedral  of  Treves,  and  a  very  ancient 
tradition  asserts  it  to  be  identical  with  the 
seamless  coat  which  our  Saviour  wore  at 
the  time  of  His  Passion.  The  empress 
Helena,  having  come  into  possession  of  it 
in  the  Holy  Land,  is  said  to  have  given  it 
to  the  city  of  Treves,  where  she  resided 
for  a  considerable  time.  The  earliest 
written  testimony  to  this  effect  is  found  in 
the"Gesta  Trevirorum,"  a  chronicle  of  the 
first  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  where 
Helena  is  said  to  have  presented  the  relic 
to  the  church  during  the  episcopate  of 
Agritius  (  3 14-334  )•  Several  other  notices 
of  the  Holy  Coat  are  found  in  documents 
mounting  up  to,  or  nearly  to,  the  twelfth 
century.  But  the  most  remarkable  and 
interesting  piece  of  evidence  in  support  of 
the  authenticity  of  the  relic,  is  an  ancient 
ivory  belonging  to  the  cathedral  ( lost  for 
some  time,  but  recovered  in  1844),  on 
which  the  empress  is  figured,  seated  at 
the  church  door,  and  awaiting  the  arrival 


of  a  procession  closed  by  a  chariot  in  which 
are  two  ecclesiastics  guarding  a  chest. 
Above  the  chariot  is  the  face  of  Christ,  by 
which  some  relation  between  our  Lord 
and  the  contents  of  the  chest  seems  to  be 
indicated.  This  ivory  was  examined  by 
the  Archaeological  Society  of  Frankfort  in 
1846,  with  the  result  of  fixing  its  date  at 
the  end  of  the  fourth  or  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century. 

We  read  of  the  translation  of  the  relic 
from  the  choir  to  the  high  altar  of  the 
cathedral  in  1196.  After  an  interval  of 
more  than  three  hundred  years,  it  was 
exposed  in  15 12,  and  on  several  other 
occasions  in  the  sixteenth  century,  for  the 
veneration  of  the  faithful.  During  the 
wars  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  it  was  deposited  for  safety  in 
the  castle  of  Ehrenbreitstein,  or  at  Augs- 
burg. In  1 8 10,  with  the  permission  of 
Napoleon,  the  bishop  of  Treves,  Mgr.  • 
Mannay,  brought  the  sacred  relic  back 
from  Augsburg  to  his  own  city,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  confusion  of  the  times,  a  mul- 
titude of  pilgrims,  numbering  over  two 
hundred  thousand,  visited  Treves  to  cel- 
ebrate this  joyful  restoration.  But  the 
most  striking  and  successful  exposition 
was  that  of  1844,  when  eleven  bishops 
and  more  than  a  million  of  the  laity  flocked 
to  Treves  from  all  sides  during  the  period 
(from  August  18  to  October  6)  for  which 
the  Holy  Coat  was  exhibited.  Several 
miraculous  cures  were  reported,  and  the 
joy  and  piety  of  the  believing  throng  must 
have  been  a  very  moving  sight.  Certain 
unstable  Catholics  with  a  secret  leaning  to 


'94 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


rationalism,  took  offence  at  the  proceed- 
ings and  wrote  against  the  authenticity  of 
the  Holy  Coat.  Among  these  were  Czer- 
ski,  an  ecclesiastic  from  Posen,  and  Ronge, 
a  suspended  priest  of  Breslau.  A  long  con- 
troversy arose,  in  the  course  of  which  these 
men  seceded  from  the  Church  and  founded 
a  sect  which  they  called  the  "  German  Cath- 
olic Church."  The  movement  made  a  great 
noise  at  the  time,  but  is  now  seldom 
heard  of.  The  well-known  Catholic  writer, 
Gorres,  published  a  pamphlet  on  the  ques- 
tion, entitled  "  The  Pilgrimage  of  Treves," 
in  1845. 

(This  notice  follows  the  article  in  Wet- 
zer  and  Welte,  by  J.  Marx,  the  author  of 
several  works  bearing  on  the  history  of 
the  relic.) 

TKe    Pope's    Tiara. 

The  tiara  is  a  cylindrical  head-dress 
pointed  at  the  top  and  surrounded  with 
three  crowns,  which  the  Pope  wears  as  a 
symbol  of  sovereignty.  The  word  {tiara) 
occurs  in  the  classics  to  denote  the  Persian 
head-dress,  particularly  that  of  the  "  great 
king."  In  the  Vulgate  it  is  a  synonym  of 
cidaris  and  miira,  and -is  used  for  the  tur- 
ban of  the  high  priest  (Exod.  xxviii.  4),  or 
of  the  common  priest.  Till  late  in  the 
middle  ages  tiara  was  a  synonym  of  miira, 
a  bishop's  mitre,  regnum  being  the  word 
for  crown  (Ducange,  sub  voc). 

The  whole  history  of  the  Papal  tiara  is 
uncertain.  Nicolas  I.  (858-867)  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  to  unite  the  princely 
crown  with  the  mitre,  though  the  Bolland- 


ists  think  this  was  done  before  his  time 
(BoUandists,  "Thesaur."  vol.  ii.  p.  323, 
quoted  by  Hefele).  The  common  state- 
ment that  Boniface  VIII.  (about  1300) 
added  the  second  crown,  is  false,  for  Hefele 
shows  that  Innocent  III.  is  represented 
wearing  the  second  crown  in  a  painting 
older  than  the  time  of  Boniface.  Urban 
V.  (1362-70)  is  supposed  to  have  added 
the  third  crown.  The  tiara  is  placed  on 
the  Pope's  head  at  his  coronation  by  the 
second  cardinal  deacon  in  the  loggia  of 
St.  Peter's  with  the  words,  "  Receive  the 
tiara  adorned  with  three  crowns,  and  know 
that  thou  art  Father  of  princes  and  kings, 
Ruler  of  the  world.  Vicar  of  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ."  At  ceremonies  of  a  purely 
spiritual  character  the  Pope  wears  the 
mitre,  not  the  tiara.  (Hefele,  "  Beitrage," 
vol.  ii.  p.  236  seq).  * 

Qvjinqvjagesima. 

QuiNQUAGESiMA,  Sexagesima,  Septua- 
gesima,  the  first,  second,  third,  Sundays 
before  Lent.  The  words  are  ancient  (Sep- 
tuagesima  occurs  in  the  Gelasian  and  Gre- 
gorian Sacramentaries) ;  but  it  is  hard  to 
divine  their  meaning.  .  Alcuin  proposed 
two  solutions  to  Charlemagne  (Thomassin, 
"Traits  des  Festes,"  p.  308  seg)  —  one 
that  there  are  seventy  days  from  Septua- 
gesima  to  "Pascha  clausum  " — i.  e.  the 
Octave  of  Easter.  This  leaves  the  names 
Sexagesima  and  Quinquagesima  unex- 
plained. His  other  solution  is  adopted  by 
Thomassin  "  (Traite  des  Jeunes,"  p.  231). 
Quoting  a    passage    from    the    "  Regula 


QUINQUAGESIMA. 


195 


Magistri,"  Thomassin  says :  "  It  clearly 
shows  that  the  names  Quinquagesima  and 
Sexagesima  are  not  intended  to  denote  the 
numbers  fifty  or  sixty.  They  have  been 
formed  on  the  [false]  analogy  of  Quadra- 
gesima—  i.  e.  Lent — being  one  and  two 
weeks  before  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent. 
In  the  same  rule  the  second  week  of  Lent 
is  called  Tricesima,  the  third  Vicesima." 
The  custom  of  beginning  the  fast  on 
Septuagesima,  etc.,  and  the  reasons  for  it, 
are  given  in  the  article  on  Lent. 


Lrvcyclical. 

Encyclical  {litem  encyciicce).  A  cir- 
cular letter.  In  the  ecclesiastical  sense, 
an  encyclical  is  a  letter  addressed  by  the 
Pope  to  all  the  bishops  in  communion  with 
him,  in  which  he  condemns  prevalent 
errors,  or  informs  them  of  impediments 
which  persecution,  or  perverse  legislation 
or  administration,  opposes  in  particular 
countries  to  the  fulfilment  by  the  Church 
of  her  divine  mission,  or  explains  the  line 
of  conduct  which  Christians  ought  to  take 
in  reference  to  urgent  practical  questions, 
such  as  education,  or  the  relations  between 
Church  and  State,  or  the  liberty  of  the 
Apostolic  See.  Encyclicals  are  "  published 
for  the  whole  Church,  and  addressed 
directly  to  the  bishops,  under  circum- 
stances which  are  afflicting  to  the  entire 
Catholic  body ;  while  briefs  and  bulls  are 
determined   by   circumstances    more  par- 

Iticular   in  their  nature,  and   have   a  more 
special  destination." 
_ 


In  early  times  the  use  of  the  Ifrm  was 
not  restricted  as  at  present ;  thus,  the 
well-known  letter  of  the  Church  of 
Smyrna,  describing  the  martyrdom  of 
Poly  carp,  is  headed  Epistole  egkuklikos,  a 
circular  letter ;  and  the  same  designation 
was  given  by  St.  Cyprian  to  his  letters  on 
the  Lapsi.     (Ferraris,  EpisiolcB^  §  15.) 


/\postac\j. 


It  is  of  three  kinds  :  that  from  the 
Christian  faith ;  that  from  ecclesiastical 
obedience ;  and  that  from  a  religious 
profession,  or  from  holy  orders.  An 
apostate  from  the  faith  is  one  who  wholly 
abandons  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  joins 
himself  to  some  other  law,  such  as  Judaism, 
Islam,  Paganism,  etc.  It  is  a  mistake, 
therefore,  to  brand  as  apostacy  any  kind 
of  heresy  or  schism,  however  criminal  or 
absurd,  which  still  assumes  to  itself  the 
Christian  name.  While  the  Turks  were  in 
the  heyday  of  their  power,  and  had  great 
command  over  the  Mediterranean,  the 
captivity  of  Christians  among  them,  and 
apostacy  resulting  from  such  captivity, 
were  matters  of  everyday  occurrence ; 
hence  a  great  number  of  decisions  and 
opinions  respecting  the  treatment  of 
apostates,  on  their  wishing  to  return  to 
Christianity,  may  be  found  in  the  writings 
of  canonists.  The  second  kind  of 
apostacy,  that  from  ecclesiastical  obedience, 
is  when  a  Catholic  wilfully  and  contuma- 
ciously sets  at  nought  the  authority  of  the 
Church.      Such   apostacy,    if  persisted  in, 


196 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


becomes  Schism  [^.  v\  The  third  kind  is 
that  of  those  who  abandon  without  per- 
mission the  religious  order  in  which  they 
are  professed,  as  when  Luther  abandoned 
his  profession  as  an  Augustinian,  and 
married  Catherine  Bora.  He  is  also  an 
apostate  who,  after  having  received  major 
orders,  renounces  his  clerical  profession, 
and  returns  to  the  dress  and  customs  of  the 
world,  "  an  act  which  entails  ecclesiastical 
infamy,  and,  if  there  is  a  marriage,  excom- 
munication." (Ferraris,  "Apostasia"; 
Mack's  article  in  Wetzer  and  Welte.) 


Coadjutor. 


One  <vho  helps  a  prelate,  or  a  priest 
holding  a  benefice,  in  discharging  the 
duties  of  his  bishopric  or  benefice.  Coad- 
jutorship  may  be  of  two  kinds :  one 
temporary  and  revocable,  allowed  on 
account  of  sickness  or  other  incapacity, 
and  implying  no  right  of  succession ;  the 
other  perpetual  and  irrevocable,  and 
carrying  with  it  the  right  to  succeed  the 
person  coadjuted.  In  this  latter  sense  it 
is  expressly  forbidden  by  the  Council  of 
Trent ;  nevertheless  the  Pope,  for  special 
causes,  sometimes  concedes  it,  the  plen- 
titude  of  his  apostolic  power  enabling  him 
legally  to  dispense  with  the  law.  If  a 
coadjutor  is  required  for  a  parish  priest, 
it  is  for  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  to 
nominate  one ;  if  for  a  bishop,  the  nomi- 
nation belongs  to  the  Pope,  any  usage  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  In  the 
case   of  a  priest,  if  the  incapacity   is  tem- 


porary or  curable,  he  must  appoint  a  vicaf 
or  substitute,  not  a  coadjutor.  The  various 
infirmities  which  justify  coadjutorship  — 
serious  and  incurable  illness,  leprosy,  loss 
of  speech,  etc.  — are  specified  in  the  canon 
law.  In  the  case  of  a  bishop,  the  terms 
"administrator"  and  "suffragan"  mean 
much  the  same  as  coadjutor,  the  differences 
being,  that  the  administrator's  function 
ceases  when  the  bishop  resumes  charge  of 
the  diocese  or  dies,  and  a  suflfragan  assists 
the  bishop  in  things  which  relate  to  his 
ministry,  but  has  no  jurisdiction  ;  while  a 
coadjutor  has  jurisdiction,  and  his  rights 
may,  as  we  have  seen,  by  special  Papal 
permission,  subsist  after  the  death  of  the 
coadjuted.  Various  points  affecting  the 
precedence,  dignity,  and  ceremonial  attach- 
ing to  a  coadjutor  bishop,  have  been  settled 
from  time  to  time  by  the  Congregation  of 
Rites.     (Ferraris,  Coadjutor) 


J^apal    Bull. 


A  Papal  Bull  is  so  named  from  the 
Bulla  (or  round  leaden  seal,  having  on  one 
side  a  representation  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  on  the  other  the  name  of  the 
reigning  Pope),  which  is  attached  to  the 
document  (by  a  silken  cord,  if  it  be  a 
"  Bull  of  Grace,"  and  by  one  of  hemp  if  a 
"  Bull  of  Justice  " ),  and  gives  authenticity 
to  it.  Bulls  are  engrossed  on  strong, 
rough  parchment  in  gothic  characters,  and 
begin  "  [Leo]  Episcopus  servus  servorum 
Dei  ad  perpetuam  rei  menjoriam.'*  A  bull 
is  dated  "a  die  Incarnationis,'''  and  signed 


PAPAL  BULL. 


197 


by  the  functionaries  of  the  Papal  Chan- 
cery. It  is  a  document  of  a  more  formal 
and  weighty  character  than  a  brief,  and 
many  memorable  Papal  decisions  and 
condemnations  have  been  given  in  this 
form,  such  as  the  bull  "  Unam  Sanctam  " 
of  Boniface  VIII.,  the  bull  "Unigenitus" 
of  Clement  XL,  etc.,  etc. 


jpapal    Brief. 


A  Papal  Brief  is  a  letter  issuing  from 
the  Court  of  Rome,  written  on  fine  parch- 
ment in  modern  characters,  subscribed  by 
the  Pope's  Secretary  of  Briefs,  dated  *'  a 
die  Nativitatis^''  and  sealed  with  the  Pope's 
signet-ring — the  seal  of  the  Fisherman. 
[See  Bull.] 


Acolyte. 


Acolyte,  from  akolontheo,  to  follow; 
and  here,  to  follow  as  a  server  or  minis- 
trant ;  a  name  given  to  the  highest  of  the 
four  minor  orders.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
acolyte  to  supply  wine  and  water,  and  to 
carry  the  lights  at  the  Mass ;  and  the 
bishop  ordains  him  for  these  functions  by 
putting  the  cruets  and  a  candle  into  his 
hand,  accompanying  the  action  with  words 
indicating  the  nature  of  the  office  con- 
ferred. The  order  of  Acolyte  is  men- 
tioned along  with  the  others  by  Pope 
Cornelius  in  the  middle  of  the  third 
century.  Their  ordination  is  mentioned 
in  an   ancient    collection   of  canons  com- 


monly, though  wrongly,  attributed  to  the 
Fourth  Council  of  Carthage.  The  func- 
tions of  acolytes  are  now  freely  performed 
by  laymen,  though  the  order  is  still  always 
received  by  those  who  aspire  to  the 
priesthood. 


Pulpit. 


The  old  custom  was  to  preach  from  the 
altar  or  episcopal  chair.  But  apparently, 
even  in  St,  Augustine's  time,  the  ambo, 
originally  meant  f(5r  readers  and  singers, 
and  large  enough  to  hold  several  persons 
easily,  was  used  for  preaching,  and  so  was 
raised  and  narrowed  into  the  form  of  the 
pulpit.  It  should  be  placed  on  the  Gospel 
side  (S.  C.  R.,  Feb.  20,  1862),  unless  that 
side  is  already  occupied  by  the  bishop's 
throne.  The  bishop,  according  to  the 
"  Caer.  Episc,"  should  preach,  if  possible, 
from  the  throne  or  from  a  faldstool  at  the 
altar.  If  this  is  inconvenient,  he  should 
be  accompanied  to  the  pulpit  by  the  two 
canons  who  assist  at  the  throne.  (Mon- 
tault,  "  Traite  de  la  Construct.,  etc.,  des 
Eglises."  ) 


Bervedi 


erveaicarrwjs 


D 


orT\ir\o. 


Benedicamus  Domino,  i.  e.  "  Let  us 
bless  the  Lord,"  a  form  used  in  the 
Breviary  at  the  end  of  each  hour  except 
Matins,  and  at  the  end  of  Mass  instead  of 
Ite  Missa  est  on  days  when  the  Gloria  in 
excelsis  is  not  said.  Various  reasons  are 
given  for  the  use  of  Benedicamus  Domino 


198 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


for  the  usual  Ite  Missa  est.  Cardinal  Bona 
thinks  that  the  Ite  Missa  est  was  omitted 
first  of  all  during  penitential  seasons,  such 
as  Advent  and  Lent,  because  then  the 
people  did  not  immediately  leave  the 
church,  but  waited  for  the  recitation  of 
the  hours,  and  that  gradually  the  Benedica- 
mus  Dommo  came  to  be  used  in  ferial 
Masses  generally.  In  Masses  for  the 
dead,  Requiescat  in  pace  took  the  place  of 
the  Ite  Missa  est,  perhaps  because  the 
people  often  had  to  remain  for  the  funeral 
rites.    (Benedict  XIV.  "De  Miss."  ii.  24.) 

Julian    arvd  Qregoriarv  Gal- 
erxdar. 

Julius  Caesar,  in  the  year  708  of  the 
city,  caused  the  civil  calendar,  which  had 
fallen  into  confusion,  to  be  reformed  by 
dividing  the  year  into  twelve  months,  each 
with  the  same  number  of  days  as  at  pres- 
ent, and  providing  that  an  additional  day 
should  be  given  to  February  m  every 
fourth  year,  in  order  that  the  natural 
year,  which  was  believed  to  be  365  days 
six  hours  in  length,  might  keep  even  pace 
with  the  legal  year.  But  as  the  real 
excess  of  the  time  taken  in  the  solar  revo- 
lution over  365  days  does  not  amount  to 
six  hours,  but  only  to  five  hours  and  forty- 
nine  minutes  (nearly),  it  was  an  inevitable 
consequence  of  the  disregard  of  this  fact 
that  the  addition  of  nearly  forty-four  min- 
utes   too    much    every    leap-year   should 


again  in  course  of  time  make  the  natural     arrear  of  the  rest  of  Europe 


and  civil  years  disagree.     The  accumulated 
error  caused   the  difference   of  a   day   in 
about  134  years;  thus  the  vernal  equinox, 
which  in  the  year  of  the  Council  of  Nicaea 
(325)  fell,  as  it  ought  to  fall,  on  March  21, 
in  1582  occurred   ten    days   earlier.     But 
since    Easter  ought   to   be  kept   on   the 
Sunday  after  the  first  full-moon  following 
the  vernal  equinox,  it  is  obvious  that,  with 
so  serious  a  difference   between   the   real 
equinox  and  the  equinox  of  the  calendar, 
Easter  might  easily  be  kept  a  month  too 
late ;  the   Paschal   full-moon   might   have 
occurred  on  some  day  between  March  1 1 
(the  (late  of  the  real  equinox)  and  March 
21,  but  be  disregarded  in  favor  of  the  next 
full-moon,  which  fell  after  the  equinox  of 
the  calendar.     Gregory  XIII.,  consulting 
with  men  of  science,  effectually  remedied 
the  evil,  and   provided   against   its  recur- 
rence.    He  ordered  that  the  days  between 
October  4  and  October  1 5   in  the  current 
year   (1582)    should    be    suppressed,    and 
that,   beginning  with  1700,  three  out   of 
every  four  centesimal  leap-years — 1700, 
1800,    1900,   but    not    2CX)0  —  should    be 
omitted,  so  that  those  years  should  have 
only   365,   not   366,  days.      This   change, 
having    originated    at    Rome,    was    long 
resisted   in    Protestant  countries,   and    in 
English-speaking    countries    not   adopted 
until  175 1,  by  which  time  the  accumulated 
error  amounted  to  eleven  days  ;  these  days 
were  suppressed  between  September  2  and 
14,  1752.  In  Russia  the  Julian  Calendar  is 
still  adhered  to,  with  the  result  that  their 
computation  of  time  is  now  twelve  days  in 


PVI/A  T  AN  INFIDEL  IS. 


199 


WKat  ^7\  Ipvfidel  Is. 

One  who  is  not  among  the  fideles^  the 
faithful  of  Chnst,  Popularly  the  term  is 
applied  to  all  who  reject  Christianity  as  a 
divine  revelation.  In  order  to  reject  it, 
they  must  have  heard  of  it  ;  those,  there- 
fore, who  have  never  heard  of  Christianity, 
are  not  in  proper  language  called  infidels, 
but  heathens,  though  they  are  included 
under  the  theological  term  "  infideles." 
Nor  are  heretics,  even  Unitarians,  to  be 
called  infidels,  for  they  do  accept  the 
religion  of  Christ  as  divinely  revealed, 
however  erroneous  or  fantastic  their 
notion  as  to  the  nature  of  the  revelation 
may  be. 


Privileged  /\ltar. 

An  altar,  such  as  the  seven  privileged 
altars  in  St.  Peter's,  by  visiting  which 
certain  indulgences  may  be  gained. 


(2)  An  altar  at  which  Votive  Masses 
may  be  said  even  on  certain  feasts  which 
are  doubles.  There  are  often  altars  of 
this  kind  at  places  of  pilgrimage. 

(3)  Altars  with  a  plenary  indulgence 
for  one  soul  in  purgatory  attached  to  all 
Masses  said  at  them  for  the  dead.  The 
privilege  continues,  even  if  a  new  altar  be 
erected,  provided  it  be  in  the  same  place 
and  under  the  same  title.  All  altars  are 
privileged  on  All  Souls'  Day.  Sometimes 
the  privilege  is  personal  —  i.  e.  a  priest 
may  have  the  privilege  of  gaining  the 
plenary  indulgence  always,  or  on  certain 
occasions,  when  he  offers  Mass  for  the 
dead,  without  respect  to  the  altar  at  which 
he  says  it.  The  local  privilege  is  only 
granted  to  fixed  altars,  the  personal  may 
be  used  even  at  portable  altars.  The 
Mass  must  be  a  Requiem  Mass,  if  the 
rubrics  permit  it  to  be  said  on  that  day. 
This  privilege  is  not  withdrawn  in  the 
general  suspension  of  indulgences  during  a 
jubilee.  (Probst,  art.  Altar ,  in  the  new 
edition  of  the  "  Kirchenlexikon.") 


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8«- 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


ALTAR. 


ME  Hebrew  word  .  .  .  which 
is  usually  translated  "altar," 
means  literally,  "a  place  for 
sacrifice " ;  and  in  the  New 
Testament  its  equivalent  is  t/m- 
siasterion.  The  sacred  writers 
avoid  the  common  Greek  word  for  altar, 
bomos}  "  a  raised  place,"  adopting  the 
unclassical  word  thusiasterion,  because  by 
doing  so  they  avoided  the  heathen  asso- 
ciations connected  with  the  common  Greek 
term,  besides  expressing  much  more  dis- 
tinctly the  purpose  of  sacrifice  for  which 
an  altar  is  built.  Whether  the  Christian 
altar  is  mentioned  by  name  in  the  Bible  is 
doubtful.  There  is  some  ground  for  sup- 
posing that  it  is  referred  to  in  Matt.  v.  23, 
and  in  Hebrews  xiii.  10.  It  has  been 
argued  that  when  our  Lord  imposes  a  pre- 
cept of  forgiveness  before  the  gift  is  pre- 
sented at  the  altar,  He  did  not  mean  to 
give  the  Jews  a  new  law  with  regard  to 
their  sacrifices,  which  were  soon  to  pass 
away,   but   to   establish    the    indissoluble 

1  Bdmos  occurs  only  once  in  the  New  Testament,  and  then 
tf  a  heathen  altar ;  Acts  xvii.  ? 


connection  between  the  Eucharistic  Sacri- 
fice of  His  Church  and  brotherly  love. 
Similarly,  it  is  urged  that  when  the  writer 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  asserts  "we 
have  an  altar,  of  which  they  have  no  right 
to  eat  who  serve  the  tabernacle,"  he  is 
setting  altar  against  altar,  and  declaring 
the  impossibility  of  partaking  in  the  Jew- 
ish sacrificial  feastings  and  joining  at  the 
same  time  in  the  sacrificial  banquet  of  the 
new  law.  It  is  certainly  difficult  to  under- 
stand the  "altar"  as  the  altar  of  the  cross, 
which  is  never  once  called  an  altar  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  though,  of  course, 
an  altar  it  indisputably  is,  still  nobody  ate 
of  the  sacrifice  offered  on  it.  At  the 
same  time,  these  interpretations  are  by  no 
means  held  by  all  Catholic  commentators.^ 
However  it  may  stand  with  the  name, 
the  existence  of  the  thing  is  implied  in 
the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  sacrifice 
[see  Mass],  and  the  name  occurs  in  the 
very  earliest  Christian  writers.     "  There  is 


1  Maldonatus  ignores  that  given  above,  of  Matt.  v.  23, 
Estius,  following  St.  Thomas,  distinctly  rejects  that  of  Hebb 
xiii.  10. 


/tLTAR. 


20I 


one  flesh,"  says  St.  Ignatius,  the  disciple 
of  St.  John,  "  one  flesh  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  one  chalice  for  union  with  His 
blood,  one  altar  {thusiasierion),  as  one 
bishop."  ^  So  TertuUian  describes  Chris- 
tians as  standing  at  "the  altar  of  God"2j 
and  the  same  word  "altar  "  is  used  in  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions  and  in  the  ancient 
liturgies.  These  testimonies  are  in  no 
way  weakened  by  passages  in  Minucius 
Felix  and  Arnobius,  who  in  their  contro- 
versies with  Pagans  deny  the  existence  of 
Christian  altars.  Obviously  they  deny 
that  altars  such  as  the  Pagan  ones  were  in 
use  among  Christians ;  just  as  one  of 
these  authors  allows  that  there  were  no 
temples  among  Christians,  though  churches 
are  distinctly  recognized  in  the  edicts  of 
the  Diocletian  era,  and  are  known  to  have 
existed  at  a  still  earlier  date.'^ 

In  early  times  the  altar  was  more  usually 
of  wood ;  and  an  altar  of  this  kind  is  still 
preserved  in  the  church  of  St.  John  Lat- 
eran  at  Rome,  on  which  St.  Peter  is  said 
to  have  celebrated  Mass.^  But  the  tombs 
of  martyrs  in  the  Catacombs  and  elsewhere 
were  also  used  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  the 
slab  of  marble  which  covered  the  sepul- 
chre serving  as  the  altar-table ;  and  for 
almost  fourteen  centuries,  that  part  of  the 
altar  on  which  the  Eucharist  is  consecrated 
has  always  been  of  stone  or  marble.  After 
the  time  of  Constantine,  when  sumptuous 

1  Philad.  4. 

2  De  Or  at.  19. 

s  Cardinal  Newman's  Development,  27. 

<  It  is  enclosed  in  the  Papal  altar  of  this  church,  except  a 
portion  of  it,  which  is  preserved  in  the  church  of  St.  Puden- 
tiana:  so,  at  least,  says  the  writer  of  the  article  "Altar"  in 
Kraus'  Real  Encydop'ddie. 


churches  were  erected,  careful  arrange^ 
ments  were  made  for  the  position  of  the 
altar.  It  did  not  lean,  as  it  often  does 
now,  against  the  sanctuary  wall,  but  stood 
out  with  a  space  round  it,  so  that  the 
bishop,  when  celebrating  Mass,  looked 
towards  the  people.  Thus  the  altar  looked 
in  the  same  direction  as  the  portals  of  the 
church,  and  often  both  were  turned  towards 
the  east.  This  ancient  arrangement  is 
still  exemplified  by  the  "  Papal "  altars  in 
the  Roman  basilicas,  but  particularly  in 
St.  Peter's,  where  the  Pope  still  says  Mass 
on  the  great  festivals,  looking  at  one  and 
the  same  time  to  the  people,  to  the  portals 
of  the  church,  and  to  the  east.^  The  altars 
in  the  Catacombs  were  still  employed,  but 
even  new  altars  were  sanctified  by  relics,  a 
custom  to  which  so  much  importance  was 
attributed  that  St.  Ambrose  would  not 
consecrate  an  altar  till  he  found  relics  to 
place  in  it.  Then,  as  now,  the  altar  wa» 
covered  with  linen  cloths,  which,  as  appears 
from  a  rubric  in  the  Sacramentary  of  St- 
Gelasius,  were  first  blessed  and  conse- 
crated. It  was  surmounted  by  a  canopy, 
supported  by  columns  between  which  veil^ 
or  curtains  were  often  hung,  and  on  great 
festivals  it  was  adorned  with  the  sacred 
vessels  placed  upon  it  in  rows,  and  with 
flowers.  The  cross  was  placed  over  the 
canopy,  or  else  rested  immediately  on  the 
altar  itself.  The  language  and  the  actions 
of  the  early  Christians  alike  bespeak  the 
reverence  in  which  the  altar  was  held.  It 
was  called  "the  holy,"  "the  divine  table," 
"the  altar  of  Christ,"  "the  table   of  the 

1  Rock,  Hierurgia,  497  seq. 


202 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Lord"  The  faithful  bowed  towards  it  as 
they  entered  the  church  ;  it  was  known  as 
the  asulos  trapeza,  or  "  table  of  asylum," 
from  which  not  even  criminals  could  be 
forced  away.^  Finally,  before  the  altar 
was  used,  it  was  solemnly  consecrated  by 
the  bishop  with  the  chrism.  The  date  at 
which  this  custom  was  introduced  cannot 
be  accurately  determined  ;  but  the  Council 
of  Agde,  or  Agatha,  in  Southern  Gaul, 
held  in  the  year  506,  speaks  of  this  custom 
as  familiar  to  everybody.^ 

The  rubrics  prefixed  to  the  Roman 
Missal  contain  the  present  law  of  the 
Church  with  regard  to  the  altar.  It  must 
consist  of  stone,  or  at  least  must  contain 
an  altar-stone  large  enough  to  hold  the 
Host  and  the  greater  part  of  the  chalice ; 
and  this  altar,  or  the  altar-stone,  must  have 
been  consecrated  by  a  bishop,  or  by  an 
abbot  who  has  received  the  requisite 
faculties  from  the  Holy  See.  The  altar  is 
to  be  covered  with  three  cloths,  also 
blessed  by  the  bishop,  or  by  a  priest  with 
special  faculties.  One  of  these  cloths 
should  reach  to  the  ground,  the  other  two 
are  to  be  shorter,  or  else  one  cloth  double 
may  replace  the  two  shorter  ones.  If 
possible,  there  is  to  be  a  "pallium,"  or 
frontal,  on  the  altar,  varying  in  color 
according  to  the  feast  or  season.  A 
crucifix^  is  to  be  set  on  the  altar  between 
two  candle-sticks,  the  Missal  placed  on  a 


1  Synod  of  Orange,  anno  441.  Hefele,  ConcilUngeschichte, 
a.  p.  293. 

2  Hefele,  ibid.  p.  653. 

8  The  rubric  says  only  a  cross,  but  a  crucifix  is  prescribed 
by  subsequent  decrees  of  th«  Congregation  of  Rites.  Liguor. 
Thsel.  Mor.  vi,  n.  393. 


cushion,  at  the  right-hand  side  looking 
towards  the  altar ;  under  the  crucifix  there 
ought  to  be  an  altar  card,i  with  certain 
prayers  which  the  priest  cannot  read  from 
the  Missal  without  inconvenience. 

With  regard  to  the  number  of  altars  in 
a  church,  Gavantus  says  that  originally, 
even  in  the  West,  one  church  contained 
only  one  altar.  On  this  altar,  however, 
the  same  author  continues,  several  Masses 
were  said  on  the  same  day,  in  proof  of 
which  he  appeals  to  the  Sacramentary  of 
Leo.  He  adds  that  even  in  the  fourth 
century  the  Church  of  Milan  contained 
several  altars,  as  appears  from  a  letter  of 
St.  Ambrose,  and  he  quotes  other 
examples  from  the  French  Church  in  the 
sixth  century. 

Altar-Breads. 

Altar-Breads  are  round  wafers  made 
of  fine  wheaten  flour,  specially  prepared 
for  consecration  in  the  Mass.  The  altar- 
breads,  according  to  the  Latin  use 
( followed  also  by  the  Maronites  and 
Armenians),  must  be  unleavened.  They 
are  usually  stamped  with  a  figure  of  Christ 
crucified,  or  with  the  I  H  S.  They  are 
of  two  sizes  :  one  larger,  which  the  priest 
himself  consecrates  and  receives,  or  else 
reserves  for  the  benediction  with  the 
Blessed  Sacrament ;  the  other  smaller, 
consecrated  for  the  communion  of  the 
faithful. 


1  Tabella  secretarum,  in  use  since  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  rubric  mentions  one  under  the  cross,  but  now  two  others 
are  placed,  one  at  each  end  of  the  altar. 


ALTA  R-BREA  DS. 


203 


The  practice  of  stamping  altar-breads 
ivith  the  cross  or  I  H  S  seems  to  be 
ancient  and  is  widely  diffused.  Merati 
mentions  the  fact  that  the  cross  is  stamped 
on  the  altar-breads  used  by  Greek,  Syrian, 
and  Alexandrian  (  Coptic  ? )  Christians. 


/lltar-GIotKs. 


The  rubrics  of  the  Missal  require  three 
fair  cloths  to  be  placed  on  the  altar,  or 
two  cloths,  of  which  one  is  doubled.  They 
must  be  blessed  by  the  bishop,  or  by  a 
priest  with  special  faculties.  In  the 
fourth  century  St.  Optatus  speaks  of  the 
linen  clolh  placed  on  the  altar  as  usual'  in 
his  time,  and  Pope  Sylvester  is  said  to 
have  made  it  a  law  that  the  altar-cloth 
should  be  of  linen.  Mention,  however,  is 
made  by  Paulus  Silentiarius  of  purple 
altar-cloths,  and,  in  fact,  both  the  material 
and  the  number  of  these  cloths  seem  to 
have  varied  in  early  times.  ( See  Rock, 
"Ilierurgia,"  p.  503  ;  Kraus,  "  Archaeol, 
Diet." — Altartiicher) 


/\rT\bo. 


Ambo  ( Gr.  anabainein,  to  ascend).  A 
raised  platform  in  the  nave  of  early  Chris- 
tian churches,  surrounded  by  a  low  wall ; 
steps  led  up  to  it  from  the  east  and  west 
sides.  The  place  on  it  where  the  Gospel 
was  read  was  higher  than  that  used 
for  reading  the  Epistle.  All  church 
notices  were  read  from  it ;  here  edicts  and 
excommunications  were  given  out ;  hither 


came  heretics  to  make  their  recantation  ; 
here  the  Scriptures  were  read,  and  sermons 
preached.  It  was  gradually  superseded 
by  the  modern  pulpit.  A  good  example 
of  the  ambo  may  be  seen  in  the  church  of 
San  Clemente  at  Rome.     (Ferraris.) 


^nrxerv. 


A  Hebrew  word  signifying  "truly," 
"  certainly."  It  is  preserved  in  its  original 
form  by  the  New  Testament  writers,  and 
by  the  Church  in  her  Liturgy.  According 
to  Benedict  XIV.,  it  indicates  assent  to  a 
truth,  or  it  is  the  expression  of  a  desire, 
and  equivalent  to  genoito,  "  so  be  it."  ^ 

"  Amen  "  signifies  assent  when  used  at 
the  end  of  the  Creeds.  In  the  ancient 
Church  the  communicants  used  it  as  an 
expression  of  their  faith  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  Thus  we  read  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Constitutions^  —  "Let  the  bishop 
give  the  oblation,  saying,  '  The  Body  of 
Christ,'  and  let  the  recipient  say,  *  Amen.' ' ' 
St.  Ambrose  explains  the  "Amen"  used 
thus  in  communicating  as  meaning  "  it  is 
true." 

At  the  end  of  prayers  "  Amen  "  signifies 
our  desire  of  obtaining  what  we  ask. 
Thus  it  is  said  by  the  server,  after  the 
collects  in  the  Mass,  as  a  sign  that  the 
faithful  unite  their  petitions  to  those  of 
the  priest.  In  Justin's  time,  the  people 
themselves     answered    "  Amen "   as    the 


1  De  Miss.  ii.  5.     He  adds  a  third  sense  —  viz.  consent  to  a 
request — but  gives  no  clear  instance  of  this  use. 

2  viii.  12. 


204 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


priest  finished  the  prayers  and  thanks- 
givings in  th.e  Mass,  and  was  about  to  dis- 
tribute the  Holy  Communion.^ 


A 


mice. 


Amice  {Amicius.  Called  also  "  humer- 
ale,"  "  superhumerale,"  "  anaboladium," 
from  anaballeifi,  and,  in  a  corrupt  form, 
"anabolagium  ").  A  piece  of  fine  linen, 
oblong  in  shape,  which  the  priest  who  is 
to  say  Mass  rests  for  a  moment  on  his 
head  and  then  spreads  on  his  shoulders, 
reciting  the  prayer — "  Place  on  my  head, 
O  Lord,  the  helmet  of  salvation,"  etc. 

For  many  centuries  priests  celebrated 
with  bare  neck,  as  may  be  seen  from  many 
figures  in  the  Roman  Catacombs,  and 
from  the  Mosaic  at  San  Vitale  in  Ravenna. 
The  amice,  however,  is  frequently  men- 
tioned after  the  opening  of  the  ninth 
century.^  Originally,  as  Innocent  III. 
expressly  testifies,  it  covered  the  head  as 
well  as  the  neck ;  and  to  this  day  Capuchin 
and  Dominican  friars  wear  the  amice  over 
their  heads  till  they  reach  the  altar.  It 
also  was  not  at  first  concealed  by  the  alb, 
as  is  now  the  case,  and  it  was  often  made 
of  silk  and  ornamented  with  figures.  At 
present  it  is  made  of  linen,  and  only 
adorned  with  a  cross,  which  the  priest 
kisses  before  putting  on  the  amice. 

Mediaeval  writers  have  given  very  many 
and  very  different  symbolical  meanings  to 
this  vestment.  The  prayer  already  quoted 
from   the   Roman    Missal   speaks  of  it  as 

1  Apol.  i.  67. 

2  "It  was  introduced  in  the  eighth,"  says  Dr.  Rock;  but 
see  Hsfele,  Beitrdge  %ur  Kirchengeschichtt,  etc.,  11. 


figuring  the  "  helmet  of  salvation,"  and  a 
similar  prayer  occurs  in  most  of  the  ancient 
Latin  Missals. 

Ar\atKerT\ai. 

A  THING  devoted  or  given  over  to  evil, 
so  that  ^'anathema  sit^'  means  "let  him 
be  accursed."  St.  Paul  at  the  end  of 
I  Corinthians  pronounces  this  anathema 
on  all  who  do  not  love  our  blessed  Saviour. 
The  Church  has  used  the  phrase  "ana- 
thema sit"  from  the  earliest  times  with 
reference  to  those  whom  she  excludes  from 
her  communion,  either  because  of  moral 
offences  or  because  they  persist  in  heresy. 
Thus  one  of  the  earliest  councils  —  that  of 
Elvira,  held  in  306,  —  decrees  in  its  fifty- 
second  canon  that  those  who  placed  libel- 
lous writings  in  the  church  should  be 
anathematized ;  and  the  First  General 
Council  anathematized  those  who  held  the 
Arian  heresy.  General  Councils  since 
then  have  usually  given  solemnity  to  their 
decrees  on  articles  of  faith  by  appending 
an  anathema. 

Neither  St.  Paul  nor  the  Church  of  God 
ever  wished  a  soul  to  be  damned.  In  pro- 
nouncing anathema  against  wilful  heretics, 
the  church  does  but  declare  that  they  are 
excluded  from  her  communion,  and  that 
they  must,  if  they  continue  obstinate, 
perish  eternally. 


Gatafalqvje. 


An  erection   like  a  bier  placed   during 
Masses  of  the  dead,  when  the  corpse  itself 


CATAFALQUE 


205 


1 


is  not  there,  in  the  centre  of  the  church, 
or  in  some  other  suitable  place,  surrounded 
with  burning  lights  and  covered  with  black 
cloth.  It  is  also  called  "feretrmn,''  '^cast- 
rum  doloris,''  etc.  (Merati's  "Novae 
Observationes "  on  "Gavantus,"  Part  ii. 
tit.  13.) 

GatecKism. 

A  SUMMARY  of  Christian  doctrine,  usu- 
ally in  the  form  of  question  and  answer, 
for  the  instruction  of  the  Christian  people. 
From  the  beginning  of  her  history,  the 
Church  fulfilled  the  duty  of  instructing 
those  who  came  to  her  for  baptism.  Cate- 
chetical schools  were  established,  and  cate- 
chetical instruction  was  carefully  and 
methodically  given.  We  can  still  form  an 
accurate  idea  of  the  kind  of  instruction 
given  in  the  early  Church,  for  Cyril  of 
Jerusalem  has  left  sixteen  books  of  cate- 
chetical discourses,  explaining  the  Creed 
to  the  candidates  for  baptism,  and  five 
more  in  which  he  sets  forth,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  newly-baptized,  the  nature  of  the 
three  sacraments  (Baptism,  Confirmation, 
Eucharist)  which  they  had  just  received. 
St.  Augustine  wrote  a  treatise  on  catechis- 
ing, at  the  request  of  Deo  Gratias,  a  deacon 
and  catechist  at  Carthage.  When  the 
world  became  Christian  there  was  no 
longer  the  same  necessity  for  instructing 
converts,  but  the  children,  and,  indeed,  the 
people  generally,  still  needed  catechetical 
instruction.  Hence  we  find  a  council 
held  at  Paris  in  829  deploring  the  neglect 
of  catechetical  instruction,  while  the  Eng- 


lish Council  of  Lambeth  in  1281  requires 
parish-priests  to  instruct  their  people  four 
times  a  year  in  the  principal  parts  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  —  viz.,  the  articles  of  the 
Creed,  commandments,  sacraments,  etc. 
The  treatise  of  Gerson,  "  De  Parvulis  ad 
Christum  trahendis,"  gives  some  idea  of 
catechetical  instruction  towards  the  close 
of  the  middle  ages. 

Catechetical  instruction  was  one  of  the 
subjects  which  occupied  the  Council  of 
Trent,  and  the  Fathers  arranged  that  a 
Catechism  should  be  drawn  up  by  a  com- 
mission and  be  approved  by  the  council. 
This  plan  fell  through,  and  they  put  the 
whole  matter  in  the  Pope's  hands.  Pius 
IV.  entrusted  the  work  to  four  theologians 
—  viz.,  Calinius,  archbishop  of  Zara ; 
Fuscararius  (Foscarari),  Bishop  of 
Modena ;  Marinus,  Archbishop  of  Lan- 
ciano  ;  and  Fureirius  (Fureiro),  a  Ponii- 
guese.  All  of  them  except  the  first  were 
Dominicans,  Scholars  were  appointed  to 
see  to  the  purity  of  style.  St.  Charles 
Borromeo  took  a  great  part  in  assisting 
the  undertaking.  In  1564  the  book  was 
finished,  whereupon  it  was  examined  by  a 
new  commission  under  Cardinal  Sirietus. 
Towards  the  close  of  1566  the  Catechism 
appeared,  under  the  title  "  Catechismus 
Romanus,  ex  Decreto  Concilii  Tridentini, 
Pii  V.  Pont.  Max.  jussu  editus.  Romae,  in 
aedibus  Populi  Romani,  apud  Aldum  Man- 
utium."  The  original  edition  contains  no 
chapters  and  no  answers.  This  Cate- 
chism possesses  very  high  though  not  abso- 
lute authority,  and  has  been  regarded  as  a 
model  of  clearness,  simplicity  and  purity 


206 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


of  language,  of  method,  and  doctrinal  pre- 
cision. But  it  was  not  fitted  for  direct  use 
in  catechetical  instruction,  being  intended 
for  parish  priests  and  others  who  have  to 
catechize  rather  than  for  those  who  receive 
instruction.  Catechisms,  therefore,  of 
various  sizes,  have  been  prepared  by 
bishops  for  their  dioceses,  or,  as  in  Eng- 
land, the  bishops  in  concert  approve  a  Cate- 
chism for  use  in  the  whole  country  or  pro- 
vince. 

GatecKist. 

A  NAME  originally  given  to  those  who 
instructed  persons  preparing  for  baptism. 
Catechists  were  in  early  times  also  called 
nautologoi,  because  they  brought  the  sail- 
ors on  board  the  ship  of  the  Church. 

Zx  GatKedra. 

Cathedra,  in  the  ecclesiastical  sense, 
means  (i)  the  chair  in  which  the  bishop 
sits.  It  was  placed  in  early  times  behind 
the  altar,  which  did  not  stand,  as  it  usually 
does  now,  against  the  wall,  but  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  choir.  The  wooden  chair 
which  St.  Peter  is  said  to  have  used  is 
still  preserved  in  the  Vatican  basilica. 
Eusebius  relates  that  the  chair  of  St.  James 
still  existed  in  Jerusalem  down  to  the  time 
of  Constantine.  The  chair  of  St.  Mark  at 
Jerusalem  was  regarded  with  such  reli- 
gious awe  that  Peter  of  Alexandria,  arch- 
bishop and  martyr,  did  not  dare  to  sit  upon 
it,  though  it  was  used  by  his  successors. 
Thoraassin,  "  Traits  des  Festes.") 


(2)  Cathedra  was  used  by  a  natura\ 
extension  of  meaning  for  the  authority  of 
the  bishop  who  occupied  it,  so  that  the 
feast  of  the  Cathedra  or  chair  commemo- 
rated the  day  on  which  the  bishop  entered 
on  his  office.  Thus  we  have  three  ser- 
mons of  St.  Leo  on  the  "  natalis  cathedrae 
suae  "  —  i.  e.  his  elevation  to  the  pontifi- 
cate. In  the  Sacramentary  of  St.  Gregory 
we  find  a  Mass  for  "the  Chair  of  St, 
Peter,"  on'the  24th  of  February.  Accord- 
ing to  John  Belith,  a  liturgical  writer  of 
the  middle  ages,  this  feast  was  intended  to 
celebrate  St.  Peter's  episcopate  both  at 
Anticoch  and  Rome.  A  feast  of  St. 
Peter's  chair  is  mentioned  in  a  sermon 
attributed  to  St.  Augustine,  and  in  a  canon 
of  the  Second  Council  of  Tours,  which  met 
in  567.  In  the  course  of  the  middle  ages, 
the  feast  in  February  was  associated  with 
St.  Peter's  chair  at  Antioch.  Paul  IV.,  in 
a  bull  of  the  year  1558,  complains  that 
although  the  feast  of  St.  Peter's  chair  at 
Rome  was  celebrated  in  France  and  Spain, 
it  was  forgotten  in  Rome  itself,  although 
the  feast  of  his  chair  at  Antioch  was  kept 
in  Rome.  Accordingly  Paul  IV.  ordered 
that  the  feast  of  St.  Peter's  chair  at  Rome 
should  be  observed  on  January  18.  The 
feast  of  St.  Peter's  chair  at  Antioch  is  kept 
on  February   22.     (Thomassin,  ib) 

(3)  Cathedra  is  taken  as  a  symbol  of 
authoritative  doctrinal  teaching.  Our  Lord 
said  that  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  sat 
"  super  cathedram  Moysis  "  —  i.  e.  on  the 
chair  of  Moses.  Here  plainly  it  is  not  a 
material  chair  of  which  Christ  speaks,  but 
the  "  chair,"  as  Jerome  says,  is  a  metaphor 


EX  CATHEDRA. 


207 


for  the  doctrine  of  the  law.  This  meta- 
phor became  familiar  in  Christian  litera- 
ture. Thus  Jerome  speaks  of  the  "  chair 
of  Peter,  and  the  faith  praised  by  apostolic 
mouth."  Later  theologians  use  ^^  ex  cathe- 
dra "  in  a  still  more  special  sense,  and 
employ  it  to  mark  those  definitions  in 
faith  and  morals  which  the  Pope,  as 
teacher  of  all  Christians,  imposes  on  their 
belief.  The  phrase  is  comparatively  mod- 
ern, and  Billuart  adduces  no  instance  of 
its  use  before  1305.  It  is  often  alleged 
that  the  theologians  explain  the  words  "  ex 
cathedra  "  in  many  different  ways,  but  a 
clear  and  authoritative  account  of  the 
meaning  is  given  by  the  Vatican  Council, 
which  declares  that  the  Pope  is  infallible 
"  when  he  speaks  '  ex  cathedra  '  —  i.  e. 
when  exercising  his  office  as  the  pastor 
and  teacher  of  all  Christians,  he,  in  virtue 
of  his  supreme  apostolic  authority,  defines 
a  doctrine  concerning  faith  and  morals,  to 
be  held  by  the  whole  Church."  (From 
Ballerini,  "De  Primatu,"  and  the  bull 
"  Pastor  seternus,"  cap.  iv.) 

WKat    a    GatKedral    is. 

I    Cathedral  (kathedra,   the   raised  seat 

)f  the  bishop.)     The  cathedral  church  in 

pevery  diocese  is  that  church  in  which  the 

[(bishop  has  his  chair  or  seat ;  whence  see, 

the  English  form  of  st(^£^e.    It  is  sometimes 

:alled     simply      Domus,     "  the     house," 

\[Puonio,  Ital. ;  Dom,   Ger.)  ;  for,  as  "pal- 

■ace  "  sufficiently  indicates  the  residence  of 

la  king,  "  so  the  Lord's  house,  which  is  the 


cathedral  church,  the  palace  of  the  King 
of  kings,  and  the  ordinary  seat  of  the 
supreme  pastor  of  a  city  and  diocese,  is 
sufficiently  denoted  by  the  single  word 
Domus."  (Ferraris,  in  "  Ecclesia.")  A 
cathedral  was  in  early  times  called  the 
Matrix  Ecclesia,  but  that  name  is  now 
given  to  any  church  which  has  other 
churches  subject  to  it. 

The  establishment  of  a  cathedral  church, 
the  conversion  of  a  collegiate  church  into 
a  cathedral,  and  the  union  of  two  or  more 
cathedrals  under  the  same  bishop,  are  all 
measures  which  cannot  be  legally  taken 
without  the  approbation  of  the  Pope. 
The  temporal  power  has  often  performed 
these  and  the  like  acts  by  way  of  usurpa- 
tion, as  when  the  revolutionary  govern- 
ment of  France  reduced  the  number  of 
French  dioceses  from  more  than  a  hundred 
and  thirty  to  sixty  ;  but  a  regular  and  law- 
ful state  of  things  in  such  a  case  can  only 
be  restored  by  the  State's  entering  into  a 
convention  with  the  Holy  See,  which  is 
always  ready,  without  abandoning  prin- 
ciple, to  conform  its  action  to  the  emergent 
necessities  of  the  times.  Thus,  in  the 
case  just  mentioned,  by  the  Concordat 
with  Napoleon  in  1802,  Rome  sanctioned 
the  permanent  suppression  of  many  old 
sees,  in  consequence  of  which  the  French 
episcopate  now  numbers  eighty-four  bish- 
ops, instead  of  the  larger  number  existing 
before  the  Revolution.  Analogous  changes 
are  provided  for  in  the  Anglican  com- 
munion by  the  theory  of  the  Royal  Suprem- 
acy, though  this  theory  has  been  slightly 
modified     by    the    progress    of    political 


208 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


development  since  the  Reformation.  The 
sovereign  is  still  supreme  in  theory  "  in 
all  causes  and  over  all  persons,  ecclesi- 
astical as  well  as  civil,"  within  the  Angli- 
can communion  ;  but  the  supremacy  cannot 
be  exercised  in  any  important  matter 
without  the  consent  of  the  majority  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  expressed  through  a 
responsible  ministry.  An  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, embodying  as  it  does  the  united 
will  and  action  of  sovereign  and  Parlia- 
ment, solves  all  difficulties.  Thus,  in 
1833,  ten  Protestant  sees  in  Ireland  were 
suppressed  at  a  stroke,  and  within  the  last 
few  years  several  suffragan  sees,  at  Not- 
tingham and  elsewhere,  have  been  erected 
—  always  by  Act  of  Parliament.  In  every 
such  case,  whatever  legality  the  Act  may 
have  is  solely  due  to  the  action  of  the 
temporal  power ;  ecclesiastical  authority 
has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

The  Council  of  Trent  forbids  the  hold- 
ing of  more  than  one  cathedral  church,  or 
the  holding  of  a  cathedral  along  with  a 
parish  church  by  the  same  bishop.^  It 
enjoins  that  ordinations  shall,  so  far  as 
possible,  be  publicly  celebrated  in  cathe- 
dral churches,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
canons.* 


Sar\ct\Jary. 


The  part  of  the  church  round  the  high 
altar  reserved  for  clergy.  Euseb.  ("  H.  E." 
X.  5)  speaks  of  the  altar  in  the  church 
built  by  Constantine  at  Tyre,  as  enclosed 

1  Sess.  vii.  2  ;  xxiv.  17,  De  Refonn. 

2  Sess.  xxiii.  8,  De  Reform. 


with  wooden  rails.  In  ancient  times,  says 
Morinus  ("De  Pen."  vi.  c.  i,  n.  lo),  both 
the  Latin  and  Greek  churches  were  divided 
into  two  parts,  the  atrium  or  court  for  the 
laity,  and  the  sanctuary  (called  by  the 
Greeks  hierateion,  but  most  commonly 
bema,  from  its  raised  position,  also  Jiagion 
ton  hagidn,  aduta,  hilasterion,  anaktoroti) 
for  bishop,  priests,  and  deacons.  The 
porch,  or  nartJiex,  is  not  mentioned  till  500 
years  after  Christ.  The  Latin  word  sanc- 
tuarium  occurs  in  the  thirteenth  capitu- 
lum  of  the  Second  Council  of  Braga,  in 
563,  which  forbids  any  lay  person  to  enter 
the  sanctuary  for  the  reception  of  commu- 
nion.    (Le  Brun,  tom.  iii,  diss.  i.  a.  viii.) 

JKe    Sarvctus. 

The  Sanctus,  also  known  as  the  Tersanc- 
tus,  as  the  angelic  hymn  among  the  Latins, 
as  the  triumphal  hymn  {epinikios  /mninos) 
among  the  Greeks,  forms  the  conclusion  of 
the  Preface  in  all  the  liturgies.  It  is 
composed  of  the  words,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy, 
Lord  God  of  Sabaoth,"  from  Is.  vi.  and  a 
fragment  of  Ps.  cxvii.  26  (Heb.  cxviii.), 
"Blessed  is  he  who  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  Hosanna  in  the  highest." 
In  the  Roman  rite,  except  in  the  Pontifical 
chapel  and  during  exposition  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  a  small  bell  is  here  rung.  But 
Benedict  XIV.  says  he  could  not  discover 
when  this  custom  began.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
served that  the  Missal  here  follows  the  old 
Latin  version,  which  retained  the  word 
Sabaoth,  while  the  Vulgate  has  cxercit7iiiin. 


THE  SANCTUARY. 


209 


This,  no  doubt,  is  the  right  translation, 
but  scholars  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  origi- 
nal reference.  Ewald  believes  the  refer- 
ence is  to  the  armies  of  angels  (Ps.  ciii.  2i, 
cxlviii.  2;  I  Kings  [3  Reg.],  xxii.  19,  "the 
camp  of  God";  Gen,  xxxii.  2)  Schrader 
suggests,  which  is  very  unlikely,  that  the 
hosts  of  Israel  are  intended,  while, 
probably,  the  opinion  of  many  other  critics, 
Kuenen,  Bandessin,  Tiele,  Delitzch,  is  the 
right  one — viz.  that  the  original  reference 
was  to  the  stars.  These  are  constantly 
spoken  of  as  the  "  host  of  heaven,"  and  in 
Is.  xl.  26  as  the  host  which  God  musters. 
The  title  never  occurs  in  the  Pentateuch, 
Josue,  or  Judges.  But  it  is  constantly 
employed  in  the  historical  books  from 
Samuel  onwards,  in  Psalms,  in  the 
Prophets,  but  not  in  Osee,  Ezechiel,  or  in 
Micheas,  except  iv.  1-4. 

5ar\clals. 

Sandals  form  part  of  the  bishop's 
liturgical  dress.  The  fact  is  interesting, 
as  one  of  many  proofs  that  church  vest- 
ments are  derived  from  the  dress  of  daily 
life,  and  had  originally  no  connection  with 
the  garb  of  Jewish  priests,  who  oflficiated 
barefoot. 


Sandals  are  first  mentioned  as  part  of 
the  liturgical  dress  by  Amalarius  of  Metz 
("De  Eccl.  Offic."  i.  25  and  26).  He 
distinguishes  between  the  sandals  of  the 
bishop,  which  were  fastened  with  thongs, 
because  he  had  to  travel,  and  those  of 
priests.  The  deacon's  sandals  were  the 
same  as  those  of  the  bishop  whom  he  had 
to  accompany ;  those  of  the  subdeacons 
were  again  distinct.  Rabanus  Maurus  is 
the  next  to  mention  sandals  (  "  De  Cleric. 
Institut."i.  22)  ;  he  sees  a  reference  to  them 
in  Marc.  vi.  9,  Ephes.  vi.  15,  and,  as  they 
covered  the  under  but  not  the  upper  part 
of  the  foot,  he  sees  here  a  symbol  of  the 
teacher's  duty  of  revealing  the  Gospel  to 
the  faithful  and  concealing  it  from  infidels. 
Pseudo-Alcuin,  in  the  tenth  century  ("De 
Div.  Oflic."  39),  copies  the  authors  just 
namsd.  On  the  other  hand,  Hugo  St. 
Victor  ("  De  Sacram."  ii.  iv.  14),  Innocent 
III.  ("De  Altaris  Myster."  i.  10,  34,  48), 
Honorius  of  Autun  ("Gemma  Animae," 
i,  210),  show  that  in  their  time  the  sandals 
of  bishops  only,  not  of  priests,  belonged  to 
the  liturgical  dress,  as  is  the  case  still. 
Innocent  mentions  the  stockings  of  bishops 
{calig(B}  also  iibialia),  which  since  the 
twelfth  century  have  been  of  silk.  (Hefele 
"Beitrage,"  vol.  ii.  p.  219  scq.) 

1  So  Hefela  understands  the  term. 


CHAPTER     XXIX. 


SCKPUL-KRS. 


1^ 


CAPULAR  ( from  scapula, 
shoulders).  A  dress  which 
covers  the  shoulders.  It  is 
mentioned  in  the  rule  of  St. 
Benedict  as  worn  by  monks 
over  their  other  dress  when 
they  were  at  work,  and  it  now  forms  a 
regular  part  of  the  religious  dress  in  the 
old  orders.  But  it  is  best  known  among 
Catholics  as  the  name  of  two  little  pieces 
of  cloth  worn  out  of  devotion  over  the 
shoulders,  under  the  ordinary  garb,  and 
connected  by  strings. 

It  was  through  the  Carmelites  that  this 
devotion  began,  and  the  following  is  the 
story  told  of  its  origin  :  The  Blessed 
Virgin  appeared  at  Cambridge  to  Simon 
Stock,  general  of  the  Carmelite  order, 
when  it  was  in  great  trouble.  She  gave 
him  a  scapular  which  she  bore  in  her  hand 
in  order  that  by  it  "  the  holy  [Carmelite] 
order  might  be  known  and  protected  from 
the  evils  which  assailed  it,"  and  added, 
"  this  will  be  the  privilege  for  you  and  for 
all  Carmelites ;  no  one  dying  in  this 
scapular    will    suffer    eternal    burning." 


Another  m  arvel  is  related  by  John  XXII. 
in  the  famous  Sabbatine  bull  The 
Blessed  Virgin,  he  says,  appeared  to  him, 
and,  speaking  of  the  Carmelites  and  those 
associated  to  them  by  wearing  the  scapu- 
lar, promised  that,  if  any  of  them  went  to 
purgatory,  she  herself  would  descend  and 
free  them  on  the  Saturday  following  their 
death.  "This  holy  indulgence,"  says  the 
Pope,  "  I  accept,  corroborate,  and 
confirm,  as  Jesus  Christ  for.  the  merits  of 
the  glorious  Virgin  Mary  granted  it  in 
heaven."  To  gain  this  privilege  it  is 
necessary  to  observe  fidelity  in  marriage 
or  chastity  in  the  single  state.  Those 
who  read  must  recite  the  office  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  unless  already  bound  to 
the  Divine  Office ;  those  who  cannot, 
must  abstain  from  flesh  meat  on  Wednes- 
days and  Saturdays,  unless  Christmas 
falls  on  one  of  these  days.  So  the 
Sabbatine  bull,  as  given  in  the  Carmelite 
*'  Bullarium." 

Two  statements,  then,  have  to  be 
examined.  Is  there  any  proof  that  the 
Blessed   Virgin   appeared   to    St.    Simon 


210 


SCAPULARS. 


211 


Stock  and  made  the  promise  related 
above  ?  Is  the  Sabbatine  bull  genuine, 
and  the  story  it  tells  true  ? 

Wo  take  the  latter  question  first,  because 
it  may  be  dispatched  very  quickly. 
Launoy,  in  a  dissertation  of  wonderful 
learning,  to  be  found  in  the  second  volume 
of  his  collected  works  (the  edition  we 
have  used  is  dated  1731,  "Coloniae  Allo- 
brogum "),  proves  by  a  superabundance 
of  reasons  that  the  bull  of  John  XXII.  is 
a  clumsy  forgery,  and  that  of  Alexander 
V.  another  forgery  made  to  cover  the 
former.  The  autograph  has  never  been 
found,  nor  has  it  any  place  in  the  Roman 
"Bullarium."  Its  authenticity  is  unhesi- 
tatingly denied  by  the  great  Bollandist 
Papebroch  in  his  reply  to  the  attacks 
made  upon  him  by  the  Carmelites  and  by 
Benedict  XIV.  ("  De  Fest."  Ixxiv.  Ixxvii.) 
The  latter  says  it  is  as  hard,  perhaps 
harder,  to  believe  in  this  bull  than  in  the 
(story  of  the  chapel  built  on  Mount  Carmel 
in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  during  her 
life.  He  says  he  could  give  more  reasons 
against  it  than  he  cares  to  produce,  and 
[arguments  drawn  '*  from  things  [  in  the 
pull  ]  which  want  all  appearance  of  truth." 
[He  alludes,  we  suppose,  to  the  style  of  the 
[bull,  which,  as  Launoy  points  out,  betrays 
|in  many  ways  the  hand  of  the  impostor. 

As  to  the  fact  of  the  apparition  to 
tSimon  Stock,  it  is  accepted  by  Benedict 
IXIV.,  Papebroch,  and  Alban  Butler  on  the 
[faith  of  a  "  Life "  of  the  saint  by  Swayn- 
ton,  who  was  his  secretary  and  wrote  the 
story  of  the  apparition  at  his  dictation. 
|A  fragment  of  this  "  Life  "  was  produced 


from  their  archives  at  Bordeaux  and 
printed  by  one  of  the  Carmelites  —  viz. 
Cheronensis.  We  may  observe  that  the 
Carmelites  refused  a  sight  of  this  "  Life  " 
to  Papebroch.  (See  Bollandist  "Acta 
SS.  Mali,"  tom.  iii.)  Next,  to  understand 
the  force  of  Launoy' a  arguments  for 
regarding  this  passage  in  the  "Life,"  if  it 
be  authentic,  as  an  interpolation,  we  must 
remember  that  the  miracle  is  represented 
as  gaining  immediate  notoriety.  These 
are  Swaynton's,  or  pseudo-Swaynton's 
words :  "  The  story  running  through 
England  and  beyond  it,  many  cities 
offered  us  places  in  which  to  live,  and 
many  nobles  begged  to  be  affiliated  to  this 
holy  order,  that  they  might  share  in  its 
graces,  desiring  to  die  in  this  holy  habit." 
If  so,  the  silence  of  Carmelite  authors  for 
more  than  a  century  after  is  remarkable. 
Simon  Stock  died  in  1250.  Ribotus, 
provincial  in  Catalonia  (about  1340),  in 
his  ten  books  "  On  the  Institution  and 
Remarkable  Deeds  of  the  Carmelites," 
ignores  it.  So  does  Chimelensis  in  two 
books  specially  designed  to  glorify  the 
order  ("  Speculum  Historiale  "  and  "  Spec- 
ulum Ordinus  Carmeli " ),  and  so  do  three 
other  authors  of  similar  books  quoted  by 
Launoy.  Strangest  of  all,  Waldensis,  a 
Carmelite,  an  Englishman,  and  writing 
in  England  ("  De  Sacramentalibus"),  tries 
hard  to  prove  the  religious  habit  a  sacra- 
mental, and  speaks  particularly  of  the 
Carmelite  habit  and  the  form  which  it  is 
given.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  to 
the  point  than  Swaynton's  story,  but  he 
never     alludes    to    it.       The     vision    is 


212 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


mentioned,  apparently  for  the  first  time, 
so  far  as  it  is  known  for  certain,  by 
Grossus,  a  Carmelite  of  Toulouse,  in  his 
*' Viridarium "  (1389),  then  by  Paleoni- 
dorus  ("  Antiq.  Ord.  Carm."  vi,  8,  apud 
Launoy),  published  in  1495.  It  is  right 
to  add,  however,  that  the  Carmelites 
claimed  the  support  of  an  anonymous  MS. 
in  the  Vatican,  said  to  have  been  written 
early  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

Many  of  the  later  Popes  have  granted 
numerous  indulgences  to  the  Confraternies 
of  the  scapular,  and  no  Catholic,  Launoy, 
as  little  as  any  one,  doubts  the  utility  and 
piety  of  the  institution.  "  The  Scapular," 
says  Bossuet,  "  is  no  useless  badge.  You 
wear  it  as  a  visible  token  that  you  own 
yourselves  Mary's  children,  and  she  will 
be  your  mother  indeed  if  you  live  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ "  ("  Sermon  pour  le 
Jour  du  Scapulaire,"  vol.  xi,  p,  369,  in  the 
last  edition  of  Bossuet).  Benedict  XIV. 
speaks  in  a  similar  tone,  but  he  admits 
that  too  many  abuse  these  symbols  and 
badges  by  a  misplaced  confidence  in  them. 

There  are  four  other  scapulars  used  in 
the  Church  :  that  of  the  Trinity,  of  white 
linen  with  a  red  cross,  given  by  the  Trin- 
itarians or  priests  delegated  by  them  ;  the 
Servite  scapular  of  the  Seven  Dolours, 
which  is  of  black  woollen  stuff;  that  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  of  light  blue 
woollen  cloth,  propagated  by  Ursula  Ben- 
incasa  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  given 
by  the  Theatines,  who  governed  the 
Congregation  to  which  this  nun  belonged ; 
the  red  scapular  of  the  Passion,  originated 
by  a  Sister   of  Charity  at   Paris,   who   is 


said  to  have  received  a  revelation  on  the 
matter  in  1846,  and  given  by  the  Vin- 
centian  Fathers.  All  these  Confraternities 
are  designed  to  promote  prayer  and  other 
good  works  in  their  members. 

(This  article  has  been  compiled  from 
Benedict  XIV.  "  De  Festis,"  the  Bollan- 
dists.  Mail,  torn.  iii. ;  Launoy,  "  Dissertat." 
tom.  ii. ;  Swaynton's  "  Life "  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  published  entire.  At 
least,  we  have  searched  in  vain  for  a  copy 
at  the  British  Museum.  There  is  nothing 
in  Alban  Butler  which  had  not  been 
already  stated  by  the  authors  quoted. 
The  brief  notice  on  the  other  Scapulars 
is  from  a  little  book  of  Labis,  "  Notices  et 
Instructions  sur  les  Scapulaires,"etc.  It  is 
merely  practical  and  has  no  historical 
worth.) 


ScKi 


ism. 


Schism  {schisma).  A  tear  or  rent  (Matt, 
ix.  16;  Marc.  ii.  21)  ;  a  division  of  opinion 
(John  vii.  43  ;  ix.  16;  x.  19);  party  spirit 
in  the  Christian  Church  (i  Cor.  i.  10;  xi. 
18;  xii.  25);  and  then,  in  Fathers  and 
theologians,  a  technical  word  to  denote 
formal  separation  from  the  unity  of  the 
Church.  "  Schismatics,"  says  St.  Thomas 
("  2  2ndae,"  II.  qu.  xxxix.,  a.  i),  "  in  the 
strict  sense,  are  those  who  of  their  own 
will  and  intention  sever  themselves  from 
the  unity  of  the  Church."  This  unity  of 
the  Church,  he  continues,  consists  in  the 
connection  of  its  members  with  each 
other,  and  of  all  the  members  with  the 
head.     "  Now,  this  head   is  Christ,  whose 


SCHISM. 


213 


representative  in  the  Church  is  the 
Supreme  Pontiff.  And  therefore  the  name 
of  *  schismatics '  is  given  to  those  who 
refuse  to  be  under  the  Supreme  Pontiff 
and  to  communicate  with  the  members  of 
the  Church  subject  to  him,"  Further,  he 
thus  explains  the  difference  between 
heresy  and  schism.  Heresy  is  opposed  to 
faith,  schism  to  charity  ;  so  that,  although 
all  heretics  are  schismatics,  because  loss  of 
faith  involves  separation  from  the  Church, 
all  schismatics  are  not  heretics,  since  a 
man  may,  from  anger,  pride,  ambition,  or 
-the  like,  sever  himself  from  the  communion 
of  the  Church  and  yet  believe  all  that 
which  the  Church  proposes  for  our  belief. 
Still,  a  state  of  pure  schism  — i.  e.  of  schism 
without  heresy  —  cannot  continue  long  — 
at  least,  in  the  case  of  a  large  number  of 
men.  The  words  of  St.  Jerome  (on  Titus, 
cap.  3),  quoted  by  St.  Thomas,  are  to  the 
point :  '*  Schism  at  the  beginning  may  be 
understood  as  something  different  from 
heresy,  but  there  is  no  schism  which  does 
not  invent  some  heresy  for  itself,  in  order 
to  justify  its  secession."  History  abun- 
dantly confirms  this  observation.  Bodies 
which  at  first  separate  from  the  Church 
merely  because  they  think  their  personal 
rights  have  been  infringed,  are  sure,  in  the 
end,  to  deny  the  Church's  unity  and  to 
lose  the  spirit  of  faith.  And  so  St.  Thomas 
remarks  that,  as  loss  of  charity  is  the  way 
to  loss  of  faith,  so  schism  is  the  road  to 
heresy. 

Schismatics  do  not,  of  course,  lose  the 
power  of  order ;  their  priests  can  say 
Mass,  their   bishops   confirm   and   ordain. 


But  they  lose  all  jurisdiction,  so  that 
"  they  cannot  either  absolve,  excommu- 
nicate, or  grant  indulgences,  or  the  like ; 
and  if  they  attempt  anything  of  the  kind 
the  act  is  null "  {loc.  cit.  a.  3).  Whether 
pure  schismatics  door  do  not  cease  thereby 
to  be  members  of  the  Church,  is  a  ques- 
tion controverted  in  the  Schools.  Many 
theologians  consider  that  all  who  retain 
integrity  of  faith  are  members  of  the 
Church.  But  all  agree  that  they  are  not 
united  to  the  Church  by  charity, —  that,  if 
members,  they  are  dead  members, — so  that 
the  question  is  of  no  great  moment. 

Berretta. 

Berretta.  a  square  cap  with  three  or 
sometimes  four  prominences  or  projecting 
corners  rising  from  its  crown.  There  is 
usually  a  tassel  in  the  middle  where  the 
corners  meet.  It  is  worn  by  a  priest  as 
he  approaches  the  altar  to  say  Mass,  by 
ecclesiastics  in  choir,  etc.  It  is  of  two 
colors,  black  or  red.  The  latter  color  is 
used  by  cardinals,  the  former  by  all  other 
clerics.  A  bishop's  berretta  should  be 
lined  with  green  ;  in  other  respects  it  is 
like  that  of  an  ordinary  priest.  A  four- 
cornered  berretta  belongs  to  Doctors  of 
Divinity,^  though  Benedict  XIV.  mentions 
that  in  his  time  Spanish  ecclesiastics  gen- 
erally wore  a  berretta  of  this  kind. 

The  word  is  derived  from  birrus,  a  man- 
tle   with    a    hood,   and   that  again   from 


t  Who,  however,  aie  forbidden  to  use  this  peculiar  berretta 
in  sacred  functions.  S.  R.  C.  7,  Dec.  1844.  But  there  is 
some  doubt  as  to  the  precise  force  of  this  decree. 


I 


214 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


purrhos,  flame-colored.  "At  Rome,"  says 
Benedict  XIV.,  "and  in  most  churches, 
the  berretta  was  unknown  as  late  as  the 
ninth  century.  Its  ecclesiastical  use  began 
when  priests  gave  up  the  ancient  custom 
of  covering  their  heads  with  the  amice  till 
the  actual  beginning  of  the  Mass."  (Bene- 
dict XIV.  "  De  Miss."  i.  9.) 

GKalice. 

Chalice  {calix,  poterion).  The  cup  used 
in  Mass,  for  the  wine  which  is  to  be  conse- 
crated. The  rubrics  of  the  Missal  require 
that  it  should  be  of  gold  or  silver,  or  at 
least  have  a  silver  cup  gilt  inside.  It  must 
be  consecrated  by  the  bishop  with  chrism, 
according  to  a  form  prescribed  in  the  Pon- 
tifical. It  may  not  be  touched  except  by 
persons  in  holy  orders. 

We  know  nothing  about  the  chalice  which 
our  Lord  used  in  the  first  Mass.  Vener- 
able Bede  relates  that  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury they  exhibited  at  Jerusalem  a  great 
silver  cup,  with  two  handles,  which  our 
Saviour  Himself  had  used  in  celebrating 
the  Eucharist,  but  antiquity  knows  noth- 
ing of  this  chalice,  and  it  has  no  better 
claim  to  be  regarded  as  genuine  than  the 
chalice  of  agate  which  is  still  shown  at 
Valencia  and  claims  also  to  be  that  used 
by  Christ.  Probably  the  first  chalices  used 
by  Christian  priests  were  made  of  glass. 
It  seems  likely,  at  least,  though  the 
inference  cannot  be  called  certain,  from 
TertuUian's  words,  that  in  his  time  glass 
chalices  were  commonly  used  in   church, 


and  undoubtedly  such  chalices  were  still 
common  during  the  fifth  century,  as 
appears  from  the  testimonies  of  St.  Jerome 
and  Cyprianus  Gallus,  the  biographer  of 
St.  Caesarius  of  Aries.  Gregory  of  Tours 
mentions  a  crystal  chalice  of  remarkable 
beauty,  which  belonged  to  the  church  of 
Milan. 

However,  even  before  persecution  had 
ceased,  the  Church  began,  from  natural 
reverence  for  Christ's  blood,  to  employ 
more  costly  vessels.  The  Roman  Book  of 
the  Pontiffs  says  of  Pope  Urban  I.  (226) 
that  "  he  made  all  the  holy  vessels  of 
silver."  So,  too,  we  read  in  the  acts  of 
St.  Lawrence's  martyrdom,  that  he  was 
charged  by  the  heathen  with  having  sold 
the  altar  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
with  having  given  the  proceeds  to  the 
poor;  while  St.  Augustine  mentions  two 
golden  and  six  silver  chalices,  which  were 
exhumed  from  the  crypt  of  the  church  at 
Cirta.  Of  course,  such  precious  chalices 
became  more  common  when  the  Church 
grew  rich  and  powerful.  Thus  St.  Chrys- 
ostom  describes  a  chaUce  "of  gold  and 
adorned  with  jewels."  In  857  the  Emperor 
Michael  III.  sent  Pope  Nicolas  I.,  among 
other  presents,  a  golden  chalice,  sur- 
rounded by  precious  stones,  and  with 
jacinths  suspended  on  gold  threads  round 
the  cup.  A  precious  silver  chalice  adorned 
with  figures  belonged  to  the  church  at 
Jerusalem,  and  was  presented  in  869  to 
Ignatius  of  Constantinople.  But  it  is  need- 
less to  multiply  instances  on  this  head. 

Still,  for  a  long  time  chalices  of  horn, 
base    metal,    etc.,    were    still    used,   and 


CHALICE. 


215 


Binlerim  says  that  a  copper  chalice,  in 
which  Ludger,  the  Apostle  of  Miinster,  in 
the  eighth  century,  said  Mass,  is  still  pre- 
served at  Werden,  where  he  founded  an 
abbey.  But  very  soon  afterwards  chalices 
of  glass,  horn,  base  metal,  etc.,  were  pro- 
hibited by  a  series  of  councils  in  England, 
Germany,  Spain,  and  France,  although  chal- 
ices of  ivory,  and  of  precious  stone  ( e.  g. 
of  onyx)  were  still  permitted.  Gratian 
adopted  in  the  Corpus  Juris,  a  canon  which 
he  attributes  to  a  Council  of  Rheims, 
otherwise  unknown.  The  words  of  the 
canon  are,  "  Let  the  chalice  of  the  Lord 
and  the  paten  be  at  least  of  silver,  if  not 
of  gold.  But  if  any  one  be  too  poor,  let 
him  in  any  case  have  a  chalice  of  tin. 
Let  not  the  chalice  be  made  of  copper  or 
brass,  because  from  the  action  of  the  wine 
it  produces  rust,  which  occasions  sickness 
But  let  none  presume  to  sing  Mass  with 
a  chalice  of  wood  or  glass."  (Hefele, 
"  Beitrage,"  ii.  p.  322  seq) 

The  practice  of  consecrating  chalices  is 
very  ancient.  A  form  for  this  purpose  is 
contained  in  the  Gregorian  Sacramentary, 
as  well  as  in  the  most  ancient  "  Ordines 
Romani,"  and  such  consecration  is  usual 
among  the  Greeks  and  Copts.  In  the 
Latin  Church,  the  bishop  anoints  the 
inside  of  the  chalice  with  chrism,  using  at 
the  same  time  appropriate  prayers.  The 
consecration  is  lost  if  the  chalice  be 
broken  or  notably  injured,  or  if  the  inside 
is  regilt.  A  decree  prohibiting  all  except 
those  in  sacred  orders  to  touch  the  paten 
or  chalice  is  attributed  to  an  early  Pope, 
St.  Sixtus,  by  the  author  of  the  "Liber 


Pontificalis."  But  Merati,  who  quotes  this 
statement,  admits  that  a  Roman  Ordo 
regards  it  as  lawful  for  acolyr.es  to  do  so. 
However,  a  Council  of  Braga,  held  in  563, 
confines  the  right  of  touching  the  sacred 
vessels  to  those  who  at  least  are  sub- 
deacons. 

Besides  the  chalice  from  which  the  priest 
took  the  Precious  Blood,  the  ancients  also 
used  "  baptismal  chalices,"  from  which  the 
newly -baptized  received  communion  under 
the  species  of  wine,  and  "  ministerial  chal- 
ices "  (^'  calices  ntinisteriales^''  "  scj'phi"),  in 
which  the  Precious  Blood  was  given  to  the 
people.  This  "  ministerial "  chalice  was 
partly  filled  with  common  wine,  and  into 
this  wine  the  celebrant  poured  a  small 
quantity  of  the  Precious  Blood  from  the 
" calix  offertorius"  i.  e.  the  chalice  with 
which  he  said  Mass.  (Benedict  XIV.  "  De 
Miss."  i.  cap.  4.) 

GKalice-Veil. 

The  veil  with  which  the  chalice  is  cov- 
ered,  called  also  "peplum"  and  "suda- 
rium."  It  used  to  be  of  linen,  but  must 
now  be  of  silk,  as  the  rubric  requires. 
The  Greeks  use  three  veils,  one  of  which 
covers  the  paten,  another  the  chalice,  a 
third  both  paten  and  chalice.  They  call 
the  third  veil  aer,  because  it  encompasses 
the  oblations.  Cardinal  Bona  says  this 
Greek  custom  began  in  the  church  of 
Jerusalem,  and  thence  spread  through  the 
East.  (Benedict  XIV.  "  De  Miss."  i.  c^p. 
5.) 


2l6 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


Benedict  XIV.  considers  the  antiquity 
of  the  chalice-veil  to  be  proved  by  one  of 
the  Apostolic  Canons  —  viz.  72  {al.  73), 
which  forbids  the  application  of  the  church 
vessels  or  veils  {othonen)  to  profane  uses. 
Hefele  thinks  this  canon  may  belong  to 
the  latter  half  of  the  third  century.  But 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  reason  for 
alleging  that  the  veil  meant  is  the  chalice- 
veil.  Gavantus  says  that  the  chalice-veil 
is  mentioned  in  the  liturgy  of  St.  Chrysos- 
tom  (which,  however,  has  been  altered 
since  the  saint's  time) ;  that  silken  chalice- 
veils  were  given  to  Pope  Hormisdas  (514- 
523),  and  that  Amalarius  mentions  the 
Roman  custom  of  bringing  the  chalice  to 
the  altar  wrapped  in  a  veil. 


GK 


ar\ce 


1. 


The  part  of  a  church  between  the  altar 
and  the  nave,  so  named  from  the  rails 
(cancelli)  which  separated  it  from  the  nave. 
The  word  was  in  use  before  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  the  Anglicans  still  retain  it. 
Among  English  Catholics  it  is  now  little 
used,  the  portion  of  the  church  near  the 
altar,  separated  by  rails  from  the  nave, 
being  designated  the  "sanctuary."  In 
cathedrals  and  conventual  churches,  where 
space  is  required  to  accommodate  the 
canons  or  the  religious,  a  portion  of  the 
church  between  the  sanctuary  and  the  nave 
is  taken  for  the  purpose ;  it  is  not,  how- 
ever, called  the  "chancel,"  but  the  "choir," 
Fr.  chceur. 


Py 


X. 


A  VASE  in  which  the  Blessed  Sacra 
ment  is  reserved.  The  word  occurs  in 
this  sense  in  a  decree  of  Pope  Leo  IV., 
who  reigned  from  847-885.  (Mansi,  "  Con- 
cil,"  xiv.  891).  The  pyx  should  be  of 
silver,  gilt  inside,  and  covered  with  a  silk 
veil.  It  is  not  consecrated,  but  the  Missal 
gives  a  form  for  the  blessing  of  a  pyx  by 
the  bishop  or  priest  with  episcopal  facul- 
ties.    ("  Manuale  Decret."  p.  y6  note.) 


Gib 


onvjm. 


The  use  of  the  ciborium,  or  canopy  over 
the  altar,  has  been  already  described  in  the 
article  Baldacchino.  In  English,  cibo- 
rium is  the  name  commonly  given  to  the 
pyx  in  which  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is 
kept.  Pyx  (also  Vas)  is  the  recognized 
name  in  our  present  liturgical  books,  and 
under  that  head  the  subject  will  be  treated. 
The  name  "  Ciborium  minus  "  is  first  used 
for  the  receptacle  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, in  the  middle  ages.  It  is  found  in 
an  Ordo  Romanus  printed  in  the  "  Biblio- 
otheca  Patr."  Lugdun.  vol.  xiii.  724. 
(Kraus,  "Real-Encyclopadie.") 


Qirdle. 


Girdle  {cingulum,  balleum,  zone).  A 
cord  with  which  the  priest  or  other  cleric 
binds  his  alb.  It  is  the  symbol  of  conti- 
nence and  self-restraint,  as  is  said  by  InnO' 


GIRDLE. 


217 


cent  III.,  and  implied  in  the  prayer  which 
'the  priest  about  to  celebrate  Mass  is 
directed  to  use  while  he  ties  the  girdle 
round  his  waist.  The  Congregation  of 
Rites  (January  22,  1701 )  lays  it  down  that 
the  girdle  should  be  of  linen  rather  than  of 
silk,  though  it  may  also  be  ( S,  R.  C, 
December  23,  1862)  of  wool.  Usually  it 
is  white,  but  the  use  of  colored  girdles, 
varying  with  the  color  of  the  vestments,  is 
permitted  (S.  R.  C.  January  8,  1709). 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  girdle,  its  use 
was  common  among  Greeks  and  Romans 
in  their  daily  life,  and  thence  took  its  place, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  among  the  liturgical 
vestments ;  but  it  is  not  till  the  beginning 
of  the  middle  ages  that  we  meet  with 
liturgical  girdles  richly  adorned.  Anas- 
tasius,  in  the  ninth  century,  mentions 
nmrcBiiulcB  —  i.  e.  jewelled  girdies  in  the 
shape  of  lampreys  or  eels.  We  also  read 
of  girdles  variegated  with  gold,  and  of 
others  {zonce  literatcB)  with  letters  or 
words  woven  in.  The  Greek  girdle  is 
shorter  and  broader  than  ours,  and  often 
richly  adorned.  (  See  Benedict  XIV.  "  De 
Miss"  ;  Le  Brun  ;  Hefele,  " Beitrage.") 


MaPiiple. 


An  ornamental  vestment  worn  by  sub- 
deacons  and  by  clergy  of  higher  orders  at 
Mass.  It  hangs  from  the  left  arm  below 
the  elbow  ( Gavantus  says  above  the  elbow, 
but  he  is  corrected  by  Meratus ),  and  is 
fastened  by  strings  or  pins.  It  is  of  the 
same  color  and  material  as  the  chasuble. 


Priests  put  it  on  before  Mass  after  the 
girdle.  Bishops  do  not  take  it  till  they 
have  said  the  Confiteor  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar.  It  is  supposed  to  symbolize  pen- 
ance and  sorrow,  and  the  prayer  which 
the  priest  is  directed  in  the  Missal  to  say 
as  he  puts  it  on  alludes  to  this  significa- 
tion. "  Be  it  mine,  O  Lord,  to  bear  the 
maniple  of  weeping  and  sorrow,  that  I  may 
receive  with  joy  the  reward  of  toil."  And 
the  prayer  said  by  the  bishop  is  much  the 
same.  Liturgical  writers  also  see  in  the 
maniple  a  symbol  of  the  cords  with  which 
Christ  was  bound  on  His  capture. 

Many  writers,  following  Cardinal  Bona, 
have  thought  that  they  could  trace  the 
mention  of  the  maniple  to  Gregory  the 
Great,  who  wrote  to  John  of  Ravenna 
because  the  clergy  of  that  see  had  begun 
to  use  w/«//«/^,  which,  up  to  that  time, 
had  been  peculiar  to  Roman  ecclesiastics. 
It  has  been  shown,  however,  by  Binterein, 
that  the  mappidce  were  not  maniples,  but 
portable  baldaccJdni.  The  mosaic  of  St. 
Vitalis  at  Ravenna  ( sixth  century )  repre- 
sents the  bishop  and  clergy  without 
maniples,  and  it  is  not  till  the  eighth  and 
ninth  centuries  that  any  trace  of  the 
maniple  is  found.  It  was  originally  a 
handkerchief  ( hence  the  name  mannipuhcs) 
used  for  removing  perspiration  and  the 
moisture  of  the  eyes.  Mabillon  quotes 
from  a  document  of  the  year  781,  in  which 
"  five  maniples "  are  named,  along  with 
other  vestments.  In  889,  Bishop  Riculf, 
of  Soissons,  required  each  church  to  have 
at  least  two  girdles  and  as  many  clean 
maniples    {^'totidem   nitidas   manipulas''). 


ft 


2l8 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


In  the  tenth  century,  Bishop  Ratherius 
forbade  any  one  to  say  Mass  without  amice, 
alb,  stole,  ^^ fanone et plaiieta!'  Th^planeta 
is  the  chasuble ;  the  fano  (Goth,  fana, 
allied  to  the  Greek  penos  and  the  Latin 
panrms,  and  the  same  word  as  the  modern 
German  Fahne )  is  the  maniple  ;  hantfan  or 
Jiantvan  being  the  translation  of  ma7iipulus 
or  manipula  in  mediaeval  vocabularies. 

The  following  are  the  principal  changes 
which  have  occurred  in  the  form  and  use  of 
the  maniple.  Originally,  as  has  been  said, 
it  was  a  mere  handkerchief,  used  indeed 
at  Mass,  but  then  for  ordinary  purposes. 
But  it  was  richly  ornamented.  Thus  in 
908,  Adalbero,  bishop  of  Augsburg,  offered 
a  maniple  worked  with  gold  at  the  shrine  of 
St.  Gallus.  In  the  Basilica  of  St.  Ambrose 
at  Milan  there  are  four  figures  of  saints, 
constructed  in  835,  with  ornamental 
maniples  on  their  left  arms,  much  like 
Gothic  maniples  of  a  much  later  date. 
Hefele  gives  a  figure  (belonging  to  the 
ninth  century)  of  a  priest  with  little  bells 
on  his  maniple,  in  imitation  doubtless  of 
the  bells  on  the  coat  of  the  Jewish  High 
Priest.  But  even  as  late  as  iioo  Ivo  of 
Chartres  mentions  the  use  of  the  maniple 
for  wiping  the  eyes,  and  it  was  only 
gradually  that  the  maniple  became  entirely 
of  stiff  material.  The  prayer  in  the  Missal, 
as  we  have  seen,  still  alludes  to  the  old  and 
simple  use. 

Again,  in  11 00  a  Council  of  Poitiers 
restricted  the  use  of  the  maniple  to  sub- 
deacons,  and  such  is  the  present  custom. 
But  only  a  little  before  the  council  Lan- 
franc  speaks  of  the  maniple  as  commonly 


worn  by  monks,  even  if  laymen.  A  statute 
of  the  Church  of  Liege  (1287)  directs  that 
the  maniple  should  be  two  feet  long, 
which  is  much  more  than  its  present 
length.  Moreover,  since  the  chasuble 
used  to  cover  the  entire  body,  the  priest 
did  not  put  on  the  maniple  till  the  chasuble 
was  raised  after  the  Confiteor  and  his  arm 
left  free.  A  memory  of  the  old  state  of 
things  is  preserved  by  bishops  at  their 
Mass.  ( Gavantus,  with  Merati's  notes, 
Hefele,  "Beitrage.") 

Humeral   Veil. 

An  oblong  scarf  of  the  same  material  as 
the  vestments,  worn  by  the  subdeacon  at 
High  Mass,  when  he  holds  the  paten, 
between  the  Offertory  and  Paternoster ;  by 
the  priest  when  he  raises  the  monstrance 
to  give  Benediction  with  the  Blessed  Sacra^ 
ment ;  and  by  priests  and  deacons  when 
they  remove  the  Blessed  Sacrament  from 
one  place  to  another,  or  carry  it  in  proces- 
sion. It  is  worn  round  the  shoulders,  and 
the  paten,  pyx,  or  monstrance  is  wrapped 
in  it.  According  to  Le  Brun  ("  Explica- 
tion de  la  Messe,"  i.  p.  319),  this  veil  was 
introduced  because  in  many  churches  it 
was  the  ancient  custom  for  an  acolyte  to 
hold  the  paten  at  High  Mass,  and  he,  not 
being  in  holy  orders,  could  not  lawfully 
touch  the  sacred  vessels  with  bare  hands. 
The  Levites,  as  may  be  seen  in  Numbers 
iv.,  were  only  allowed  to  bear  the  sacred 
vessels  after  they  had  been  wrapped  up  in 
coverings.     This   reason    obviously    does 


HUMERAL    VEIL. 


219 


not  supply  any  explanation  of  the  use  of 
the  veil  by  tTie  priest  at  Benediction,  etc. 
But  though  the  priest  is  permitted  to  touch 
vessels  containing  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
he  abstains  from  doing  so  at  certain  solemn 
moments  out  of  reverence.  We  ought  to 
add  that  the  use  of  the  humeral  veil  at 
Benediction  is  strictly  prescribed  in 
several  decrees  of  the  Congregation  of 
Rites. 


Svjrplice. 


A  GARMENT  of  white  linen  worn  over 
the  cassock  in  choir  and  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments.  It  is  among  the 
most  familiar,  and  at  the  same  time  is  one 
of  the  most  modern,  of  Church  vest- 
ments. 

The  word  superpellicium  means  a  dress 
worn  over  a  garment  of  skins.  Such 
dresses  of  fur  {pellictce)  came  into  use 
among  monks  early  in  the  ninth  century, 
probably  to  protect  them  from  the  cold  and 
damp  during  the  long  offices  in  church. 
The  great  Synod  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
817  (can.  22)  ordered  each  monk  to  have 
two  dre.^ises  of  fur  {pellictce).  Over  these 
pellicicB'A.  linen  garment,  the  superpellicium 
or  surplice,  was  worn  in  choir.  It  is  uncer- 
tain when  this  last  custom  began.  The 
surplice  is  mentioned  in  1050  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Coyaca,  and  Durandus  in  1286 
speaks  of  its  use  as  already  ancient,  but  by 
no  means  universal.  The  Spanish  synod 
just  mentioned  (can.  3)  requires  it  to  be 
worn  under  the  amice,  alb,  and  the  rest  of 
the   Mass   vestments,    and    this    usage  is 


still  recognized  in  the  rubrics  of  the  Roman 
Missal.  ("Ritus  Servand."  i.  2.)  In  the 
twelfth  century  it  reached  to  the  ankles, 
and  so  the  Council  of  Basle  in  the  fifteenth 
century  requires  canons  in  choir  to  wear 
surplices  "  ultra  medias  tibiasy  Cardinal 
Bona,  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago, 
speaks  of  surplices  being  already  shorter 
than  the  rule  of  Basle  required,  but  the 
pictures  in  Roman  Pontificals  of  the  last 
century  show  that  the  present  form  of  the 
Italian  surplice  or  cotta  is  very  recent. 
To  this  day  the  length  varies  much  in 
American  churches,  but  it  never  reached 
below  the  knees,  while  in  the  new  Italian 
fashion  adopted  by  many  of  the  English 
clergy  the  surplice  does  not  reach  nearly 
so  far.  It  was  not  till  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury that  surplices  were  commonly  adorned 
with  lace.  (Hefele,  "  Beitrage,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
174.  seq.\  see  also  Rochet  and  Cotta.) 


Dalmatic. 

A  VESTMENT  Opened  on  each  side,  with 
wide  sleeves,  and  marked  with  two  stripes. 
It  is  worn  by  deacons  at  High  Mass  as 
well  as  at  processions  and  benedictions, 
and  by  bishops,  when  they  celebrate  Mass 
pontifically,  under  the  chasuble.  The 
color  should  conform  to  that  of  the  chasu- 
ble worn  by  the  celebrant. 

The  word  is  derived  from  Dalmatia, 
and    first   occurs    in    the  second   century. 

The  dalmatic  {Dahnaiica  vestis)  was  a 
long  under-garment  of  white  Dalmatian 
wool  corresponding  to  the  Roman  Tunic. 


220 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


.-Elius  Lampridius  blames  the  emperors 
Commodus  and  Heliogabalus  for  appear- 
ing publicly  in  the  dalmatic.  In  the  Acts 
of  St.  Cyprian  we  are  told  that  the  martyr 
drew  off  his  dalmatic  and,  giving  it  to  his 
deacons,  stood  ready  for  death  in  his^ 
linen  garment.  In  these  instances  the 
dalmatic  was  clearly  a  garment  of  every- 
day life. 

According  to  Anastasius,  Pope  Sylves- 
ter, early  in  the  fourth  century,  gave  the 
Roman  deacons  dalmatics  instead  of  the 
sleeveless  garments  ikolobia)  which  they 
had  used  previously.  Gradually  the  Popes 
conceded  the  privilege  of  wearing  the  dal- 
matic as  an  ecclesiastical  vestment  to  the 
deacons  of  other  churches.^  Such  a  con- 
cession was  made  by  rope  Symmachus 
towards  the  close  of  the  fifth  century,  to 
the  church  of  Aries.  In  the  same  way, 
the  use  of  the  dalmatic  as  an  episcopal 
vestment  was  first  proper  to  the  Pope  and 
then  permitted  by  him  to  other  bishops. 
Thus  Gregory  the  Great  allowed  Aregius, 
bishop  of  Gap  in  Gaul,  to  wear  a  dalmatic, 
and  Walafrid  Strabo  testifies  that  in  the 
seventh  century  this  episcopal  custom  was 
by  no  means  universal.  But  from  the 
year  800  onwards  ecclesiastical  writers  all 
speak  of  the  dalmatic  as  one  of  the  episco- 
pal, and  the  chief  of  the  deacon's  vest- 
ments. The  dalmatic  was  originally 
always  white,  but  Durandus  speaks  of  red 
dalmatics,  symbolizing  martyrdom.  The 
Greeks  have  a  vestment  corresponding  to 
our  dalmatic,  called  sticharion  or  stoic/iarion, 

l«Quando   sacerdoti  ministrant." — Rubr.  Gen.  Miss.  iit. 


from  the  stichoi  (lines  or  stripes),  with  which 
it  is  adorned ;  its  color  varies',  just  as  the 
dalmatic  of  our.  deacons  does,  with  the 
color  of  WiQ phelojiion  or  chasuble,  worn  by 
the  celebrant.  The  Greek  priests  also 
wear  a  sticharion  under  the  chasuble,  but 
the  former  is  always  white. 

Various  mystical  meanings  have  been 
attached  to  the  dalmatic.  When  the  arms 
are  stretched  it  presents  the  figure  of  a 
cross  ;  the  width  of  the  sleeves  is  said  to 
typify  charity ;  the  two  stripes  (which 
were  originally  purple,  and  are  probably  a 
relic  of  the  Roman  latus  clavus)  were  sup- 
posed to  symbolize  the  blood  of  Christ 
shed  for  Jews  and  Gentiles.  (From  Rock, 
"Hierurgia,"  and  Hefele,  "  Beitrage,"  il 
204  seq.) 


lassoc 


k. 


Cassock  {vestis  talaris,  toga  subtanea, 
soutane).  A  close-fitting  garment  reach- 
ing to  the  heels  {usque  ad  talos),  which  is 
the  distinctive  dress  of  clerics.  The  cas- 
sock of  simple  priests  is  black  ;  that  of 
bishops  and  other  prelates,  purple ;  that  of 
cardinals,  red  ;  that  of  the  Pope,  white. 
Originally  the  cassock  was  the  ordinary 
dress  common  to  laymen  ;  its  use  was  con- 
tinued by  the  clergy,  while  lay  people, 
after  the  immigration  of  the  northern 
nations,  began  to  wear  shorter  clothes,  and 
thus  it  became  associated  with  the  ecclesi- 
astical state.  The  Council  of  Trent,  De 
Reform,  cap.  6,  requires  all  clerics,  if  in 
sacred  orders,  or  if  they  hold  a  beneficCi 


CASSOCK. 


221 


to  wear  the  clerical  dress  ;  although  in 
Protestant  countries  clerics  are  excused 
from  doing  so  in  public,  on  account  of  the 
inconveniences  likely  to  arise. 


Jvjrvic. 


Tunic  {tunica  or  tunicelld).  A  vest- 
trtent  proper  to  sub-deacons,  who  are 
clothed  in  it  by  the  bishop  at  ordination, 
and  exactly  like  the  dalmatic,  except 
that,  according  to  Gavantus  ("Thesaur." 
P.  I,  tit.  xix.),  it  is  rather  smaller.  Even 
this  distinction  is  not,  so  far  as  we  know, 
generally  observed.  It  is  also  worn  by 
bishops  under  the  dalmatic  when  they 
pontificate.  Gregory  the  Great  (Ep.  ix. 
,12)  says  one  of  his  predecessors  had  given 
the  sub-deacons  linen  tunics,  and  that 
some  other  churches  had  adopted  this 
usage,  but  he  himself  had  restored  the  old 
fashion,  and  left  his  sub-deacons  without 
any  special  vestment.  There  is  no  notice 
of  the  tunicella  in  the  Gregorian  Sacra- 
mentary.  But  the  first  (§6)  and  the 
fifth  ( §  I )  of  the  Roman  Ordines  distin- 
guish between  a  greater  and  less  dal- 
matic, and  the  latter  probably  is  our 
tunicle.  Amalarius  expressly  marks 
("Eccles.  OflEic."  ii.  21,  22)  the  difference 
between  dalmatic  and  tunicle,  and  tells  us 
that  some  bishops  wore  one,  some  the 
other,  some,  as  now,  both.  He  says  the 
tunic  was  also  called  "  subucula,^^  and  \yas, 
when  worn  as  an  episcopal  vestment, 
purple  {hyacinthind).  Honorius  of  Autun 
calls     the     tunicle     ( "  Gemma,"    i.    229) 


"subtile^  and  ** tunica stricta^^  (i.  e.  nar- 
row) ;  Innocent  III.  (  "  De  Altar.  Myster." 
i.  39  and  55),  "  tunica  poderes^ 


Corporal. 


The  linen  cloth  on  which  the  body  of 
Christ  is  consecrated.  It  used  to  cover 
the  whole  surface  of  the  altar,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  an  "  Ordo  Romanus,"  where 
the  corporal  is  said  to  be  spread  on  the 
altar  by  two  deacons.  The  chalice  also 
was  covered  by  the  corporal,  a  custom 
still  maintained  by  the  Carthusians.  The 
corporal  is  and  must  be  blessed  by  the 
bishop  or  by  a  priest  with  special  faculties. 
It  represents  the  winding-sheet  in  which 
Christ's  body  was  wrapped  by  Joseph  of 
Arimathea. 

Crib   at  BetKIeKen\. 

The  actual  crib  in  which  Christ  was 
born  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from 
Bethlehem  in  the  seventh  century,  and  to 
be  now  preserved  in  the  Liberian  basilica 
at  Rome.  The  present  custom  of  erecting 
a  crib  in  the  churches  at  Christmas  time 
with  figures  representing  our  Lord,  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Joseph,  etc.,  began 
during  the  thirteenth  century  in  the 
Franciscan  order.  (Benedict  XIV.  "  De 
Festis,"  i.  n.  641,  n  679.) 


Go 


pe. 


Cope   {fappa  pluviale).      A   wide   vest- 
ment, of  silk,  etc.,  reaching  nearly  to  the 


222 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORy. 


feet,  open  in  front  and  fastened  by  a  clasp, 
and  with  a  hood  at  the  back.  It  is  used 
by  the  celebrant  in  processions,  benedic- 
tions, etc,  but  never  in  the  celebration  of 
Mass,  for  the  Church  reserves  the  chasuble 
for  the  priest  actually  engaged  in  offering 
sacrifice,  and  thus  carefully  distinguishes 
between  Mass  and  all  other  functions. 
The  cope  is  used  in  processions  by  those 
who  assist  the  celebrant,  by  cantors  at 
vespers,  etc.,  so  that  it  is  by  no  means  a 
distinctively  sacerdotal  vestment.  Men- 
tion is  made  of  the  cope  in  the  ancient 
"  Ordo  Romanus  "  for  the  consecration  of 
bishops.  No  special  blessing  is  provided 
for  the  cope.  (From  Gavantus  and  Mera- 
tus.) 


G rosier  or  jpastoral  Staff. 

Crosier  or  Pastoral  Staff  {baculus  pas- 
toralis,  pedum,  cambutd).  The  staff  given 
to  the  bishop  at  his  consecration  as  the 
symbol  of  the  authority  with  which  he  rules 
his  flock.  It  is  said  that  such  a  staff  is 
first  mentioned  by  Isidore  of  Seville 
(t^S^)-  This  staff  is  curved  at  the  top, 
straight  in  the  middle,  and  pointed  at  the 
lower  end.  Hence  the  mediaeval  line 
quoted  by  Gavantus,  "  Curva  irakii,  qnos 
dextra  regit ;  pars  ultima  pungit!^  The 
Pope  alone  of  all  bishops  actually  ruling  a 
diocese  does  not  use  a  pastoral  staff. 
According  to  some,  this  is  because  the 
curvature  in  the  staff  is  a  token  of  limited 
jurisdiction  (?). 


CKasvible. 

Chasuble  (Lat.  casula,  pcenula,  planeta  ; 
and  in  Greek,  phelonion  or  pheldniotiy  from 
phainoles,  or  phelones,  identical  with 
pcemila).  The  chief  garment  of  a  priest 
celebrating  Mass.  It  is  worn  outside  the 
other  vestments.  Among  the  Greeks,  it 
still  retains  its  ancient  form  of  a  large 
round  mantle.  Among  the  Latins,  its 
size  has  been  curtailed,  but  it  still  covers 
the  priest  on  both  sides,  and  descends 
nearly  to  the  knees.  In  France,  Ireland, 
the  United  States,  and  often  in  England, 
a  cross  is  marked  on  the  back  ;  in  Italy, 
this  cross  is  usually  in  front.  In  the 
West,  all  who  celebrate  Mass  wear  the 
same  chasuble,  but  among  the  Greeks  the 
chasuble  of  a  bishop  is  ornamented  with 
a  number  of  crosses  {phainolion  polus- 
iaurion),  while  an  archbishop  wears  a 
different  vestment  altogether,  viz.  the 
sakkos,  which  is  supposed  to  resemble 
the  coat  of  Christ  during  His  Passion. 
In  Russia,  even  bishops,  since  the 
time  of  Peter  the  Great,  have  worn  the 
sakkos. 

The  chasuble  is  derived  from  a  dress 
once  commonly  worn  in  daily  life.  Classi- 
cal writers  often  mention  the  "  paenula," 
or  large  outer  garment  which  the  Romans 
wore  on  journeys  or  in  military  service. 
"  Casula,"  from  which  our  word  chasuble 
is  obtained,  does  not  occur  in  pure  Latin- 
ity.  It  was,  however,  used  in  later  ages, 
as  an  equivalent  for  the  "  paenula,"  or 
mantle.  We  first  meet  with  the  word 
in  the   will   of  Caesarius   of  Aries    (about 


CHASUBLE. 


223 


540),  and  in  the  biography  of  his  contem- 
porary, Fulgentius  of  Ruspe.  In  both 
instances,  "  casula "  denotes  a  garment 
used  in  common  life.  Isidore  of  Seville 
(about  630)  uses  the  word  in  the  same 
sense,  and  explains  it  as  a  diminutive  of 
"casa,"  because,  like  a  little  house,  it 
covered  the  whole  body.  The  same 
author  tells  us  that  "  planeta  "  comes  from 
the  Greek  planao,  "  to  wander,"  because 
its  ample  folds  seemed  to  wander  over  the 
body.  It  is  plain,  from  the  examples  given 
by  Ducange,  that  "planeta,"  like  "casula" 
and  "  paenula,"  denoted  a  dress  worn  by 
laymen  as  well  as  clerics. 

It  is  in  the  former  half  of  the  sixth 
century  that  we  find  the  first  traces  of  the 
chasuble  as  an  ecclesiastical  vestment. 
In  the  famous  mosaic  at  San  Vitale,  in 
Ravenna,  the  archbishop,  Maximus,  is 
represented  wearing  a  vestment  which  is 
clearly  the  chasuble,  and  over  which  the 
pallium  is  suspended.  The  chasuble  has 
the  same  shape  which  prevailed  till  the 
eleventh  century.  The  Fourth  Council  of 
Toledo,  in  633,  makes  express  mention  of 
the  "planeta,"  as  a  priestly  vestment. 
Germanus,  Archbishop  of  Constantinople, 
about  715,  uses  the  word  phelonion  in  the 
same  technical  sense  ;  while  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  ninth  century,  Amalarius  of 
Metz  speaks  of  the  "  casula"  as  the  "  gen- 
eral garment  of  sacred  leaders"  {^^ gene- 
rale  indumentum  sacrorum  ducum " ). 
Almost  at  the  same  time,  Rabanus  Mau- 
rus  gives  the  derivation  of  "  casula," 
quoted  above,  from  Isidore  of  Seville,  and 


goes  on  to  say  that  it  is  "the  last  of  all      (d.  114.0) 


the  vestments,  which  covers  and  preserves 
all  the  rest."  Later  authors  of  the  mid- 
dle age  copy  their  predecessors  ;  and  even 
Innocent  III.  adds  nothing  of  his  own 
save  certain  mystical  meanings  implied  in 
the  use  of  the  vestment. 

To  sum  up,  the  chasuble  was  first  of  all 
an  ordinary  dress ;  from  the  sixth  century 
at  latest  it  was  adapted  to  the  use  of  the 
church,  till  gradually  it  became  an  eccle- 
siastical dress  pure  and  simple.  But  did 
it  at  once  become  distinctive  of  the  priest- 
hood }  The  question  admits  of  no  certain 
answer.  The  eighth  "  Ordo  Romanus " 
distinctly  prescribes  that  acolytes,  in  their 
ordination,  should  receive  the  ** planeta  "  or 
chasuble.  Amalarius,  in  like  manner, 
declares  that  the  chasuble  belongs  to  all 
clerics.  On  the  other  hand,  almost  all 
ancient  writers  who  refer  to  the  church 
use  of  the  chasuble  regard  it  as  the  dis- 
tinctive dress  of  priests.  Cardinal  Bona 
mentions  this  difficulty  without  venturing 
to  explain  it.  Hefele  suggests  that  as  the 
Greek //^^/^»/^«  signifies  (i)  a  chasuble  in 
the  modern  sense,  (2)  a  kind  of  collar, 
reaching  from  the  neck  to  the  elbows, 
which  is  worn  by  lectors  or  readers,  so  the 
Latin  word  "planeta  "  may  have  been  also 
employed  as  the  name  of  two  distinct 
vestments.  But  even  if  this  explanation 
is  correct,  the  fact  remains  that  even  now 
the  deacon  and  subdeacon,  in  High  Mass 
during  Advent  and  Lent,  wear  chasubles 
folded  in  front,  laying  them  aside  while 
they  sing  the  Gospel  and  Epistle.  This 
custom  is  mentioned  by  Hugo  of  St.  Victor 


I 


224 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


The  form  of  the  chasuble  has  under- 
gone great  alterations.  The  ancient 
chasuble,  which  enveloped  the  whole  body, 
was  found  very  inconvenient,  and  hence  in 
the  twelfth  century,  it  was  curtailed  at 
the  sides,  so  as  to  leave  the  arms  free. 
Of  this  kind  is  a  chasuble  said  to  have 
been  used  by  St.  Bernard.  In  shape  it 
resembles  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Gothic  chasuble,  although  the  ornaments 
upon  it  are  not  Gothic  but  Romanesque. 
At  a  later  date,  the  chasuble  was  still 
further  curtailed,  till  in  the  Rococo  period 
all  resemblance  to  the  original  type  disap- 
peared. However,  even  in  Italy,  attempts 
were  made  to  recall  the  ancient  shape,  at 
least  to  a  certain  extent.  Thus  St. 
Charles  Borromeo,  in  a  provincial  council, 
ordered  that  the  chasubles  should  be  about 
four  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  should  reach 
nearly  to  the  heels. 

Various  symbolical  significations  have 
been  given  to  the  chasuble.  The  earliest 
writers  make  it  a  figure  of  charity,  which, 
as  Rabanus  Maurus  says,  "is  eminent 
above  all  the  other  virtues."  This  is  the 
most  popular  explanation  of  the  symbolism  ; 
but  we  also  find  it  regarded  by  an  ancient 
writer  as  typical  of  good  works  ;  ancient 
Sacramentaries  and  Missals  consider  it  as 
the  figure  of  sacerdotal  justice,  or  of 
humility,  charity,  and  peace,  which  are 
to  cover  and  adorn  the  priest  on  every 
side ;  while  the  prayer  in  the  Roman 
Missal  connects  the  chasuble  with  the 
yoke  of  Christ.  ( Hefele,  "  Beitrage  zur 
Kirchengeschichte,  Archaologie  und  Lit- 
urgik,"  p.  195  seq) 


Frorxtal. 

Frontal  {antipendium,  pallium).  An 
embroidered  cloth  which  often  covers  the 
front  side  of  the  altar.  The  color,  accord- 
ing to  the  Rubrics  of  the  missal,  should 
vary  with  the  feast  or  season.  In  early 
times  the  altar  was  open  in  front,  so  that 
there  was  no  need  of  such  a  covering,  and 
even  now  Gavantus  says  it  may  be  dis- 
pensed with  if  the  altar  is  of  costly 
material,  or  fine  workmanship.  (Gavant 
P.  I.,  tit.  XX.) 

ZxpIaAatiorx    of  preface   of 
tKe  JMass. 

A  PRELUDE  or  introduction  to  the  Canon 
of  the  Mass,  consisting  in  an  exhortation 
to  thanksgiving  made  by  the  celebrant,  in 
the  answers  of  the  minister  or  choir,  and  a 
prayer  ending  with  the  Sanctus,  in  which 
God  is  thanked  for  His  benefits.  The 
Greeks  have  only  one  Preface,  which  in 
the  Clementine  liturgy  is  extremely  long. 
The  Galilean  and  Mozarabic  rites,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  rich  in  Prefaces,  and  so 
originally  was  the  Roman  liturgy,  which 
from  the  sixth  till  about  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  century  had  a  special  Preface  for 
nearly  every  feast.  About  iioo  the 
number  was  reduced  in  most  churches  of  the 
Roman  rite  to  ten  — viz.  the  common  one, 
found  in  nearly  all  the  ancient  Sacramen- 
taries, and  nine  others  named  in  a  letter 
falsely  attributed  to  Pelagius,  predecessor 
of  St.  Gregory,  and  cited  in  the  "  Microlo- 


EXPLANATION  OF  PREFACE  OF  THE  MASS. 


225 


gus,"  etc. —  viz.  the  Preface  of  Christmas, 
Epiphany,^  Lent,  Easter,  Ascension, 
Pentecost,  the  Trinity,  the  Apostles,  the 
Cross.  Urban  II.  is  said  by  Gratian,  who 
lived  fifty  years  later,  to  have  added  the 
Preface  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  1095. 
The  Sarum  Use  had  "  proper  Prefaces " 
for  the  "  Conception,  Nativity,  Annuncia- 
tion, Visitation,  Veneration,  and  Assump- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin."  "The  York 
Use  added  another  for  the  days  between 
Passion  Sunday  and  Easter.  The  Here- 
ford appointed  the  same  Preface  from  Palm 
Sunday  to  Easter."  ( Maskell ;  the  rest  of 
the  article  is  from  Le  Brun  and  Ham- 
mond). 

Prelate. 

Prelate  {pralatiis),  A  name  for  an 
ecclesiastical  dignitary,  whether  among 
the  secular  or  the  regular  clergy,  who  has 
a  jurisdiction  inherent  in  his  office,  and  not 
merely  one  transmitted  to  him  as  the 
delegate  of  a  superior.  The  designation 
is  extended  in  a  wider  sense  to  the  prelates 
of  the  Pope's  Court  and  household,  as 
having  a  superiority  of  rank. 

Prelature,  or  prelacy,  is  the  status  of  a 
prelate.  When  the  first  Scotch  Presby- 
terians raved  against  "  Popery,  Prelacy, 
and  Erastianism,"  prelacy  in  their  mouths 
was  not  exactly  equivalent  to  "Episco- 
pacy" ;  they   meant    that   they    were  in 

1  So  Le  Brun,  torn,  ii ;  but  the  letter,  as  given  in  Leofric's 
Missal,  omits  the  Preface  for  the  Epiphany  and  substitutes 
one  for  the  dead  (Maskell,  Ancient  Liturgies  of  thg  Church 
of  England  p.  103.  seq). 


rebellion  against  canon  law  and  ecclesias. 
tical  jurisdiction.  It  is  true  that  they 
erected  a  new  jurisdiction,  far  more 
burdensome  and  inquisitorial  than  the  old 
one ;  on  which  see  Buckle's  "  History  of 
Civilization,"  vol.  ii.  chap.  v. 


WK\j  tKe  Priest   says  ^'  Ite 
]Missa   est." 

The  meaning  of  the  word  Missa  is  dis- 
cussed under  Mass,  Here  it  may  suffice 
to  say,  that  after  the  Gospel  the  catechu- 
mens were  dismissed  by  the  deacon  with 
the  words,  "Ite  Missa  est "/  Go,  you  are  dis- 
missed  ;  literally  "  a  dismissal  is  made  "  ; 
and  that  the  same  formula  was  repeated  at 
the  end  of  the  whole  Mass.  In  the  litur- 
gies of  St,  James,  St.  Basil,  and  St.  Chrys- 
ostom,  we  find  the  form  "  Let  us  go  in  the 
peace  of  Christ,"  the  people  answering  "  In 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  "Benedicamus 
Domino  "  is  substituted  in  Masses  of  ferias 
and  Sundays  in  the  penitential  seasons, 
"  Requiescat  in  pace  "  in  Masses  of  th« 
dead,  because  these  Masses  were  followed 
by  penitential  prayers,  and  by  the  absolu- 
tion at  the  tomb,  for  which  the  peopl* 
waited.  (Benedict  XIV.,  "De  Miss." 
Hefele,  "  Beitrage.") 


Bu 


rse. 


Burse    {bursa,   also  perd).     A    square 
case  into  which  the  priest  puts  the  cor 


226 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


poral  which  is  to  be  used  in  Mass.  It  was 
introduced  in  the  fourteenth  century.  It 
should  be  of  the  same  color  as  the  vest- 
ments of  the  day.  Usually  it  has  a  cross 
in  the  middle.  The  priest  places  it  above 
the  chalice,  with  the  open  side  towards  his 


own  breast.  When  he  reaches  the  altar, 
he  extracts  the  corporal  and  places  the 
burse  on  the  Gospel  side.  Pius  V.  allowed 
the  Spanish  priests  to  carry  the  corporal 
outside  the  burse.  (Benedict.  "  De  Miss." 
i.  5.) 


1^ 


Wa 


^ 


NBIfFERENTlSn. 


b^     " 


-INTRODUCTION. 


—^^ 


JN  the  following  pages  I  propose 
to  answer  the  question  :  "  Is 
one  religion  as  good  as 
another  ?  "  In  other  words,  I 
propose  to  discuss  that  popu- 
lar theory  which  teaches  that 
all  Christian  creeds  find  equal  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  God,  and  that  it  does  not  matter 
what  branch  of  Christianity  a  man  belongs 
to,  provided  he  be  a  good  man  after  his 
'^wn  fashion. 

Lest  those  outside  the  Catholic  Church, 
Into  whose  hands  this  little  book  may  fall, 
might  think  that,  as  being  a  Catholic 
priest,  I  have  put  forward  my  views  on 
the  subject  in  an  exaggerated  light,  I  wish 
to  anticipate  such  charge,  by  quoting  at 
the  outset  the  words  of  a  man  whose 
words  can  evoke  no  such  suspicion.  He 
wrote  them  while  he  was  still  a  Protestant, 
some  seven  or  eight  years  before  he 
became  a  Catholic.  I  allude  to  the  illus- 
trious Cardinal  Newman.  Long  before 
he    made     up     his     mind    to     renounce 

1 


Anglicanism  he  condemned  this  insid- 
ious theory  in  language  quite  as  strong 
and  emphatic  as  any  that  is  used  in  these 
pages. 

As  early  as  1838  he  foresaw,  with  the 
eyes  of  a  seer,  the  havoc  which  Indiffer- 
entism,  Latitudinarianism,  Liberalism  in 
religion,  would  make  of  the  Gospel,  and 
he  pointed  to  the  gulf  of  unbelief  to  which 
it  must  inevitably  lead.  From  the  outset 
of  his  brilliant  career,  and  while  he  was 
still  a  comparatively  young  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England,  he  raised  his 
eloquent  voice  and  wielded  his  powerful 
pen  against  it.  He  felt  that  those  whose 
duty  it  was  to  try  to  keep  down  the  flood 
of  Agnosticism  and  infidelity  must  use  all 
their  energies  to  stem  the  torrent  of  Indif- 
ferentism.  The  one,  he  saw,  was  but  a 
process  of  transition  into  the  other.  To 
/lis  mind  it  was  clear  as  noonday,  even 
then,  that  the  theory,  that  every  man's 
view  of  revelation  was  equally  acceptable 
to   God,  would,   in   the   case   at  least  of 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


many,  end  in  the  conviction  that  all 
religions  were  useless 

It  was  to  check  the  growth  and  to 
counteract  the  influence  of  this  pernicious 
system  that  he  made  so  many  and  such 
energetic  efforts  to  give  to  the  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England  a  dogmatic  inter- 
pretation— such  an  interpretation  as  would 
make  them  say  something  definite,  and 
clear  away  from  them  that  ambiguity 
which  left  every  man  free  to  become  the 
arbiter  of  his  own  belief.  But  he  was  not 
allowed  to  do  so.. 

In  his  Tracts  for  ^he  Times  he  treats, 
amongst  many  other  subjects,  that  of 
Latitudinarianism  or  Indifferentism. 
After  showing  that  the  Indifferentist  or 
Latitudinarian  may,  quite  consistently 
with  his  principles,  deny  even  the  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  since  that 
doctrine  is  not  found  on  the  surface  of  the 
Scriptures,  he  proceeds  to  say :  "  And  if 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  not  to  be 
accounted  as  one  of  the  leading  of  funda- 
mental truths  of  revelation,  the  key- 
stone of  the  mysterious  system  is  lost ; 
and  that  being  lost,  mystery  will,  in  mat- 
ter* of  fact,  be  found  gradually  to  fade 
away  from  the  creed  altogether;  that 
is,  the  notion  of  Christianity,  as  being  a 
revelation  of  iiew  truths,  will  gradually 
fade  away,  and  the  Gospel  in  course  of 
time  will  be  considered  scarcely  more 
than  a  republication  of  the  law  of  nature. 
This,  I  think,  will  be  found  to  be  the 
historical  progress  and  issue  of  this  line 
of  thought.  It  is  but  one  shape  of  Lati- 
tudinarianism." 


In  this  same  paper,  which  was  published 
in  the  fifth  volume  in  1838,  he  pronounces 
Latitudinarianism  or  Indifferentism  so 
extravagant  and  so  unreasonable,  that  he 
declares  he  "  cannot  enter  into  the  state 
of  mind  of  a  person  maintaining  it  "  ;  that 
he  "conceives  such  a  theory  to  be  out  of 
the  question  with  every  serious  mind"; 
that  he  cannot  understand  "  how  a  serious 
man,  who  realizes  what  he  is  speaking 
about,  can  be  a  consistent  Latitudinarian." 
Such  were  his  views,  and  such  his  em;)hatic 
utterances,  long  before  he  entered  the 
Catholic  Church.  Time  went  on  ;  it 
wrought  no  change  in  him  in  this  respect. 
As  years  rolled  by,  he  became  more  and 
more  emphatic  in  denouncing  it.  His  life, 
as  he  himself  has  said,  has  been  one  long 
continuous  battle  against  it.  Well,  indeed, 
might  he  say  in  his  address,  when  in 
Rome  in  1879,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
elevation  to  the  Cardinalate,  that  there 
was  one  great  evil  against  which  he  had 
always  set  himself  —  the  spirit  of  Liberal- 
ism or  Latitudinarianism  in  religion. 

If  my  space  permitted,  I  should  like  to 
give  the  whole  of  that  remarkable  allo- 
cution ;  as  it  is,  I  can  only  briefly  quote 
from  it.  Having  thanked  the  Holy 
Father  for  the  great  honor  he  was  con- 
ferring upon  him,  in  raising  him  to  the 
Cardinalate,  he  went  on  to  say  :  "  And  I 
rejoice  to  say,  to  one  great  mischief  I 
have  from  the  first  opposed  myself.  For 
thirty,  forty,  fifty  years,  I  have  resisted  to 
the  best  of  my  powers  the  spirit  of  Lib- 
eralism in  religion.  Never  did  the  Holy 
Church  need  champions   against  it  more 


INTRODUCTION. 


sorely  than  now,  when,  alas  !  it  is  an  error 
overspreading  as  a  snare  the  whole  earth  ; 
and   on   this   great   occasion,    when   it   is 
natural  for  one  who  is  in  my  place  to  look 
out  upon  the   world  and  upon   the  Holy 
Church  as  it  is,  and  upon  her  future,  it 
will  not,  I  hope,  be  considered  out  of  place 
if  I    renew   the  protest  against  it   which 
I    have    so   often   made.      Liberalism   in 
religion  is  the  doctrine  that  there  is   no 
positive   truth   in   religion,  but   that   one 
creed  is  as  good  as  another ;  and  this  is 
the  teaching  which  is  gaining   substance 
and  force  daily.     It  is   inconsistent  with 
the  recognition   of  any   religion   as   true: 
It  teaches  that  all  are  to  be  tolerated,  as 
all  are  matters  of  opinion.     Revealed  reli- 
gion is  not  a  truth,  but  a  sentiment  and  a 
taste;  not  an  objective  fact — not  miracu- 
lous ;  and  it  is  the  right  of  each  individual 
to  make  it  say  just  what  strikes  his  fancy." 
He  then  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
it   is   supposed   that   the   sects,   of  which 
Indifferentism  can  be  said  to  be  the  only 
creed,   constitute   half   the   population    of 
England.    He  points  to  the  motives  which 
the  advocates  of  that  system  avow  ;    he 
describes  the  change  which  its  spread  has 
brought  upon  society ;  and  he  adds  that, 
though  in  these  countries  it  does  not  arise 
out  of  infidelity,  it,  nevertheless,  ends  in 
infidelity. 

Such  the  judgment  pronounced  on 
Indifferentism  by  the  great  Cardinal,  who 
knew  so  well  how  to  describe  its  nature, 
spread,  influence,  and  effects.  He  had  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  in  this  country  it 
ended  in  infidelity. 


Now,  if  we  look  from  a  religious  stand- 
point at  the  elements  or  sections  which 
constitute  the  present  populati'^n  of  Eng- 
land, leaving  for  the  moment  the  Roman 
Catholic  community  out  of  sight,  we  can 
easily  realize  the  justice  of  his  remarks. 

It  is  true  that  in  one  section  —  which 
includes  several  non-Catholic  denomina- 
tions —  are  found  strict,  earnest,  generous, 
charitable  Protestants,  who  adhere  firmly 
to  the  form  of  religion  they  have  inherited 
by  family  tradition,  and  would  deem  it  a 
violation  of  conscience  to  change  it  for 
any  other;  who  regard  the  blessings  ot 
Christianity  as  the  greatest  God  can 
bestow  upon  a  people ;  who  contribute 
liberally  to  have  those  blessings  spread 
among  the  heathen  ;  who  advocate  Chris- 
tian education  ;  who  bring  up  their 
children  according  to  their  ideas  of  strict 
social  morality  ;  who  frequent  the  church, 
read  the  Bible,  say  their  prayers,  encour- 
age devotion  in  others,  and  even  make 
vigorous  efforts  from  time  to  time  to 
increase  the  number  of  their  co-religionists 
by  winning  proselytes  from  .other  denom- 
inations. 

In  another  section,  however,  we  find 
Advanced  Thinkers,  Agnostics,  Infidels, 
Atheists.  Whatever  name  they  are  to  be 
called  by,  they  no  longer  believe,  or  at 
least  profess  no  longer  to  believe,  in 
Christianity.  They  seem  to  have  been 
borne  away  into  the  region  of  utter 
unbelief.  And  however  reluctant  we  may 
be  to  realize  the  fact,  this  spirit  of  unbe- 
lief has  struck  its  roots  more  deeply  in 
these    countries    than    many   apiongst   us 


lADIFFERENTISM. 


seem  to  imagine.  It  was  stated  in  i860, 
by  those  who  were  likely  to  have  the  most 
reliable  information  on  the  subject,  that 
more  than  five  millions  of  the  population 
of  England  professed  no  religion  of  any 
kind.  According  to  an  official  census 
taken  about  that  time, —  alluded  to  in  the 
Times  of  May  the  4th,  1 860,  —  it  was 
found  that,  in  spite  of  the  richest  Estab- 
lishment in  the  world,  —  which  has  at 
least  one  representative  in  every  village  of 
the  land, —  in  Leeds  and  Liverpool,  forty 
per  cent.  ;  in  Manchester,  fifty-one ;  in 
Birmingham,  forty-four;  in  Lambeth,  sixty- 
one,  and  in  Sheffield,  sixty-two  per  cent,  of 
the  whole  population  neither  had,  nor  pro- 
fessed to  have,  any  religion  whatever. 
"  Thousands  upon  thousands,"  said  an 
earnest  advocate  of  the  Establishment 
some  time  ago,  ."  are  living  in  London,  to 
whom  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel  are 
practically  as  little  known  as  if  the  land 
of  their  birth  were  a  heathen  land,  and 
not  the  great  bulwark  of  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity." The  rector  of  the  important 
parish  of  St.  Clement  Danes,  in  the 
Strand,  —  as  reported  in  the  Quarterly 
Review  of  April,  1861,  —  said  that  he 
detected  in  his  flock  a  frightful  amount  of 
infidelity,  —  infidelity  in  all  its  shapes,  — 
extending  not  merely  to  the  denying  of 
the  Christian  Revelation,  but  even  to  the 
grossest  and  darkest  heathenism.  Another 
authority  added  :  "  There  are  whole  streets 
within  easy  walk  of  Charing  Cross,  and 
miles  and  miles  in  more  obscure  places, 
where  the  people  live  literally  without  God 
in   the   world,     .     .     .     We    could   name 


entire  quarters  in  which  it  seems  to  be 
the  custom  that  men  and  women  should 
live  in  promiscuous  concubinage ;  where 
the  very  shopkeepers  make  a  profession  of 
Atheism,  and  encourage  their  poor  cus- 
tomers to  do  the  same."  This  same 
authority  laments  what  he  calls  the  well- 
known  fact  that  there  never  was  a  time 
when  the  temper  of  the  lower  order  was 
less  satisfactory  than  it  is  now. 

Since  that  time  the  spirit  of  unbelief  has 
not  been  on  the  wane.  It  has  never  been 
more  rampant  than  it  is  at  present.  The 
number  of  those  who  sneer  at  the  Gospel 
and  ridicule  everything  sacred,  instead  of. 
getting  less,  is  increasing  every  day. 

Now,  these  two  sections  of  the  popula- 
tion may  be  looked  upon  as  its  two  extreme 
sections.  Between  them  there  lies  another 
and  a  very  large  one.  It  consists  of  those 
who  profess  Christianity,  but  profess  a 
form  of  it  which  is  vague  and  variable,  and 
as  such  tends  to  the  destruction  of  Divine 
Revelation  altogether. 

The  creed  of  this  intermediate  section  of 
the  community  teaches  that  all  religions 
are  good — that  one  is  practically  as  good 
as  another,  as  all  are  tending  towards  the 
same  end;  that  the  great  thing  is  to  live 
up  to  them  —  to  do  what  they  tell  us  ;  that 
God  is  indifferent  what  formula  of  faith  a 
man  follows,  provided  he  be  a  goc  d  man 
after  his  own  fashion.  Those  who  take 
this  view  of  revelation  hold  that  religion  is 
a  matter  of  opinion,  choice,  taste,  senti- 
ment, and  that  people  may  exercise  their 
liberty  as  freely  in  choosing  it  as  in  choos- 
ing the  food  they  eat  and  the  clothes  they 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 


wear.  Or,  as  Cardinal  Manning  puts  it, 
"  People  nowadays  assume  that  religious 
truth  can  have  no  definite  outline,  and  that 
each  man  must  discover  and  define  it  for 
himself.  And  however  definite  he  may 
choose  to  be,  one  law  is  equally  binding  on 
us  all.  No  one  must  be  certain.  Each 
one  must  concede  to  his  neighbor  as  much 
certainty  as  he  claims  for  himself.  The 
objective  certainty  of  truth  is  gone.  The 
highest  rule  of  certainty  to  each  is  the  con- 
viction of  his  own  understanding.  And 
this,  in  the  revelation  of  God,  and  in  that 
knowledge  which  is  life  eternal "  {The 
Grounds  of  Faith,  p.  5). 

Such  is  the  theory  which  is  the  subject 
of  the  following  pages.  And  a  most 
important  subject  it  is  —  one  which  ought 
to  be  looked  upon  as  all-important,  not 
merely  by  Catholics,  but  also,  for  reasons 
already  implied,  and  which  we  shall  pres- 
ently explain  in  detail,  by  strict  Protes- 
tants as  well. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  those  who  have  the 
best  opportunity  of  knowing  that  Indiffer- 
entism  is  the  chief  obstacle  to  conversion 
to  the  Catholic  faith  in  England.  And  it 
is  the  opinion  of  the  same  authorities  that 
it  is  sending  people  in  large  numbers  every 
year  from  Anglicanism  into  Agnosticism 
or  infidelity.  It  may  not  land  them  there 
all  at  once,  but  it  puts  them  on  the  road 
that  leads  there.  Hence,  while  it  is  the 
enemy  of  the  Catholic  Church  by  keeping 
many  out  of  her  communion,  it  is  no  less 
the  enemy  of  the  Protestant  Church  by 
sweeping  numbers  of  her  children  into  the 
ranks  .of  unbelief.     In   preventing   them 


from  coming  to  Rome,  it  does  not,  on  that 
account,  make  them  hold  more  firmly  to 
the  Anglican  formularies  —  it  rather  tends 
to  ripen  them  for  utter  fidelity.  When  I 
say  it  is  the  enemy  of  the  Catholic  Church 
I  do  not  mean  that  it  is  so  from  bigotry, 
bitter  hostility,  or  determined  opposition, 
for  it  is  too  tolerant  of  every  form  of  belief 
to  be  sternly  opposed  to  any.  I  mean  it  is 
the  enemy  of  the  Catholic  Church  by  keep- 
ing many  out  of  her  fold.  This  is  worth 
considering.  There  are  many  obstacles  to 
England's  conversion  :  chief  amongst  them 
is  the  spirit  of  Indifferentism,  Liberalism, 
Latitudinarianism,  or  whatever  name  we 
may  call  it  by.  It  stands  to  reason  it 
should  be  so. 

When  a  man  has  gone  so  far  as  to  regard 
religion  as  a  mere  matter  of  opinion,  and 
consequently  as  a  matter  of  choice,  he  is 
not  likely  to  choose  a  difficult  one,  when 
an  easy  one  will  suit  his  purpose  quite  as 
well.  Naturally,  men  are  averse  to  having 
their  intellect  bound  down  to  definite  doc- 
trines, and  to  having  their  will  burthened 
by  difficult  obligations.  There  are  few,  if 
any,  who  will  think  of  embracing  a  creed 
which  imposes  many  restraints,  while  they 
feel,  or  at  least  try  to  feel,  they  can  go  to 
heaven  equally  safely  by  one  that  imposes 
hardly  any  restraint  at  all.  Why  should  I 
be  asked  to  waste  time  in  considering  the 
claims  of  a  Church  which  makes  marriage 
a  contract  which  can  never,  under  any 
circumstances,  be  dissolved ;  which  binds 
her  members  to  confession,  to  receive  the 
Eucharist  at  least  once  a  year,  to  assist  at 
a  certain  form  of  worship  every  Sunday, 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


to  fast  at  stated  times,  to  abstain  on  cer- 
tain days  from  flesh-meat,  to  obey  spiritual 
pastors  ;  while  I  am  free  to  remain  in,  or 
to  join,  a  Church  which  imposes  no  obliga- 
tions of  the  kind  ?  As  long  as  men  are 
satisfied  that  all  religions  are  equal  in  the 
sight  of  God,  there  is  little  hope  of  their 
seeking  after  any  that  differs  from  the  easy 
one  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed. 

It  is  quite  different  in  the  case  of  the 
strict,  earnest,  practical  Protestant,  who 
becomes  uneasy  in  conscience  about  the 
truth  of  the  creed  he  has  hitherto  professed. 
When  he  gets  unhinged  in  his  belief,  and 
entertains  a  serious  doubt  as  to  its  tenable- 
ness,  he  is  at  once  involved  in  researches  ; 
he  will  inquire,  read,  pray  ;  he  is  willing  to 
put  himself  to  inconvenience,  and  even  to 
make  sacrifices,  in  his  anxious  search  after 
truth.  But  the  man  who  enjoys  unruffled 
peace  in  the  wide  and  easy  creed  of  Indif- 
ferentism  is  not  likely  to  trouble  himself 
with  pondering  on  the  claims  of  a  Church 
which  exacts  stern,  unchanging  faith  in 
her  doctrines,  and  which  is  constantly 
enforcing  the  strict  fulfilment  of  her  pre- 
cepts. Such  a  man  will  never  look  towards 
Rome  except  through  the  influence  of  some 
very  special  grace.  And  the  longer  he 
remains  the  adherent  of  a  system  which  is 
only  an  excuse  for  indolence  and  apathy, 
the  farther  he  drifts  away  from  the  defi- 
nite teaching  and  strict  discipline  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

Hence,  till  you  have  banished  entirely 
from  his  thoughts  the  conviction  that  one 
religion  is  as  good  as  another,  till  you  have 
cleared   away  from  his  mind  the  shifting 


sands  of  Indifferentism,  you  will  not  be  able 
to  lay  in  his  understanding  a  foundation 
for  definite  faith.  Or,  as  Cardinal  Newman 
remarks,  you  cannot  build  in  the  aborigi- 
nal forest  till  you  have  felled  the  trees. 

But  while  Indifferentism  is  the  enemy  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  it  is  no  less  the 
enemy  of  the  Church  of  England.  It 
tends  to  destroy  her,  although  it  is  her 
offspring.  It  has  sprung  from  the  free 
application  of  her  great  principle  of  pri- 
vate judgment.  And  the  older  it  grows 
and  the  larger  it  becomes,  the  more  seri- 
ously does  it  threaten  her  life.  Through 
it  multitudes  of  her  members  become  an 
easy  prey  to  infidelity.  In  fact,  we  may 
say  it  is  a  kind  of  preparatory  school  for 
infidelity.  When  men  are  hanging  only 
loosely  to  Christianity  by  the  elastic  thread 
of  Indifferentism,  a  very  slight  influence  is 
sufficient  to  make  them  abandon  it  alto- 
gether, and  leave  them  without  faith  in 
anything  beyond  the  world  of  sense.  The 
theory  that  one  religion  is  as  good  as 
another  is  next  neighbor  to  the  theory 
that  there  is  not  much  good  in  any  relig- 
ion at  all.  If  religion  is  only  an  opinion, 
then  every  religion  may  be  wrong,  since 
every  opinion  may  be  wrong.  And  as 
every  religion  may  be  wrong,  there  is  no 
possibility  of  ever  arriving  at  any  certainty 
about  those  matters  religion  professes  to 
deal  with ;  the  whole  thing  from  that 
moment  becomes  lost  in  impenetrable 
darkness.  The  mysteries  of  faith  are 
then  denied,  because  they  appear  opposed 
to  reason ;  and  when  the  mysteries  of 
faith  are  set  aside,  Christianity  as  •a  rev 


INTRODUCTION. 


elation  of  new  and  definite  doctrines  dis- 
appears. This  -state  of  mind  gradually 
prepares  a  man  for  the  wholesale  denial 
of  Christianity  as  a  Divine  Revelation ; 
and  hence  the  step  from  Indiffercntisra 
into  utter  unbelief  is  natural  and  easy. 

But  let  us  come  from  the  abstract  to 
the  concrete,  from  possibilities  to  things 
which  are  taking  place  in  actual  life  under 
our  own  eyes.  See  what  is  going  on  in 
our  midst.  It  is  no  secret  that  the  rapid 
growth  of  unbelief,  chiefly  among  persons 
of  education,  is  mainly  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  ceaseless  divisions  in  the  various 
branches  of  Anglicanism  have  generated 
in  the  minds  of  many  the  conviction  that 
Christianity  is  a  failure.  Numbers  of 
men,  formerly  Protestants,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  men  of  cultivated  intellect, 
have  declared  that  they  have  ceased  to 
believe  in  Christian  revelation  altogether, 
in  consequence  of  the  Church  of  England 
tolerating  within  her  pale  absolutely  con- 
tradictory teaching  on  the  most  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Christian  creed. 
Such  men  could  never  reconcile  themselves 
to  the  view  that  that  Church  was,  as  she 
professed  to  be,  a  Divine  Teacher,  when 
she  approved  totally  opposite  views  of  the 
religion  of  which  she  was  the  recognized 
organ. 

Now  when  people  of  non-Catholic  denom- 
inations thus  lose  all  confidence  in  the 
religion  they  have  hitherto  professed,  they 
do  not,  as  a  rule,  look,  or  care  to  look,  in 
any  other  direction  for  consistency  and 
truth.  They  find  no  book,  or  at  all  events 
they  r^ad  no  book,  which  would  have  the 


effect  of  turning  their  thoughts  towards 
that  one  sanctuary  of  truth,  that  ever- 
lasting treasure-house,  in  which  alone 
are  found  harmonious  unity,  unchanging 
doctrine,  perfect  consistency,  everything 
that  can  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  human 
mind  —  that  is,  the  Catholic  Church. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  infidel  literature 
of  the  day,  which  is  pouring  from  the 
press  like  a  deluge,  and  which  threatens 
to  submerge  the  greater  part  of  the  earth, 
easily,  finds  its  way  into  their  hands.  It 
preaches  a  new  gospel — one  just  suited 
to  their  present  temper  of  mind ;  it  pro- 
nounces Christianity  a  myth,  a  fable,  an 
antiquated  superstition,  a  bundle  of  con- 
flicting doctrines  which  cannot  bear  the 
test  of  scientific  investigation  ;  its  shallow, 
blasphemous  arguments  are  clothed  in 
that  elegant  sophistry  which  its  ingenious 
propagandists  know  so  well  how  to  use. 
These  arguments  meet  with  hardly  any 
resistance  in  the  mind  of  the  Christian 
Indifferentist  who  has  no  definite  form 
of  belief  to  cling  to.  He  has  seen  nothing 
but  contradiction  in  the  creed  he  has  been 
accustomed  to,  and  he  is  captivated  by  the 
apparently  more  consistent  principles  of 
infidelity.  He  becomes  its  disciple.  He 
gives  himself  up  unreservedly  to  its  teach- 
ing ;  and  he  does  so  all  the  more  willingly, 
because,  while  his  late  Christian  profession 
imposed  upon  him  some  semblance  of 
moral  restraint,  infidelity  relieves  him  of 
restraint  altogether.  He  is  no  longer 
crippled  by  the  pains  of  conscience.  He 
becomes  dead  to  all  sense  of  moral  respon- 
,  sibility.     He   can   go     where     inclination 


8 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


leads,  give  loose  reins  to  his  passions, 
gratify  every  desire  with  impunity ;  for 
while  he  hopes  for  no  future  reward,  he 
fears  no  future  punishment. 

Indifferentism,  then,  Liberalism  in  relig- 
ion, Latitudinarianism,  acted  on  by  the 
infidel  press  of  the  day,  is  sending  thous- 
ands of  members  every  year  from  the 
Establishment  into  Atheism.  It  is  sap- 
ping her  very  foundations.  Hence,  to  say 
the  least,  Protestants  have  as  much  reason 
to  hate  it  as  Catholics  have.  The  injury 
it  inflicts  on  Protestantism  is  greater  than 
the  injury  it  inflicts  on  Catholicity.  The 
one  is  negative,  the  other  positive.  While 
it  only  tends  to  put  farther  and  farther 
away  from  the  Church  of  *Rome  people 
who  never  belonged  to  her,  and  renders 
them  less  disposed  to  examine  into  her 
claims,  it,  on  the  other  hand,  robs  the 
Establishment  of  multitudes  of  her  baptized 
members,  and  consigns  them  to  hopeless 
unbelief.  This  it  has  been  doing,  this  it 
is  doing  still,  this  it  will  continue  to  do. 
And  the  end  will  be,  says  a  writer  of  this 
generation,  that  it  will  sweep  so  many 
from  her  ranks  into  the  region  of  the 
"Unknowable,"  that  whenever  the  State 
withdraws  its  sustaining  hand,  as  soon  as 
those  props  and  buttresses,  by  which  the 
civil  power  keeps  her  standing,  give  way, 
she  will  totter  and  fall  to  pieces  ;  and  in 
the  day  of  her  downfall  there  will  be  few 
sincere  adherents  remaining  to  weep  over 
her  dissolution. 

Bossuet  foresaw  this,  and  predicted  it. 
Speaking  of  the  great  revolt  of  the  i6th 
century,  and  referring  especially  to  Eng- 


land, he  says  :  —  "  Every  man  erects  a 
tribunal  for  himself,  where  he  becomes 
the  arbiter  of  his  own  belief.  Although 
the  innovators  wished  to  restrain  the 
minds  of  men  within  the  limits  of  Holy 
Scripture,  yet  as  each  individual  was  con- 
stituted its  interpreter,  and  was  to  believe 
that  the  Holy  Scripture  would  discover  to 
him  its  meaning,  all  were  authorized  to 
worship  their  own  inventions,  to  consecrate 
their  own  errors,  and  to  place  the  seal  of 
the  Divinity  on  their  own  thoughts.  It 
was  then  foreseen  that  by  this  unbridled 
license  sects  would  be  multiplied  to 
infinity,  and  that  while  some  would  not 
cease  to  dispute  or  to  hold  their  reveries 
for  inspirations,  others,  wearied  by  vis- 
ions of  folly,  and  not  able  to  recognize 
the  majesty  of  religion,  torn  asunder  by  so 
many  sects,  would  seek  at  length  a  fatal 
repose  and  complete  independence  in 
indifference  to  all  religion,  or  Atheism." 

Dr.  Moriarty,  lately  Bishop  of  Kerry, 
who,  in  his  allocution  to  his  clergy  on  "  The 
Church  Establishment,"  quotes  the  above 
passage,  adds  : — "  Why  was  not  the  latter 
part  of  this  prophecy  sooner  and  more 
universally  fulfilled  amongst  us }  What 
was  it  that  retarded  the  erring  mind  in  its 
downward  path  towards  infidelity  .?  While 
Protestantism  elsewhere  rapidly  changed 
into  Rationalism,  in  these  countries  it 
even  yet  retains  a  large  portion  of  Chris- 
tian truth.  The  material  and  golden  bond 
of  an  endowed  Establishment  furnishes 
the  only  reasonable  explanation  we  can 
suggest  for  standing  still  upon  the  steep 
incline.     Besides   the   rewards    offered  to 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


orthodoxy,  its  connection  with  the  State 
preserved  while  it  enslaved  it ;  the  dry, 
hard,  unyielding  discipline  of  law  and 
government  insisted  on  the  observance  of 
forms  and  formularies,  and  thus  kept 
Protestantism  in  shape,  as  bodies,  though 
lifeless,  are  preserved  in  ice." 

We  have  seen  that  Cardinal  Newman 
considers  this  pernicious  theory  to  be  the 
religion  of  half  the  population  of  England. 
Any  one  who  has  mixed  much  with  the 
masses,  and  who  has  seen  how  widely  it  is 
spread,  and  the  hold  it  has  taken  on  the 
mind  of  the  multitude,  must  feel  that 
his  estimate  is  not  beyond  the  mark.  The 
popularity  it  has  attained  in  all  classes  of 
society  is  astounding.  It  may  be  justly 
named  the  most  popular  creed  of  the  day. 
In  mixing  with  people  of  non-Catholic 
denominations  in  the  large  towns  and 
country  districts  of  England,  I  have  fre- 
quently asked  persons  who  were  not 
Catholics  (but  whose  Catholic  connections 
desired  me  to  put  the  question )  whether 
they  had  any  objection  to  become  members 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion.  On 
most  occasions  the  answers  I  received 
indicated  clearly  enough  that  this  flexible 
system  of  Indifferentism  was  their  only 
creed.  They  spoke  as  if  they  were  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  it,  and  seemed  to  have 
no  appetite  for  anything  in  the  shape  of 
religion  beyond  it. 

Repeatedly  I  hav^,  heard  candid, 
straightforward  professions  like  the  follow- 
ing : — "  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  any 
objection  to  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  "; 
"  One  religion    is   as   good   as   another " ; 


" All  religions  are  good";  "It  makes  no 
matter  what  we  are  when  we  are  Christians 
at  all."  Avowals  such  as  these  made  it 
clear  to  evidence  that  the  persons  from 
whom  they  came  had  no  idea  of  the  neces- 
sity of  belonging  to  any  one  definite 
Christian  creed,  or  of  holding  fast  to  any 
special  doctrine  of  revelation.  They  spoke 
as  if  they  might  choose  a  religion  to-day 
and  change  it  to-morrow,  and  change  the 
one  of  to-morrow  for  a  directly  opposite 
one  the  day  following,  and  repeat  these 
changes  until  they  had  gone  round  the 
whole  circle  of  Christian  sects ;  and  as  if 
they  might  do  all  this  without  imperilling 
their  salvation  in  any  way  whatever,  at 
least  as  far  as  forms  of  belief  were  con- 
cerned. 

But  with  all  this  I  perceived  signs  of 
great  docility,  a  praiseworthy  willingness  to 
reason,  to  compare  claims,  to  listen  to  the 
Catholic  view  of  the  question,  to  listen  even 
to  an  explanation  of  the  uncompromising 
attitude  of  the  Catholic  Church  with  regard 
to  her  symbol  of  faith.  In  many  instances 
I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  speaking  a 
second  and  a  third  time,  and  several  times 
successively,  to  those  who  in  the  first  inter- 
view expressed  their  convictions  in  the 
language  to  which  I  have  referred.  And, 
as  a  rule,  I  may  say,  when  I  showed  them 
the  unreasonableness  and  untenableness  of 
their  theory,  and  proved  to  them  that  one, 
and  only  one,  religion  could  be  true,  that 
all  the  others  must  be  false,  that  those  who 
had  a  serious  doubt  whether  they  belonged 
to  the  true  one  or  not  were  bound  to 
strive  to   find  a  solution   of   their   doubt, 


10 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


they  seemed  to  have  an  incipient  want  of 
confidence  in  Indifferentism  as  a  creed, 
were  quite  willing  to  make  researches,  to 
receive  instruction,  and  eagerly  anxious  to 
have  their  doubts  removed.  I  may  add 
that  as  their  honest  inquiry  was  accom- 
panied by  humble  and  persevering  prayer 
for  light,  it  ended  almost  invariably  in 
their  submission  to  the  Catholic  Church. 

It  was  this  experience  that  suggested 
to  me  the  idea  of  publishing  what  the  fol- 
lowing pages  contain.  When  I  perceived, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  this  broad,  unde- 
fined Christianity,  or  Indifferentism  in 
religion,  had  become  the  creed  of  so  large 
a  portion  amongst  the  masses  ;  and  when 
I  perceived,  on  the  other  hand,  on  the 
part  of  so  many  (in  fact,  nearly  all  with 
whom  I  come  in  contact),  a  willingness  to 
inquire,  an  eagerness  to  receive  instruc- 
tion, it  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be 
worth  while  to  strive  to  make  reach  the 
multitude,  in  a  pamphlet  or  small  book, 
those  popular  and  familiar,  but  at  the  same 
time  forcible,  arguments  which  a  priest 
would  use  with  such  class  of  persons  if  he 
spoke  to  them  separately  and  individually 
on  this  phase  of  religion. 

I  knew  well  from  the  outset  that  the 
undertaking  was  beset  by  numberless  diffi- 
culties. Something  of  the  kind  could 
be  easily  enough  written ;  but  how  get  it 
into  the  hands  of  those  for  whom  it  was 
chiefly  intended } 

This  was  the  difficulty  that  almost 
deterred  me  from  making  the  attempt,  and 
this  is  my  difficulty  still.  The  very  fact 
that  a  book  is  written  by  a  Catholic  priest. 


and  that  the  book  deals  with  matters  of 
controversy,  is  sufficient  to  prejudice  those 
outside  the  Catholic  Church  against  it. 
Many  are  so  opposed,  through  bigotry,, 
education,  associations,  surroundings,  to 
what  they  consider  the  narrowness,  exclu- 
siveness,  and  arrogant  attitude  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  are  so  captivated  by 
that  broad  and  wide  creed  which  is  so 
tolerant  of  other  people's  views,  so  benevo- 
lent, so  aptly  designed  to  make  allowances, 
for  country,  character,  dispositions,  circum- 
stances, that  they  are  afraid  to  read  any 
book,  and  are  not  at  all  likely  to  buy  any 
book,  which  might  have  the  effect  of  up- 
setting their  present  comfortable  convic- 
tions. 

This  certainly  is  a  difficulty,  and  a  seri- 
ous one.  As  far  as  getting  expositions  of 
Catholic  doctrine  directly  spread  amongst 
the  non-Catholic  population  is  concerned,, 
we  are  powerless.  Hitherto  the  Protestant 
masses  have  marshalled  themselves  in- 
such  serried  ranks  against  what  has  been 
termed  Popish  aggressiveness,  that  it  has 
been  impossible  for  any  Catholic  missive 
to  penetrate  them.  They  have  been  like  a 
wall  of  brass,  impervious  to  every  Catholic 
effort. 

This  is  one  of  the  great  disadvantages 
under  which  the  Catholic  Church  has 
been  laboring  in  England.  Of  the  many 
splendid  developments,  expositions,  vindi- 
cations, apologies,  of  Catholic  doctrine 
which  have  been  written  in  England  (com- 
pared with  any  of  which  this  little  tract 
dwindles  into  insignificance),  compara- 
tively few  have  reached  the  non-Catholic 


INTROD  UCTION. 


ii 


multitude.  The  persistent  traditional  hor- 
ror of  religious  interference,  and  the  par- 
ticular dread  of  anything  that  savored  of 
Popery,  has  been  one  of  the  chief  obsta- 
cles. And  it  may  be  thought  that  the 
difficulty  will  be  exceptionally  great  with 
regard  to  the  present  little  book,  since  it 
bears  a  rather  significant  title,  and  since 
many  people  have  already  made  up  their 
minds  once  for  all  that  the  creed  which 
teaches  that  one  religion  is  as  good  as 
another  is  the  easiest,  the  most  conven- 
ient, the  most  agreeable,  and,  as  far  as 
they  can  see,  quite  as  safe  as  any  other. 

It  would  be  a  step  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, if  we  could  succeed  in  concentrating 
the  mind  of  the  multitude  on  the  state- 
ment that  all  religions  cannot  be  right, 
that  one  only  can  be  right,  and  that  all  the 
rest  must  be  wrong ;  and  that,  in  case  of 
rational  doubt  about  one's  present  posi- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  inquire,  to  search 
after  a  solution  of  the  doubt. 

Happily  there  has  been  a  great  advance 
towards  the  Catholic  Church  since  the 
early  part  of  this  century.  Although  the 
happy  change  of  feeling  has  not  reached 
the  extent  earnest  Catholics  could  have 
desired,  yet  it  has  been  wider  and  deeper 
than  many  had  anticipated.  Numerous 
and  honored  are  the  names  of  those  who 
have  sacrificed  everything  in  their  noble 
pursuit  after  truth  —  have  abjured  sectari- 
anism, have  broken  the  fondest  and  firm- 
est family  ties,  and  have  been  enrolled  as 
members  of  the  Roman  CathoUc  com- 
munion. From  the  steps  of  the  throne 
down  to  the  street-sweeper,  the  work   of 


conversion  has  been  steadily  going  on. 
Nobles,  clergymen,  lawyers,  physicians, 
tradespeople,  working  people,  have  seen 
the  error  of  their  hereditary  faith,  and 
have  generously  renounced  it  to  embrace 
another.  And  not  merely  have  men  of 
noble  rank  and  of  great  parts,  at  extreme 
personal  inconvenience,  embraced  Catholi- 
cism, but  even  ladies  of  great  intellectual 
power  and  rare  accomplishments  have  not 
shrunk  from  sacrifices  which  one  would 
have  thought  would  have  appalled  their 
sex,  when  sincere  and  unprejudiced  inquiry 
made  it  clear  to  them  which  was  the 
one  true  religion  amongst  the  numberless 
claimants. 

The  natural  result  of  these  many  con- 
versions has  been  the  gradual  decline  of 
that  spirit  of  bitter  hostility  which  actu- 
ated almost  the  whole  public  mind  of  Eng- 
land as  late  as  the  first  part  of  this 
century.  It  is  no  longer  the  fashion  to 
say  what,  we  are  told,  it  was  quite  fashion- 
able to  say  some  sixty  or  seventy  years 
ago  —  "All  Papists  must  be  damned,  just 
because  they  are  Papists,"  No  ;  most  of 
our  dissenting  brethren  will  grant  that 
people  may  be  saved  in  the  Catholic  reli- 
gion as  easily  as  in  any  other.  Some,  who 
are  njore  liberal  in  their  admissions,  will 
grant  that  the  Catholic  religion  was  the 
first  religion  of  Christianity,  and  is  most 
likely  to  be  the  last ;  and  that,  as  far  as 
they  can  see,  it  is  the  holiest,  and  ought 
therefore  to  be  the  safest.  When  they 
have  begun  to  see  things  in  this  light, 
instruction  and  earnest  prayer  will  easily 
complete    the    good    work  —  i.   e.    impel 


12 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


them  to  take  the  final  step  which  will 
bring  them  safely  into  the  bosom  of  the 
one  true  Church. 

While  I  mean  this  little  book  chiefly  for 
those  outside  the  Church,  I  mean  it  also 
for  some  who  are  within.  There  are 
Catholics  who  are  disposed  to  make  con- 
cessions which  their  Church  can  never 
warrant.  They  move  in  a  circle  of  society 
or  are  placed  in  circumstances  where  they 
are  strongly  tempted  to  temporize  in  mat- 
ters of  religion.  They  may  be  inclined  to 
attach  much  more  importance  to  expedi- 
ency, or  to  certain  false  notions  of  eti- 
quette, than  to  duty,  even  of  a  sacred  kind. 
For  example,  they  hear  it  stated  in  some 
drawing-room  assembly,  or  at  some  noble- 
man's dining-table,  where  the  tone  of  the 
conversation  is  notably  Protestant,  that, 
after  all,  one  religion  is  quite  as  good  as 
another ;  that  there  is  hardly  any  differ- 
ence of  any  importance  ;  that  it  is  quite 
immaterial  what  creed  a  man  follows,  pro- 
vided he  be  an  honest  man,  pay  twenty 
shillings  in  the  pound,  do  no  injury  to  his 
neighbor  in  his  property  or  in  his  charac- 
ter, and  discharge  his  duty  faithfully  as  a 
benevolent  member  of  society.  Now,  if 
they  (Catholics)  chime  in  with  this  liberal 
doctrine,  endorse  it,  express  assent  to  it, 
or  imply  assent  to  it,  they  are  simply 
encouraging  heresy,  virtually  propagating 
it,  sacrificing  their  most  sacred  convictions 
to  erroneous  ideas  of  politeness  —  or 
rather,  allowing  themselves  to  be  swayed 
by  the  lowest  and  most  despicable  form  of 
human  respect.  They  imagine,  perhaps, 
that  by  this  kind  of  liberalistic  spirit  they 


will  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  those  who 
are  above  them  in  social  position.  It  is 
just  the  contrary.  Even  the  very  persons, 
to  gain  or  to  retain  whose  esteem  they 
thus  make  admissions  which  their  Church 
and  their  own  conscience  condemn,  will 
soon  begin  to  look  on  them  with  contempt 
and  distrust.  The  Catholic  Church  can- 
not tolerate  any  compromise.  She  is  not 
at  liberty  to  allow  even  the  last  morsel  of 
error  to  be  mixed  up  with  the  sacred 
deposit  of  truth  which  has  been  entrusted 
to  her. 

And  hence  she  can  never  countenance 
the  low,  grovelling  complaisance  of  those 
who  seek  to  further  their  own  interests  by 
expressing  their  approbation  of  statements 
which  are  entirely  at  variance  with  her 
teachings.  Of  course,  I  do  not  mean  that 
the  Catholic  faithful  ought  to  be  eager  to 
engage  in  controversy,  to  be  uselessly 
parading  their  faith,  or  to  be  obtruding  it 
in  an  offensive  manner  upon  others ;  but 
I  do  mean  that  it  is  altogether  unlawful 
(for  them)  to  sanction,  either  explicitly  or 
implicitly,  a  system  of  religion  which 
embodies  the  most  subtle,  popular,  and 
dangerous  heresy  of  the  present  day  :  i.  e. 
that  broad  and  wide  Christianity  which 
teaches  that  all  religions  find,  equal  favor 
in  the  eyes  of  God. 

"In  private  life,"  says  Cardinal  Man- 
ning, "we  ought  to  be  kindly  and  unob- 
trusive, but  uncompromising  in  confessing 
our  Faith,  never  forcing  it  upon  the 
unwilling,  but  never  silent  when  we  ought 
to  speak."  ("Sermon  on  Indifference," 
Advent,  1884.) 


PART  FIRST. 


NE  of  the  most  popular,  plau- 
sible, and  at  the  same  time  one 
of  the  most  pernicious  theories 
about  religion  at  the  present 
day  is  the  theory  which  teaches 
that  a  man  may  be  quite 
indifferent  to  what  Christian  creed  he 
belongs,  provided  he  be  a  good  man  after 
his  own  fashion.  This  theory  may  be 
called  by  some  Latitudinarianism,  by 
others  Liberalism  in  religion,  by  others, 
again,  Indifferentism.  Whatever  name 
we  give  it,  it  means  simply  the  doctrine 
that  one  religion  is  as  good  as  another,  or 
that  all  creeds  are  equally  agreeable  in  the 
eyes  of  God.  Its  advocates  say,  and  say 
it  in  the  plainest  terms,  that  God  does  not 
care  what  religion  His  creatures  profess, 
provided  they  live  up  to  and  act  consist- 
ently with  the  one  which  they  have 
embraced,  or  the  one  which  has  been 
handed  down  to  them  by  family  tradition. 
They  contend,  in  fact,  that  men  may  claim 
as  large  a  measure  of  liberty  in  choosing 
the  creed  they  profess  as  in  choosing  their 


place  of  residence  or  their  family  doctor. 
Instead  of  making  religious  belief  a 
matter  of  duty,  they,  on  the  contrary, 
make  it  a  matter  of  choice,  taste,  sent!" 
ment,  and  inclination.  They  act  and 
speak  and  think,  or  at  least  affect  to  think, 
that  while  God  holds  up,  as  it  were,  before 
men's  minds  certain  doctrines  which  He 
commands  to  be  believed,  men  are, 
nevertheless,  free  to  put  aside  those 
doctrines  and  to  choose  other  doctrines, 
even  contradictory  ones,  in  their  stead. 
Their  reasoning,  when  analyzed,  must 
force  them  inevitably  to  the  conclusion 
that  although  the  voice  of  the  God  of 
everlasting  truth  has  declared  something 
to  be  true,  they  are  at  liberty  to  believe  it 
to  be  false;  and  that  while  that  same 
unerring  voice  proclaims  some  statement 
to  be  false,  they,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
fulness  of  their  right  of  private  judgment, 
are  free  to  look  upon  it  as  true.  Lib- 
erty of  choice  with  regard  to  forms  of 
Christian  belief  means  nothing  less  than 
this. 


t4 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


,  Does  this  theory,  which  eloquent  soph- 
istry has  made  so  plausible,  deserve  the 
popularity  which  it  has  attained,  and 
which  has  given  it  such  a  hold  on  the 
mind  of  vhe  multitude  ?  No  ;  so  far  from 
deserving  the  approbation,  it  does  not 
deserve  even  the  toleration  of  any  reason- 
able man.  Let  us  weigh  it  in  the  balance 
of  truth.  Let  us  look  at  it  in  the  light  of 
right  reason  and  of  Divine  revelation,  and 
we  shall  find  that  it  contradicts  at  once 
man's  reason  and  God's  jevelation. 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  deal  with  it  as  a 
contradiction  of  reason. 

God  being  what  He  is,  that  is,  the  God 
of  eternal  truth,  He  cannot  be  indifferent 
as  to  whether  His  people  believe  this 
particular  creed  or  some  other  creed  that 
contradicts  it.  To  say  that  He  does  not 
care  what  form  of  Christianity  they  pro- 
fess is  exactly  equivalent  to  saying  that 
He  does  not  care  whether  they  believe 
what  is  true  or  what  is  false.  For,  the 
different  creeds  which  now  exist,  and 
which,  all  of  them,  press  their  claim  on 
the  homage  of  man's  mind,  contradict  each 
other ;  and  contradict  each  other  not 
merely  in  small  items  of  belief,  but 
even  in  doctrines  which  are  commonly 
looked  upon  as  fundamental  by  those 
belonging  to  any  Christian  denomination. 
One  Church  teaches  that  Christ  is  truly, 
really,  and  substantially  present  in  the 
sacrament  of  the  Eucharist ;  another 
Church  teaches  that  He  is  not  truly 
present  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist. 
One  Church  teaches  that  the  priest  has 
power  to  forgive  the  grievous  sins  commit- 


ted after  baptism  ;  another  Church  teaches 
that  the  priest  has  not  power  to  forgive 
the  grievous  sins  committed  after  baptism. 
One  Church  holds  that  the  Pope  has 
universal  spiritual  jurisdiction  over  the 
whole  world,  and  that  his  utterances  are 
infallible  when  he  speaks  on  faith  and 
morals  in  certain  given  circumstances ; 
other  Churches  maintain  that  the  Pope 
has  not  universal  spiritual  jurisdiction  over 
the  whole  world  and  that  his  utterances 
are  not  infallible  in  those  circumstances  in 
which  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
communion  say  they  are  infallible. 

Now,  here  are  statements,  and  here  are 
contradictory  statements,  and  contradic- 
tory statements  in  matters  of  great 
moment — in  doctrines  which  touch  even 
the  very  foundations  of  faith.  The  voice 
of  reason  is  peremptory  and  emphatic. 
It  proclaims,  in  a  tone  that  cannot  be 
mistaken,  that  the  creed  which  affirms 
these  propositions,  and  the  creed  which 
denies  them,  cannot  be  both  true.  Two 
statements  that  contradict  each  other 
cannot  both  be  true  at  once.  One  only 
can  be  true,  the  other  must  be  false  ;  and 
the  evident  truth  of  one  establishes  the 
evident  falsehood  of  the  other.  To  say, 
therefore,  that  God  does  not  care  whether 
His  people  profess  this  religion  or  that 
other  religion  which  is  in  contradictory 
opposition  to  it  is  exactly  the  same  as  to 
say  that  He  does  not  care  whether  they 
believe  truth  or  falsehood. 

Now,  philosophy  (which  is  a  science  of 
reason)  demonstrates  that  veracity,  or 
essential   truthfulness,    is    one    of    God's 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REASON. 


15 


attributes.  In  virtue  of  this  essential 
attribute^  God  not  only  loves  truth,  but 
loves  truth  of  necessity ;  and  not  only 
hates  falsehood,  but  must,  as  a  law  of  His 
being,  bear  an  undying  and  eternal  hatred 
to  it.  And  hence,  to  aflfirm  that  He 
Jeaves  people  free  to  believe  what  is  true 
or  what  is  false,  as  they  choose,  is  nothing 
short  of  a  blasphemy  against  His  attribute 
of  essential  truthfulness.  The  moment 
we  affirm  that  one  religion  is  as  good  as 
another,  and  that  it  is  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence with  God  what  form  of  Christian 
belief  men  adopt,  that  moment  we  are 
hurried  inevitably  i.ito  the  blasphemous 
conclusion  that  He  is  not  more  glorified 
by  the  profession  of  the  doctrines  which 
He  Himself  has  revealed,  than  He  is  by 
the  profession  of  those  false  theories  of 
men  which  contradict  them.  If  He  has 
condescended  to  reveal  from  on  high  one 
definite  religion  ( and  all  professing  Chris- 
tians freely  admit  that  He  has  done  so), 
surely  He  cannot  be  indifferent  whether 
that  one  definite  religion  which  He  has 
thus  revealed  be  believed,  or  some  other 
religion  which  is  in  open,  palpable  opposi- 
tion to  it. 

This  statement,  which  is  clear  enough  in 
its  bare  enunciation,  will  become  still  more 
clear  in  the  light  of  the  following  illustra- 
tions. We  read  in  the  Old  Testament 
that  when  the  Israelites,  in  their  journey 
through  the  desert,  had  reached  the  wil- 
derness of  Sinai,  having  the  mountain  of 
Sinai  over  against  them,  the  time  was  come 
when  God  was  to  make  known  the  Ten 
Commandments,  and  to  have  a  Tabernacle 


and  an  ark  constructed  for  His  worship. 
It  was  on  that  memorable  occasion  He 
revealed  to  Moses  the  precise  plan  accord- 
ing to  which  both  tabernacle  and  ark  were 
to  be  made.  He  was  not  content  with 
describing  the  general  dimensions,  such  as 
the  length,  the  breadth,  the  height  ;  He 
went  down  to  the  most  minute  details.  He 
specified  the  particular  kind  of  wood  of  which 
both  were  to  be  made  —  i.  e.,  Setim  wood. 
He  specified  also  the  particular  way  in  which 
they  were  to  be  overlaid  with  gold;  and 
He  added  the  other  precious  materials 
which  were  to  be  used  in  their  decoration. 
No  human  architect  could  enter  more 
minutely  into  details,  in  giving  a  design 
for  some  earthly  structure,  than  the  great 
Divine  Architect  did  on  that  occasion, 
when  there  was  question  of  giving  the  plan 
after  which  His  ark  and  tabernacle  were  to 
be  fashioned.  And  if  He  was  so  explicit 
in  the  directions  He  gave,  it  is  simply 
because  He  meant  to  show  that  He  would 
not  leave  any  room  for  the  promptings  of 
man's  imagination,  fancy,  or  private  judg- 
ment in  the  construction  of  those  sacred 
appurtenances  for  His  worship.  Hence, 
He  charged  Moses,  in  words  on  which  He 
laid  all  the  emphasis  His  Divine  Voice 
could  command,  to  keep  to  and  not  to 
depart  in  the  least  item  from  the  plan  which 
had  been  revealed  to  him.  "Look,"  He 
said,  "and  make  it "  (the  ark)  "according 
to  the  pattern  which  was  shown  thee  in  the 
mount "  {Exod.  xxv,  40). 

Now  let  us  suppose  that  as  soon  as 
Moses  had  gone  down  from  the  mountain, 
he  had  begun  to  make  the  tabernacle  and 


i6 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


the  ark,  not  according  to  the  plan  which 
had  been  divinely  revealed  to  him,  but 
according  to  a  plan  struck  out  of  his  own 
head ;  would  God  have  sanctioned  the 
change  ?  If  he  (Moses)  had  departed  from 
the  pattern  thus  divinely  shown  to  him 
and  shown  to  him  in  such  a  minute,  precise, 
definite  detail,  and  had  constructed  taber- 
nacle and  ark  according  to  the  dictates  of 
his  own  private  judgment,  God  would  not 
have  recognized  either  as  the  thing  which 
he  had  commanded  to  be  made.  And 
surely  we  cannot  say  that  the  God  of  infi- 
nite knowledge,  of  infinite  wisdom,  of 
eternal  truth,  is  more  concerned  about  the 
length  and  breadth  of  a  material  thing  than 
about  those  momentous  truths  which  go  to 
build  up  the  noble,  majestic  structure  of 
His  religion. 

The  intercourse  of  Moses  with  God  on 
the  mountain  furnishes  us  with  another 
illustration  which  is  quite  as  much  to  the 
point.  It  directs  our  thoughts  in  the  same 
channel.  It  was  there  that  God  gave  to 
him,  written  with  His  own  finger  on  the 
tables  of  stone,  those  Ten  Commandments 
which  were  to  form  the  basis  of  all  moral 
law.  He  directed  him  to  make  these  Com- 
mandments known  to  the  people.  Such 
was  the  commission  given  to  Moses,  and 
such  the  message  he  was  to  announce. 
His  work  was  marked  out  for  him.  He 
was  not  the  maker  of  the  law :  he  was  but 
the  vehicle  by  which  it  was  to  pass  to  the 
people.  When  he  received  those  binding 
precepts  from  the  hands  of  the  great 
Sovereign  Lord  and  Creator  to  whom  man 
owed  both  the  homage  of  the  mind  and  the 


service  of  the  body,  he  was  not  at  liberty 
to  put  them  aside,  and  give  to  the  people 
precepts  of  his  own  making.  He  had  no 
power  to  change  the  law,  of  which  those 
precepts  were  the  expression.  He  could 
not  add  to  it ;  he  could  not  take  away  from 
it.  He  was  bound  to  give  it  to  the  people 
as  he  himself  received  it,  in  all  its  purity, 
integrity,  and  definiteness.  On  the  other 
hand,  similar  obligations  rested  on  the  peo- 
pie  as  soon  as  the  promulgation  of  those 
precepts  reached  them.  When  they  heard 
them  from  the  lips  of  Moses,  who 
announced  them  in  the  name  of  God,  whose 
representative  he  was,  they  were  not  free 
to  depart  from  them,  and  to  frame  for 
themselves  other  precepts  which  would  be 
more  in  harmony  with  their  natural  incli- 
nations. No  ;  there  was  the  Divine  code, 
there  the  expression  of  God's  law  for  man 
—  clear,  distinct,  definite ;  and  man  was 
bound  to  follow  it,  and  forbidden  to  follow 
any  that  was  at  variance  with  it.  Now, 
Moses  appeared  in  the  Old  Dispensation  as 
the  oracle  of  Divine  Truth  to  those  of 
whom  he  was  the  chief,  as  the  medium  of 
that  partial  revelation  which  God  then 
vouchsafed  to  make  to  His  people. 

Jesus  Christ  appeared  in  the  New  Dis- 
pensation, when  the  fulness  of  time  was 
come,  to  reveal  additional  doctrines  to  the 
world  —  doctrines  immeasurably  more 
important.  And  if  those  who  lived  in  the 
centuries  which  intervened  between  the 
days  of  Moses  and  the  Incarnation  were 
obliged  to  adhere  to  the  portion  of  revela- 
tion made  to  them  through  the  lips  of  that 
Great  Lawgiver,  surely  the  people  of  the 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REASON. 


17 


present  dispensation  are  as  strictly  obliged 
to  embrace  and  adhere  to  that  religion, 
when  it  has  been  enlarged,  completed, 
and  perfected  by  God's  own  Incarnate 
Son,  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life. 

The  foregoing  arguments  may  be 
summed  up  in  these  two  sentences  :  ist, 
Right  reason  can  never  sanction  contra- 
diction, and,  therefore,  can  never  sanction 


Indifferentism  ;  2d,  If  God  does  not 
allow  any  change  to  be  made  in  the  plan 
He  gives  for  the  construction  of  a  material 
sanctuary  for  His  worship,  it  is  against  all 
reason  to  hold  that  He  will  allow  any 
change  to  be  made  in  the  doctrines  which 
teach  in  what  His  true  worship  consists 
—  that  is,  in  the  truths  He  wishes  to  be 
believed  and  the  laws  He  wishes  to  be  ful- 
filled. 


#:^^^  ^  ^  ^ 
^71^  ^^1^  ^I^    ^^(^    W^    ^^ 


-^©©15^ 


HIS  theory  of  Indifferentism  is 
also  a  contradiction  of  Revela- 
tion. After  His  resurrection 
from  the  dead  and  before  He 
ascended  to  His  Father,  our 
Divine  Lord  appeared  on  a 
mountain  in  Galilee.  His  apostles  were 
there  to  meet  Him.  His  appearing  on 
that  particular  mountain  had  been  expec- 
ted ;  it  had  been  previously  announced  by 
Himself.  It  was  natural  it  should  be  a 
meeting  of  special  appointment.  It  was 
one  of  unequalled  import.  Its  results 
were  to  sway  the  world  to  the  end  of 
time.  The  interests  of  the  whole  human 
race  would  be  influenced  by  it. 

It  was  there  our  Divine  Lord  gave  to 
His  apostles  that  great  commission  to 
which  the  world  owes  its  conversion. 
•'  Going,"  He  said  to  them,  "  teach  ye  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you.     And  behold  I  am  with  you  all  days, 

18 


even  to  the  consummation  of  the  world  " 
(Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20). 

"  Teach  ye  all  nations,"  He  said.  What 
were  they  to  teach  ?  They  were  to  teach 
the  truths  of  His  faith  and  the  precepts  of 
His  law.  And  they  were  to  -teach  all 
nations  these  selfsame  truths  and  pre- 
cepts. He  could  not  mean  that,  when 
they  divided  the  earth  into  those  vast 
districts,  which  were  to  be  the  spheres  of 
their  respective  apostolates,  one  apostle 
was  to  preach  in  one  country  that  there 
was  a  sacrament  in  the  Church  by  which 
the  sins  committed  after  baptism  could 
be  forgiven,  and  that  another  apostle  was 
to  preach  in  another  country  that  there 
was  no  such  sacrament.  He  could  not 
mean  either,  when  He  thus  sent  them 
forth  in  His  name,  that  He  authorized 
some  amongst  them  to  announce  that  He 
was  truly  and  really  and  substantially 
present  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist, 
and  that  He  authorized  others  of  them  to 
preach  the  contradictory  —  i.  e.,  that  He 
was  not  truly  present   in  that   sacrament 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


19 


No ;  He  left  no  room  for  the  play  of 
fancy,  or  the  promptings  of  imagination, 
or  the  dictates  of  private  judgment.  He 
would  have  them  understand  —  and  under- 
stand beyond  all  manner  of  doubt  —  that 
as  He  was  the  One  Only  God,  so  there 
could  be  only  one  true  religion  which  was 
the  faithful  expression  of  His  Divine 
mind  to  His  people.  Being  the  God  of 
essential  truthfulness,  He  would  not 
allow  man's  error  to  be  mixed  up  with 
His  truth.  He  would  permit  no  human 
authority  to  add  to  His  doctrines ;  nor 
would  He  permit  any  human  authority  to 
diminish  them. 

Mark  well  the  words  He  added,  with 
such  significance  and  such  emphasis,  when 
He  gave  His  apostles  the  great  world-wide 
commClkion  to  teach.  They  call  for 
special  notice ;  for  we  must  remember 
that  they  were  sounded  by  that  same 
Omnipotent  Voice  which  spoke  to  Moses 
on  Sinai,  when  the  great  commission  of 
promulgating  •  the  Ten  Commandments 
was  given  him,  and  when  the  plan  of  the 
ark  and  of  the  tabernacle  was  shown  him  ; 
and  when  God  said  to  him  :  "  Look  and 
make  it  after  the  pattern  that  was  shown 
thee  on  the  mount."  We  must  remember, 
too,  that  the  apostles  and  their  successors 
had  as  little  power  to  change  the  doctrines 
they  were  then  commissioned  to  preach 
as  Moses  had  to  change  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, or  to  change  the  plan  accord- 
ing to  which  the  ark  and  the  tabernacle 
were  to  be  constructed.  The  words  in 
question  prove  this  to  evidence.  "  Teach- 
ing them,"  He    said,   "to    observe    all 


things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you."  He  did  not  say.  Teaching  them  to 
observe  this  portion  of  what  I  have  com- 
manded you;  nor  did  He  say.  Teaching 
them  to  observe  that  other  portion  of 
what  I  have  commanded  you ;  but  He 
said,  "Teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whaisoeverl  have  commanded  you." 
"  All  things,"  whether  in  the  domain  of 
faith  or  in  the  domain  of  morals. 

It  was  as  if  He  had  said.  You  are  not 
to  teach  them  that  they  may  observe 
whatever  they  will  take  into  their  heads 
to  observe,  or  whatever  their  individual 
preference  or  private  judgment  may  dictate; 
nor  are  you  to  teach  them  that  they  may 
observe  whatever  your  own  private  judg- 
ment dictates,  or  your  imagination  prompts ; 
but  you  are  to  teach  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you 
—  these  things  and  nothing  else.  You 
are  to  make  them  feel  that  they  have  no 
liberty  of  choice,  that  I  will  never  tolerate 
the  innovations  of  human  opinion  upon 
the  doctrines  which,  through  my  Church, 
I  teach,  or  upon  the  laws  which,  through 
her,  I  enforce. 

May  we  not  say  that  these  words, 
"Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you," 
without  straining  them  in  the  least,  with- 
out stretching  them  beyond  their  natural 
obvious  import,  are  equivalent  to  a  posi- 
tive, absolute  condemnation  of  the  theory 
of  Indifferentism.  For,  did  not  these 
words  mean  something  definite  and  cer- 
tain in  the  mind  of  our  Lord ;  did  He  not 
intend  them  to  mean  something  definite 


20 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


and  certain  in  the  minds  of  His  apostles ; 
and  did  He  not  intend  by  them  to  em- 
power and  oblige  His  apostles  to  convey  that 
definite  and  certain  "  something "  to  the 
nations  which  they  were  to  teach  ?  But  the 
argument  gathers  additional  strength  from 
the  fact  that  when  our  Lord  gave  to  His 
apostles  this  great  world-wide  commission 
to  teach,  He  knew  well  how  much  it 
would  cost  them  to  carry  it  out.  Being 
God  as  well  as  man,  the  future  lay  as 
clear  before  Him  as  the  past  and  the  then 
present.  The  stern,  desperate  opposition 
they  must  meet  with — the  sufferings,  the 
humiliations,  the  privations  they  must 
endure  in  their  long,  laborious  career, 
were  all  present  to  His  mind  when  He 
spoke  the  words,  "  Going,  teach  all 
nations."  He  saw  their  scourgings,  the 
prisons  in  which  they  would  be  chained, 
the  days  and  nights  they  must  pass  in 
hunger,  thirst,  and  cold.  He  saw,  too,  the 
violent  deaths  that  were  in  store  for  them. 
And  He  saw  all  these  things  not  in  vague 
outline,  but  in  all  their  terrible,  revolting, 
and  harrowing  details.  He  saw  the  ship- 
wrecks, the  imprisonments,  the  cauldron 
of  boiling  oil,  the  flaying  alive,  the  behead- 
ing, the  crucifixion  with  head  downwards. 
He  knew  well  that  their  lives  were  to  be 
lives  of  unceasing  toil,  pain,  and  contempt, 
and  that  their  deaths  were  to  be  the  deaths 
of  malefactors. 

Yet  these  men  were  His  own  chosen 
ones.  They  were  His  dearest  friends ; 
they  were  the  men  nearly  all  of  whom 
had  been  with  Him  throughout  His  pub- 
lic life  —  the  men  whom   He   loved  with 


the  fondest  love  of  His  sacred,  loving 
Heart. 

But  how  reconcile  the  love  He  bore 
them,  and  His  clear  foreknowledge  of 
their  life-long  martyrdom,  with  the  state- 
ment that  He  is  quite  indifferent  what 
faith  people  hold,  provided  they  act  con- 
sistently with  it }  Would  it  not  have  been 
cruel  on  His  part  thus  to  doom  His  special 
servants.  His  dearest  friends,  to  those 
lives  of  suffering  and  deaths  of  shame,  if  it 
was  a  matter  of  no  consequence  to  Him 
whether  His  people  worshipped  Him 
according  to  this  creed  or  that.?  If  men, 
by  acting  consistently  with  whatever  idea 
of  religion  they  already  held,  became 
sufficiently  acceptable  to  Him,  why  not 
leave  them  as  they  were,  and  save  the 
apostles  from  such  trials  in  life  and  such 
torments  in  death  .-• 

Let  them  act  up  to  the  lights  of  nature 
—  those  lights  gave  them  a  certain  notion 
of  religion  :  that  notion  of  it,  though  full 
of  error,  was  for  them  as  good  as  any 
other  ( according  to  the  principles  of  our 
opponents )  if  their  life  was  in  harmony 
with  it.  Or,  in  case  some  fragment  of 
definite,  positive  relation,  through  inter- 
course with  the  Jews,  or  through  the 
promulgation  of  Christianity  at  Jerusalem, 
by  chance  reached  them,  let  them  use  it 
according  to  casual  or  ordinary  helps,  and 
let  further  illumination,  if  deemed  expedi. 
ent,  for  some  particularly  privileged  soul 
( like  Cornelius )  be  vouchsafed  by  the  min- 
istry of  an  angel.  But  why  condemn  an 
apostle  to  a  life  of  incessant  pain  and 
a  death  of  unheard-of  torment  in  order  to 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


21 


bring  to  his  fellow-man  a  message  of  sal- 
vation, if  his  fellow-man  was  free  ( in  spite 
of  every  evidence  of  its  truth )  to  accept 
that  message  or  to  reject  it,  or  to  accept  a 
part  and  reject  the  rest,  and  could  make 
himself  quite  as  agreeable  to  God  without 
it  as  with  it  ?  Does  not  the  fact  of  His 
giving  that  great  commission  to  His 
apostles  prove  that  He  meant  them  to 
convey  to  His  people  some  definite  mes- 
sage of  revelation  which  His  people  could 
not  know  by  any  natural  means?  And 
does  not  His  foresight  of  the  storms  of 
persecution  they  were  to  encounter,  and 
the  tremendous  trials  they  were  to  undergo, 
show  how  extremely  important  He  con- 
sidered it  that  that  message  should  reach 
them  ?  Who  can  give  us  permission  to 
treat  as  insignificant,  or  to  be  indifferent 
about,  a  message,  or  the  true  meaning  of  a 
message,  to  which  a  God  of  infinite  wis- 
dom attached  so  much  importance  ?  None 
but  Himself  could  give  such  permission, 
and  He  could  not  do  so  without  defeating 
His  own  ends. 

I  can  easily  anticipate  the  argument 
that  will  spring  to  the  lips  of  Indifferen- 
tists  in  answer  to  this  reasoning.  It 
is  in  vain,  however,  for  them  to  urge  it. 
The  very  comprehensiveness  of  their  sys- 
tem makes  it  powerless.  They  say  that 
the  apostles  were  sent  to  teach  and  to 
preach,  in  order  that  men  might  know 
and  believe  in  Christ,  the  Mediator, 
whose  mediation  or  redemption  was  the 
leading  idea,  or  the  great  fundamental 
truth,  of  the  Gospel  —  a  truth  which  men 
could  not  know  by  the  light  of  reason,  or 


by  any  revelation  made  heretofore  to  the 
Jews. 

But  the  very  men  who  say  this  comprise 
in  their  theory  of  liberal  religion  Socinians 
and  Unitarians,  who  do  not  believe  in  the 
divinity  of  Christ  at  all  —  do  not  believe  in 
original  sin  —  do  not  believe  in  Redemp- 
tion—  who  reject  all  the  mysteries  of 
religion,  from  the  very  fact  that  they  are 
mysteries,  and  that,  therefore,  reason 
cannot  comprehend  them.  I  mean,  they 
will  tell  us  that  the  Socinian  or  Unitarian 
who  acts  up  to  what  his  religion  teaches 
can  quite  as  easily  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of 
God,  and  therefore  quite  as  easily  save  his 
soul,  as  the  man  who  professes  the  most 
detailed  and  most  complete  form  of  Chris- 
tian belief ;  and  that  it  is  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference to  God  whether  a  man  chooses  for 
his  creed  Unitarianism  pure  and  simple, 
which  absolutely  denies  the  mystery  of 
Redemption,  or  chooses  some  other  form- 
ula of  religion  which  emphatically  aflfirms 
that  mystery  as  one  of  the  most  vital  doc« 
trines  of  Christianity. 

The  conclusion  from  such  premises  is 
clear ;  it  must  be  this.  Therefore  it  was 
quite  useless  to  put  the  apostles  to  such 
trouble,  to  force  them  to  lead  a  life  of 
perpetual  self-sacrifice,  in  announcing  the 
doctrine  of  Redemption,  since  men,  though 
living  in  a  country  where  that  doctrine  is 
widely  professed,  clearly  explained,  sus- 
tained by  sound  and  convincing  proofs, 
are  free  to  form  and  cling  to  a  creed  from 
which  it  is  sedulously  excluded ;  and  while 
exercising  such  wide  liberty  in  the  choice 
of  a  creed,  are  doing  an  act  which  in  itself 


22 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


is  quite  as  acceptable  in  the  eyes  of  God, 
and  quite  as  apt  to  promote  salvation,  as 
would  be  the  act  of  faith  made  by  him 
whose  creed  contains  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty all  those  doctrines  our  Lord  referred 
to  when  He  said  to  His  Apostles  — 
**  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 

But  there  is  another  answer  to  this 
sophistry.  On  what  grounds  does  the 
Indifferentist,  or  Latitudinarian,  or  advo- 
cate of  any  form  of  liberal  religion, 
single  out  the  mystery  of  Redemption,  or 
any  other  isolated  doctrine  of  Christianity, 
as  the  one  for  the  promulgation  of  which 
principally  the  apostles  were  to  traverse 
the  earth,  spend  their  lives  in  toil,  shed 
their  blood,  and  die  the  martyr's  death  ? 
Were  not  those  apostles  as  strictly  bound 
to  announce  all  the  doctrines  which  that 
Redeemer  taught  as  they  were  to  announce 
the  truth  that  He  was  the  Redeemer? 
Is  not  this  evident  from  the  words  He 
Himself  made  use  of  when  He  gave  them 
the  world-wide  commission  —  "  Teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you  "  ?  Was  there  any- 
thing in  that  commission,  either  expressed 
or  understood,  to  warrant  them  in  believ- 
ing that  He  gave  them  leave  to  class  His 
doctrines  under  the  heads  of  principal  and 
subordinate,  or  to  put  forward  some  as  of 
primary  and  others  as  of  secondary 
importance  ?  Did  they  not  look  upon 
everything  that  came  from  His  lips  as 
equally  important  and  equally  grave  ? 
Did  they  claim  to  have  any  share  in 
formulating  the  creed 'they  were  to  teach 


by  choosing  some  of  His  precepts  and 
rejecting  others  ?  Did  they  not  know  that 
to  reject  one  iota  of  His  revelation  was  to 
deny  His  authority  altogether  ?  And  did 
not  the  same  reasons  which  bound  the 
people  who  were  taught  by  the  apostles  to 
believe  some  of  the  Gospel  truths  bind 
them  to  believe  all  the  Gospel  truths  ? 
What  reason  could  there  be  for  receiving 
part  and  for  rejecting  the  rest  ?  Why 
believe  the  apostles  credible  up  to  a  cer- 
tain point  and  look  upon  them  as  totally 
unworthy  of  credence  beyond  that  point  ? 
But,  above  all,  why  should  the  apostles  be 
sent  to  preach  at  all,  if  it  mattered  so 
little  whether  men  believed  or  did  not 
believe  even  those  doctrines  which  are 
looked  upon  by  most  Christians  as  the 
leading  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  ?  Must  not,  then,  the  preaching  of 
the  apostles  (in  the  theory  of  our  oppo- 
nents) be  regarded  as  vain  and  meaning- 
less ? 

Cardinal  Newman,  in  his  book  entitled 
Discussions  and  Arguments,  traces  the  sad 
issue  to  which  this  "  marking  out "  or 
"singling  out"  of  favorite  doctrines  leads. 
"  Many,"  he  says,  "  would  fain  discern  one 
or  two  doctrines  in  the  Scripture  clearly, 
and  no  more ;  or  some  generalized  form, 
yet  not  so  much  as  a  body  of  doctrine  of 
any  character.  They  consider  that  a 
certain  message,  consisting  of  one  or  two 
great  and  simple  statements,  makes  up  the 
whole  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  these  are 
plainly  in  the  Scriptures :  accordingly, 
that  he  who  holds  and  acts  upon  these  is 
a  Christian,  and  ought  to  be  acknowledged 


REFUTATIOK  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


23 


by  all  to  be  such,  for  in  holding  these  he 
holds  all  that  is  necessary.  These  state- 
ments they  sometimes  call  the  essentials, 
the  peculiar  doctrines,  the  leading  idea, 
the  vital  doctrines,  the  great  truths  of  the 
Gospel ;  and  all  this  sounds  very  well ; 
but  when  we  come  to  realize  what  is 
abstractedly  so  plausible,  we  are  met  by 
this  insuperable  difficulty,  that  no  great 
number  of  persons  agree  together  what 
are  those  great  truths,  simple  views,  lead- 
ing ideas,  or  peculiar  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel.  Some  say  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement  is  the  leading  idea ;  some 
the  doctrine  of  spiritual  influence ;  some 
.hat  both  together  are  the  peculiar  doc- 
trines ;  some  that  love  is  all  in  all ;  some 
that  the  acknowledgment  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  and  some  that  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead ;  some  that  the  announce- 
ment of  the  soul's  immortality  is,  after  all, 
the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  and  all  that 
need  be  believed." 

Then,  in  the  words  which  he  subjoins, 
and  which  we  have  already  quoted  in  page 
2,  he  shows  that  the  Indifferentist, 
following  out  his  principles  of  latitude, 
may,  without  any  inconsistency,  deny  even 
the  dogma  of  the  Trinity  ;  and  that  if  that 
great  fundamental  mystery  is  put  aside, 
mystery  gradually  disappears  from  the 
Christian  creed  altogether.  He  observes 
also  that  the  Gospel  under  the  destructive 
influence  of  Indifferentism  becomes  merely 
an  equivalent  for  a  new  publication  of  tne 
law  of  Nature.  In  other  words,  the 
Indifferentist,  who  believes  himself  a 
Christian  because  he  professes  this  broad, 


undefined  Christianity,  is  pretty  much  on 
a  level  with  those  who  are  entirely  outside 
the  pale  of  Christendom,  whom  no  ray  of 
revealed  religion  has  ever  yet  reached  — 
that  is,  as  far  as  Divine  faith  is  concerned, 
he  is  on  a  level  with  such.  As  to  sal- 
vation, it  may  be  said  that  his  chances  of 
being  saved  are  less,  since  he  rejects  lights 
which  to  the  heathen  were  never  offered 
—  unless,  indeed,  he  be  one  of  those  in 
whose  case  good  faith  or  invincible 
ignorance  may  plead  in  their  behalf. 

The  inevitable  results  to  which  Latitu- 
dinarianism,  Indifferentism,  Liberalism  in 
religion,  leads,  could  not  be  more  beauti- 
fully or  more  accurately  described  than  in 
the  words  of  the  great  Cardinal  which  I 
have  quoted,  and  which  were  written  by 
him  several  years  before  he  became  a 
Catholic.  To  hold  that  every  man's  view 
of  revealed  religion  is  acceptable  to  God, 
if  he  acts  up  to  it,  that  no  one  view  is  in 
itself  better  than  another,  is  simply  to 
reduce  Christianity  to  a  level  with  natural 
morality  —  to  lead  men  on  gradually, 
though  it  may  be  slowly,  to  the  gulf  of 
absolute  unbelief.  Now  if  a  theory,  the 
natural  tendency  of  which  is  to  lead  to 
such  lamentable  consequences,  is  main- 
tainable, then  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
on  the  part  of  the  apostles,  at  the  expense 
of  health,  happiness,  and  life,  was  a  work 
useless  and  foolish  in  the  extreme.  And 
if  it  was  useless  and  foolish  on  the  part  of 
the  apostles  to  suffer  so  much  in  preach- 
ing the  New  Revelation,  it  was  equally 
useless  and  foolish  on  the  part  of  those 
faithful  who  have  endured  martyrdom  to 


24 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


suffer  so  much  in  professing  and  practising 
what  it  taught.  Why  so  many  thousands 
living  in  the  catacombs,  why  so  many 
thrown  to  wild  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre, 
why  so  many,  throughout  the  history  of 
the  Church,  imprisoned  for  life,  burned  or 
beheaded,  hanged  and  quartered  ?    Why 


might  not  these  heroic  souls  have  chosen 
some  easy  form  of  religion  that  would 
have  saved  them  from  such  tremendous 
sacrifices,  rather  than  that  detailed,  stern, 
inflexible  one  which  cost  them  the  loss  of 
earthly  goods,  earthly  happiness,  and  even 
their  blood  and  their  life  ? 


Copyright,  IbS: 


Murphy  &  McC;iithy. 


fil^atcr  SDoloro^a. 


m   m   m  m  m 

CHAPTER     III. 


INDIFFERENTISM  shown  to  be  a  CONTRADICTION  of  REVELATION 


PH07«S     XHB 


HISTORY  OF  CORNELIUS  THE  CENTURION* 


HE  tenth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  gives  the  narra- 
tive of  a  conversion  of  a  man 
whose  conversion  may  be 
regarded  as  an  unanswerable 
refutation  of  the  theory  of 
Indifferentism.  I  refer  to  the  conversion 
of  Cornelius  the  Centurion. 

The  virtues  this  man  practised  before 
St.  Peter  saw  him,  the  stern  uprightness 
with  which  he  had  acted  up  to  the  lights 
hitherto  received,  the  succession  of 
miraculous  circumstances  which  led  to  his 
conversion,  make  it  clear  to  evidence  that 
indifference  in  matters  of  religion  cannot 

*  Now  there  was  a  certain  man  in  Cesarea,  named  Cornel- 
ius, a  centut  ion  of  the  band  which  is  called  the  Italian.  2.  A 
religious  man,  and  one  that  feared  God  with  all  his  house, 
who  gave  much  alms  to  the  people,  and  prayed  to  God 
always.  3.  He  saw  in  a  vision  manifestly,  about  the  ninth 
hour  of  the  day,  an  angel  of  God  coming  into  him  and  saying 
to  him;  Cornelius.  4.  And  he,  beholding  him,  being  seized 
with  fear,  said  :  What  is  it.  Lord  f  And  he  said  to  him : 
Thy  prayers  and  thy  alms  have  ascended  for  a  memorial  in 
the  sight  of  God.  5.  And  now  send  men  to  Joppe,  and  call 
hither  one  Simon,  who  is  surnamed  Peter :  6.  He  lodgeth 
with  one  Simon  a  tanner,  whose  house  is  by  the  sea-side  ;  he 
thall  tell  thee  what  thou  must  do.  7.  And  when  the  angel  who 
spoke  to  him  was  departed,  he  called  two  of  his  household 
servants,  and  a  soldier  that  feared  the  Lord,  of  those  who 
were  under  him :  8.  To  whom  when  he  had  related  all,  he 
sent  them  to  Joppe.     9.  And  on   the   next   day,  whilst  they 

25 


be  reconciled  with  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  history  of  his  instruction, 
baptism,  and  reception  into  the  Church 
occupies  so  large  a  space  in  the  sacred 
text  that  it  forms  the  whole  of  what  is 
called  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Acts  —  a 
chapter  which  consists  of  forty-eight 
verses.  It  looks  as  if  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
penned  this  lengthened  description  of 
this  conversion  that  it  might  be  a  standing 
record  to  demolish  the  flimsy  sophistry  of 
those  who  advocate  unrestricted  liberty  in 
the  choice  of  a  religious  creed. 

The  good,  moral,  upright  life  Cornelius 
led  before  he  was  baptized  by   St.  Peter, 

were  going  on  their  journey,  and  drawing  near  to  the  city, 
Peter  went  up  to  the  higher  parts  of  the  house  to  pray,  about 
the  sixth  hour.  10.  And,  being  hungry,  he  was  desirous  to 
taste  somewhat.  And  as  they  were  preparing,  there  came 
upon  him  an  ecstasy  of  mind;  11.  And  he  saw  heaven 
opened,  and  a  certain  vessel  descending,  as  it  were  a  great 
sheet,  let  down  by  the  four  corners  from  heaven  to  the  earth, 
12.  In  which  were  all  manner  of  four-footed  beasts,  and  creep- 
ing things  of  the  earth,  and  fowls  of  the  air.  13.  And  there 
came  a  voice  to  him ;  Arise,  Peter ;  kill  and  eat.  14.  But 
Peter  said :  Far  be  it  from  me.  Lord ;  for  I  have  never 
eaten  any  common  and  unclean  thing.  15.  And  the  voice 
spoke  to  him  again  the  second  time  :  That  which  God  hath 
purified,  do  not  thou  call  common.  16.  And  this  was  done 
thrice;  and  presently  the  vessel  was  taken  up  again  into 
heaven.  17.  N9W,  whilst  Peter  was  doubting  within  himself 
what  the  vision  which  he  had  seen  should  mean,  behold,  the 


26 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


before  he  had  even  heard  of  St.  Peter, 
corresponds  with  the  picture  drawn  by 
those  who  hold  that  it  does  not  matter 
what  creed  a  man  follows,  provided  He  be 
a  good  man  after  his  own  fashion.  He 
surely  reaches  their  standard  •  for  he  was 
truly  a  good  man  after  his  own  fashion, 
and  according  to  the  lights  he  had 
received.  He  was  a  soldier,  but  an 
exceptionally  virtuous  one.  He  had  a 
position  in  the  Roman  army.  He  was 
centurion  of  the  band  which  was  called 
the  Italian  band.  As  far  as  we  can  see, 
he  was  a  man  in  pretty  good  circum- 
stances, able  to  live  comfortably.  And, 
as  to  his  moral  character,  it  is  described 
in  the  second  verse  of  the  chapter:  "A 
religious  man  and  one  that  feared  God 
with  all  his  house  —  who  gave  much  alms 
to  the  people,  and  prayed  to  God  always." 
In  the  language,  then,  of  inspiration,  he  is 
declared  to  be  a  good  man  —  to  be  a  man 
who  was  full  of  the  fear  of  God,  of  the 
love  of  God  —  one  who  spent  long  hours 
in  prayer,  and  who  divided  his  substance 
largely  and  generously  with  the  poor  — 
one,  too,  the  power  of  whose  example  had 

men  who  were  sent  by  Cornelius,  inquiring  for  Simon's  house, 
stood  at  the  gate.  18.  And  when  they  had  called,  they  asked 
if  Simon,  who  is  surnamed  Peter,  lodged  there  ?  19.  And  as 
Peter  was  thinking  on  the  vision,  the  Spirit  said  to  him  : 
Behold,  three  men  seek  thee.  20.  Arise,  therefore,  go  down, 
«nd  go  with  them,  doubting  nothing ;  for   I  have  sent  them. 

21.  Then  Peter,  going  down  to  the  men,  said  :  Behold,  I  am 
he  whom  you  seek :  what  is  the  cause  for  which  you  are  come  ? 

22.  And  they  said:  Cornelius,  a  centurion,  a  just  man,  and 
one  that  feareth  God,  and  that  hath  good  testimony  from  all 
the  nation  of  the  Jews,  received  an  answer  of  a  holy  angel,  to 
send  for  thee  into  his  house,   and   to  hear  words  from  thee. 

23.  Then  bringing  them  in,  he  lodged  them.  And  the  day 
following  he  arose,  and  went  with  them ;  and  some  of  the 
brethren  from  Joppe  accompanied  him.  24.  And  the  day 
»fter  he  entered  into  Cesarea.  Now  Cornelius  was  waiting 
for   them,  having  called  together   his   kinsmen   and  special 


been  such  that  all  the  members  of  his 
household  were  influenced  by  it  —  walked 
in  uprightness  as  he  did,  and  practised 
similar  virtues. 

Now,  what  more  was  wanted }  Was  he 
not  moving  on  securely  to  heaven  in  his 
present  state .-'  Would  he  not  be  suffi- 
ciently prepared  for  a  place  in  heaven  by 
continuing  to  live  as  he  had  lived  hitherto  } 
And  if  the  good  qualities  which  are 
ascribed  to  him,  and  the  many  and  exalted 
virtues  he  is  said  to  have  practised, 
had  been  sufficient  to  qualify  him  for  a 
place  in  heaven,  why  not  leave  him  as  he 
was  ?  Perhaps  he  was  following  his 
present  lights  better  than  he  would  follow 
stronger  and  fuller  illuminations,  and  cor- 
responding with  the  graces  he  was  actually 
receiving  more  perfectly  than  he  would 
correspond  with  more  abundant  ones. 
Why,  then,  not  leave  him  as  he  was  .^ 
—  why  take  any  further  trouble  with  him  ? 
God,  however,  did  not  leave  him  as  he 
was ;  He  condescended  to  take  further 
trouble  with  him,  if  I  may  be  allowed  that 
familiar  way  of  expressing  the  idea.  He 
sent  an  angel  from  heaven  to  Cornelius. 

friends.  25.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  Peter  was  come  in, 
Cornelius  met  him,  and  falling  down  at  his  feet,  worshipped. 
26.  But  Peter  raised  him  up,  saying:  Rise,  I  myself  also 
am  a  man,  27.  And  talking  with  him,  he  went  in,  and  found 
many  that  were  come  together.  28.  And  he  said  to  them : 
You  know  how  abominable  a  thing  it  is  for  a  man  that  is  a 
Jew  to  keep  company  or  to  come  to  one  of  another  nation ; 
but  God  hath  showed  to  me  not  to  call  any  man  common  or 
unclean.  29.  Wherefore,  making  no  doubt,  I  came  when  I 
was  sent  for  :  I  ask,  therefore,  for  what  cause  you  have  sent 
for  me  ?  30.  And  Cornelius  said  :  Four  days  ago,  until  this 
hour,  I  was  praying  in  my  house  at  the  ninth  hour,  and 
behold,  a  man  stood  before  me  in  white  apparel,  and  said : 
31.  Cornelius,  thy  prayer  is  heard,  and  thy  alms  are  remem- 
bered in  the  sight  of  God.  32.  Send,  therefore,  to  Joppe,  and 
call  hither  Simon,  who  is  surnamed  Peter  :  he  lodgeth  in  the 
house  of  Simon,  a  tanner,  by  the  sea-side.     '},t,.  IinmediateljTj 


INDIFFERENTISM  A    CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


27 


And  the  angel,  in  the  name  of  Him  who 
sent  him,  commanded  Cornelius  to  invite 
St.  Peter,  that  St.  Peter  might  come  and 
instruct  him  and  the  members  of  his 
family  as  to  what  they  must  do.  The 
angel  was  not  content  with  giving  a  vague 
general  command.  He  did  not  leave 
Cornelius  in  doubt  as  to  where  St.  Peter 
was  to  be  found.  He  told  him  that  Peter 
was  in  the  city  of  Joppe,  described  the 
quarter  of  the  city  in  which  he  abode,  and 
mentioned  the  very  house  in  which  he  was 
staying.  Cornelius  promptly  and  gladly 
obeyed  this  message  from  heaven.  He  at 
once  sent  three  men  to  Joppe  to  invite  him 
to  his  house  in  Cesarea.  As  these  three 
men  were  approaching  Joppe,  St.  Peter 
himself  had  a  vision.  At  the  end  of  this 
vision,  the  Spirit  of  God  said  to  him  that 
three  men  stood  at  the  door  seeking  him 
—  that  they  had  been  divinely  sent,  and 
that  he  was  to  go  with  them  whither  they 
would  lead  him.  The  following  day  he 
set  out  -for  Cesarea,  accompanied  by  the 
messengers  who  had  come  to  invite  him. 
And   the   morrow   after    he   reached    the 

therefore,  I  sent  to  thee  ;  and  thou  hast  done  well  in  coming. 
Now,  therefore,  all  we  are  present  in  thy  sight,  to  hear  all 
things  whatsoever  are  commanded  thee  by  the  Lord.  34. 
Then  Peter,  opening  his  mouth,  said  :  In  truth  I  perceive 
that  God  is  not  a  respecter  of  persons :  35.  But  in  every 
■ation  he  that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  justice,  is  acceptable 
to  Him.  36.  God  sent  the  word  to  the  children  ot  Israel, 
preaching  peace  through  Jesus  Christ  (  He  is  the  Lord  of  all). 
37.  You  know  the  word  which  hath  been  published  through 
all  Judea :  for  it  began  from  Galilee,  after  the  baptism  which 
John  preached.  38.  Jesus  of  Nazareth:  how  God  anointed 
Him  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  power  ;  who  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  by  the  devil ; 
for  God  was  with  Him.  39.  And  we  are  witnesses  of  all 
things  which  He  did  in  the  land  of  the  Jews  and  in  Jerusalem  ; 
whom  they  killed,  hanging  Him  upon  a  tree.  40.  Him  God 
raised  up  the  third  day,*and  gave  Him  to  be  made  manifest. 
41.  Not  to   all  the  people,  but  to  witnesses  preordained  of 


house  of  the  centurion,  instructed  hira 
and  the  members  of  his  household  in  the 
true  Gospel,  and  received  them  into  the 
one  true  Church. 

Now  here  the  advocates  of  Indifferent- 
ism  are  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma.  One  of 
two  conclusions  they  are  forced  to  draw  — 
namely,  either  God  sends  His  apostles, 
and  even  His  angels,  on  useless  errands, 
or  it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to 
Him  what  religion  people  profess.  If 
Cornelius  knew  God,  if  he  feared  Him, 
if  he  loved  Him  —  if  he  loved  Him, 
too,  in  His  poor  by  relieving  those  who 
were  in  distress  —  if  he  spent  long  hours 
in  prayer,  if  his  life  was  such  that  he  was 
styled  in  inspired  language  a  "just  man," 
why  should  God  send  an  angel  from 
heaven  to  him,  or  why  should  He  send  St. 
Peter  from  Joppe  to  Cesarea,  to  bring  to 
him  the  light  of  the  new  Gospel,  to 
administer  to  him  the  sacrament  of 
baptism,  and  to  receive  him  and  his  family 
into  the  one  true  fold  } 

On  the  other  hand,  when  St.  Peter,  as 
an  apostle  of  the  new  religion,  stood  in 
the  presence  of  Cornelius,  and  put  before 

God;  even  to  us,  who  ate  and  drank  with  Him  after  He  rose 
again  from  the  dead.  42.  And  He  commanded  us  to  preach 
to  the  people,  and  to  testify  that  it  is  He  who  hath  been 
appointed  by  God  to  be  the  judr^  of  the  living  and  of  the 
dead.  43.  To  Him  all  the  prophets  give  testimony,  that 
through  His  name  all  receive  remission  of  sins  who  believe  in 
Him.  44.  While  Peter  was  yet  speaking  these  words,  the 
Holy  Ghost  fell  upon  all  them  that  were  hearing  the  word. 
45.  And  the  faithful  of  circumcision  who  had  come  with 
Peter,  were  astonished  because  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  also  poured  out  upon  the  Gentiles.  46.  For  they  heard 
them  speaking  with  tongues,  and  magnifying  God.  47.  Then 
Peter  answered :  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  should 
not  be  baptized,  who  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as 
we?  48.  And  he  commanded  them  to  be  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Then  they  entreated  him  to 
stay  wdth  them  some  days. 


28 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


the  doctrines  of  that  religion,  was  he 
( Cornelius )  free  to  keep  any  longer  to  the 
old  form  of  worship  in  which  he  had 
served  God  for  some  time  before,  and  to 
reject  the  doctrines  which  Peter  had 
come  expressly  to  announce  to  him  ?  Or, 
was  he  free  to  accept  some  of  those  doc- 
trines and  to  reject  others  ?  If  he  had 
hesitated,  or  if  he  had  made  it  a  condition 
of  his  being  received  into  the  Church, 
that  he  could  go  back  to  his  own  old 
religion  after  a  time,  in  case  he  preferred 
to  do  so  when  he  had  given  the  new  one 
a  fair  trial,  and  that  he  was  to  have  the 
free  exercise  of  his  private  judgment  as  to 
the  meaning  he  was  to  attach  to  the  Gos- 
pel truths,  would  St.  Peter  have  admitted 
him  into  the  fold  of  Christ  ?  Certainly 
not.  And  above  all,  if  after  a  visit  from 
an  angel  of  heaven  —  if  while  there  stood 
in  his  presence  an  apostle  who  had  been 
divinely  instructed  in  a  vision  to  come  to 
him  —  if  while  it  was  clear  as  noonday  it 
was  God's  will  he  should  abandon  his  old 
religion  and  take  to  the  new  —  if  in  spite 
of  all  this  he  had  persisted  in  still  clinging 
to  the  old  one,  saying  that  it  was  the  one 
he  had  been  most  used  to,  at  least  for 
some  time  —  that  he  did  not  ask  for  a 
better,  that  he  did  not  care  for  novelties 
and  changes,  that  he  dreaded  the  wrench 
which  such  a  change  must  bring  with  it, 
that  he  shrank  from  breaking  with  relations 
and  friends,  that  he  feared  to  incur  their 
dislike,  that  he  might  lose  his  position  in 
the  Roman  army,  that  such  a  step  might 
reduce  himself  and  his  family  to  penury, 
and  that,  in  consequence  of   these   many 


grave  and  well-founded  fears,  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  remain  as  he  was — that  he 
would  keep  in  the  old  lines,  pray  as  much 
as  he  had  prayed  before,  give  alms  more 
abundantly  still,  and  do  good  to  all  within 
his  reach.  Now,  had  he  reasoned  thus 
and  acted  thus,  and  remained  in  his  old 
religion,  while  heaven's  light  flashed  upon 
him  with  such  overwhelming  brightness, 
that  he  saw  as  clearly  as  he  saw  the  sun 
in  the  heavens  that  it  was  wrong  to  remain 
in  it  any  longer,  would  that  old  religion,  and 
his  many  virtues,  and  his  many  prayers, 
and  his  abundant  alms  have  availed 
him  aught  for  heaven  }  No  ;  God  had  now 
revealed  to  him  the  creed  which  He  com- 
manded him  to  embrace,  and  he  ( Cor- 
nelius) was  not  free  to  put  it  aside  and  to 
follow  some  other  creed  instead.  He 
might  pray,  he  might  profess  to  live  in 
the  fear  of  God,  he  might  give  all  his 
substance  to  feed  the  poor  —  all  would  be 
in  vain,  unless  he  gave  up  his  old  form 
of  worship,  which  for  hUn  could  no  longer 
be  right,  and  adhere  to  that  new  faith 
which  God,  through  His  angel  and  His 
apostle,  had  shown  him  to  be  the  true  one, 
and  the  only  true  one.  "  Without  faith  it 
is  impossible  to  please  God"  {Heb.  xi.  6). 

The  application  of  this  to  current 
events  is  already  implied,  in  the  supposi- 
tion I  have  made  with  regard  to  Cornelius, 
in  the  event  of  his  having  failed  or 
neglected  to  take  the  course  which  he  had 
the  happiness  to  follow. 

Before  entering  upon  this  application, 
I  feel  I  ought  to  ask  the  reader's  indulgence 
while  I  digress  for  a  short  time  from  the 


INDIFFERENTISM  A   CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


29 


main  line  of  argument.  I  have  less  hes- 
itation in  asking  this  permission,  as  the 
application  itself,  though  it  is  a  slight 
departure  from  the  direct  line  of  demon- 
stration, embodies,  nevertheless,  a  further 
refutation  of  the  pernicious  system  against 
which  I  am  arguing. 

A  man,  belonging  to  some  non-Catholic 
denomination,  seeing  the  number  of  rich, 
respectable,  educated  people  who  leave 
the  ranks  of  Protestanism  and  enter  the 
Catholic  Church,  may  become  unhinged 
in  the  creed  he  has  hitherto  professed. 
He  begins  to  have  doubts,  and  serious 
ones,  as  to  whether  that  creed  is  right  or 
wrong.  In  spite  of  the  prejudices  gen- 
erated by  early  education,  in  spite  of 
those  popular  calumnies  which  taught 
him  in  his  boyhood  and  early  youth  that 
any  religion  was  better  than  the  Roman 
one  —  that  all  churches  were  good  enough 
exccpt\.\\Q.  Roman  Church,  he  has,  never- 
theless, a  sort  of  incipient,  though  reluc- 
tant, leaning  towards  the  faith  which  that 
church  teaches.  Natural  motives  incline 
him  to  remain  where  he  is ;  something 
abnormal  within  him  (which  he  cannot 
e.xplain  to  himself )  impels  him  in  another 
direction.  He  stands  bewildered  in  the 
clash  of  so  many  contending,  antagonistic 
creeds  ;  his  reason  tells  him  that  all  can- 
not be  right,  that  one  only  can  be  right, 
and  he  is  quite  uncertain  whether  he 
belongs  to  the  one  which  is  right,  or  to  one 
amongst  the  many  which  are  wrong.  He 
doubts  more  seriously  every  day. 

Well,  such  a  man  either  seeks  to  have 
his  doubts  clpfred  up  or  he  does  not.     If 


he  is  sincerely  anxious  to  find  a  solution 
of  them,  he  will  set  the  right  way  about  it 
—  i.  e.,  he  will  put  himself  to  the  trouble 
of  inquiring,  of  reading,  of  consulting ;  he 
will  pray  with  earnestness,  and  with  his 
whole  heart,  for  light  from  on  high  ;  and 
if  he  continue  to  pray  earnestly  and  heart- 
ily for  light,  light  is  sure  to  come.  The 
darkness  of  error  and  the  mists  of  doubt 
will  gradually  disappear.  No  angel  may 
be  sent  to  him  from  heaven,  and  no  apostle 
of  the  true  faith  may  be  divinely  instructed 
on  earth  to  come  to  him  ;  but  the  light  of 
reason  and  the  light  of  revelation  com- 
bined may  show  him  —  and  show  him  so 
clearly  that  he  can  no  longer  have  any 
rational  doubt  about  the  matter  —  that 
his  present  religion  is  wrong,  and  that  the 
one  he  was  taught  in  his  younger  years 
to  ridicule  and  to  hold  in  detestation  is 
the  right  one,  and  the  only  right  one. 

The  course  he  is  bound  to  follow  under 
these  circumstances  is  evident.  He  it 
bound  to  take,  energetically  and  promptly, 
the  final  step  which  will  lead  him  into 
that  Church  to  which  the  steady  light  of 
faith  is  inviting  him.  The  same  grace 
which  is  a  star  to  guide  him  is  meant  to 
be  also  a  help  to  direct  his  steps  in  the 
path  it  traces  out  for  him.  Not  to  cor- 
respond with  that  grace,  which  is  at  once 
both  light  and  strength,  is  to  abuse  it, 
and  to  abuse  it  is  to  run  the  risk  of  los- 
ing it  forever ;  for  no  man  has  control 
over  the  length  of  time  he  Is  to  live,  or 
the  measure  of  grace  he  is  to  have  ;  and 
the  worst  way  to  get  grace  in  the  future 
is  to  throw  away  the  grace  which  is  given 


30 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


in  the  present.  I  say  he  is  bound  to  fol- 
low, promptly  and  energetically,  the  light 
which  is  made  to  shine  upon  him,  and  to 
use  the  strength  which  is  divinely  given 
him ;  for  God  does  not  give  His  super- 
natural helps  in  vain.  When  He  com- 
municates His  lights  and  His  strength. 
He  expects,  and  He  has  a  right  to  expect, 
that  they  will  be  used  for  the  purpose  for 
which  they  are  bestowed ;  and  He  will 
demand  at  the  Judgment-seat  a  rigorous 
account  of  those  who,  through  apathy, 
cowardice,  or  caprice,  shut  their  eyes  to 
His  light,  or  waste  those  helps  which  are 
meant  to  strengthen  them  on  the  way  to 
the  true  fold. 

Such  a  man  may  pray  a  great  deal, 
may  perform  acts  of  heroic  penance :  he 
may  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of 
angels,  he  may  distribute  all  his  goods  to 
feed  the  poor,  his  portrait  may  hang  in 
every  drawing-room,  his  bust  or  statue  may 
be  found  in  every  place  of  public  resort, 
he  may  wield  a  wide  influence  amongst 
his  fellow-men,  he  may  have  the  good 
testimony  of  all  who  know  him,  he  may  be 
a  useful,  beneficent,  benevolent  member  of 
society,  he  may  be  the  very  ideal  of  a 
philanthropist,  he  may  impress  all  who 
come  in  contact  with  him  that  he  is  a  good 
man  after  his  own  fashion  —  all  this  will 
fail  to  save  him,  if  he  refuses  or  neglects 
to  enter  that  church  which  he  sees  in  the 
irresistible  light  of  faith  to  be  the  true 
one,  and  the  only  true  one.  Without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God. 
Which  that  church  is  to  which 
his   star     must  guide   him,   if    faithfully 


followed,  we  shall  determine  later  on,  in 
the  second  part  of  this  little  book,  when 
we  discuss  the  external  marks  which 
must  necessarily  belong  to  the  true  church, 
and  which  can  belong  to  her  alone. 

This  leads  us  to  the  further  treatment 
of  the  second  part  of  our  supposition  — ■ 
i.  e.,  to  consider  in  detail  the  position  of 
the  man  who  does  not  seek  a  solution  of 
his  doubts,  and  who  strives  to  drown  the 
voice  of  conscience  by  endeavoring  to 
argue  himself  into  the  conviction  that 
good  works  with  any  form  of  Christian 
belief  are  a  sufficient  qualification  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

In  spite  of  his  efforts  to  stifle  the  voice 
of  conviction,  his  doubts  become  more 
grave  every  day ;  for  he  cannot  help  notic- 
ing the  stream  of  conversions  which  is 
constantly  flowing  into  the  Catholic 
Church.  He  observes  that  every  year 
several  men  of  standing,  of  great  ability, 
of  varied  learning,  leave  the  Protestant 
and  embrace  the  Catholic  communion. 
He  understands  perfectly  well  that  they 
cannot  be  doing  so  from  motives  of  self- 
interest.  He  has  penetration  enough 
to  perceive  that  in  taking  such  a  step 
they  have  nothing  to  gain  in  a  temporal 
point  of  view,  but  everything  to  lose. 
He  has  heard  repeatedly  that  many  of 
them  made  the  change  with  the  certain 
knowledge  that  they  would  lose  in  conse- 
quence their  family  inheritance,  a  rich 
living,  an  annual  income,  a  lucrative  busi- 
ness, a  good  situation,  a  means  of  live- 
lihood—  that  they  would  be  disowned 
and  cast  off  by  their  nearest  and  dearest 


INDTFFERENTISM  A   CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


31 


relatives,  have  to  break  some  of  the  fond- 
est family  ties,  incur  the  displeasure  of 
many  cherished  friends,  and  lose  the 
respect  of  large  numbers  of  old  and  highly 
esteemed  acquaintance. 

He  looks  at  some  of  the  living  promi- 
nent dignitaries  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
England,  and  he  finds  that  the  history  of 
what  they  were  in  the  not  very  distant 
past  is  still  fresh  in  the  memories  of  all. 
That  contemporary  history  tells  him  that 
some  of  the  greatest  intellects  that  England 
has  ever  produced,  that  some  of  the  bright- 
est stars  that  ever  shone  in  the  English 
Protestant  Church,  have  in  this  century 
abandoned  her,  and  have  given  their  life, 
genius,  heart,  soul,  whole  being,  to  another 
church.  That  same  history  makes  it 
clear  to  him  that  these  great  men  did  not 
give  up  Protestantism  without  counting 
the  cost.  Numberless  difficulties  stared 
them  in  the  face — difficulties  which 
would  have  appalled  and  unnerved  men  of 
less  force  of  will,  or  would  at  least  have 
made  them  try  to  find  principles  of  expedi- 
ency to  baffle  conviction.  And  souls  less 
brave  and  hearts  less  courageous  might 
have  succumbed  before  getting  even  half- 
way over  the  dark  waters  that  separate 
Protestantism  from  Catholicity.  They 
had  England  at  their  feet  while  they 
remained  members  of  the  Establishment ; 
on  the  other  hand,  they  felt  as  if  they 
themselves  must  ever  sit  at  the  feet  of 
the  humblest  members  of  the  priesthood 
of  the  communion  they  were  embracing. 
The  high  places,  to  which  the  Catholic 
Church   was   in   time   to   lift  them,  were 


still  far  below  the  horizon,  could  hardly  be 
dreamt  of  ( at  least  by  themselves )  as 
things  within  the  range  of  possibility. 
They  could  not  foresee  the  glories  which 
were  to  crown  their  courage,  and  make 
them  shine  as  beacons  in  the  church  of 
their  adoption.  The  panorama  they  had 
to  contemplate  was,  in  an  earthly  point  of 
view,  dark  beyond  description.  The  loss, 
not  merely  for  a  time,  but  forever,  of  the 
high  place  they  had  hitherto  occupied  — ■ 
the  loss  of  revenues,  the  loss,  too,  of  the 
prestige  with  which  fame  had  already 
invested  their  name  as  champions  of  the 
faith  they  had  till  then  professed,  the 
sacrifice  of  prospects  which  made  the 
highest  elevations  in  the  Protestant 
hierarchy  far  more  than  probable ;  on  the 
other  hand,  nothing  to  look  forward  to  in 
the  church  to  which  they  were  submitting 
but  a  position  of  insignificance,  crosses, 
humiliations,  perpetual  self-denial,  and  a 
life  of  comparative  obscurity.  Such  the 
contrast  between  the  fascinations  of  the 
delightful  life  they  were  renouncing,  and 
the  stern  rigors  of  the  life  of  abnegation 
for  which  they  girded  themselves  up, 
when  they  resolved  to  take  the  course  in 
which  unchanging  conviction  was  irresisti- 
bly drawing  them.  They  had  all  the 
merit  of  that  heroic,  unlimited  self-sacri 
fice  which  their  will  cheerfully  embraced 
when  they  took  the  step  which  severed 
them  forever  from  the  church  of  their 
family,  and  which  lodged  them  safely  in 
the  bosom  of  the  old  Church  of  Rome. 

Our  friend  ( who  doubts )  philosophizes 
on  the  conversion  of  men  such  as  I  have 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


been  describing.  He  feels  that  nothing 
but  the  force  of  conviction,  deep  and 
irresistible,  could  have  led  them  on  in 
this  course,  could  have  made  them  brave 
such  dangers  and  nerve  them  for  such 
sacrifices.  It  occurs  to  him,  too,  that  if 
men  of  such  undoubted  uprightness,  such 
ability,  such  learning  —  men  who  are  so 
conversant  with  the  question  of  religion, 
who  were  thoroughly  qualified  to  compare 
the  relative  merits  of  different  creeds,  made 
up  their  minds  in  the  face  of  such  formid- 
able obstacles  to  abjure  the  church  in 
which  they  had  been  brought  up,  and  to 
make  their  submission  to  another — then 
other  men  of  less  ability,  of  less  knowl- 
edge, and  of  fewer  opportunities  of 
judging,  and  who  were  brought  up  in  the 
same  church,  ought  at  least  to  doubt. 

It  may  have  been  in  reasoning  of  this 
kind  that  his  own  first  doubts  had  their 
origin.  And  since  the  day  when  he  first 
became  unsettled  in  the  creed  of  his  fam- 
ily, the  news  of  each  successive  notable 
conversion  has  tended  to  render  his  doubts 
more  disquieting  and  more  perplexing. 
He  feels  impelled  to  draw  the  conclusion 
that  those  great,  able,  learned,  religious- 
minded  men,  who  had  so  many  motives 
to  bind  them  to  the  Church  of  their  birth 
and  early  years,  would  never  have 
renounced  her  at  the  cost  of  such  sacri- 
fices, if  they  had  entertained  the  idea 
that  they  could  have  saved  their  souls 
equally  easily,  or  saved  them  at  all,  in 
the  religion  taught  by  the  church  which 
they  were  abandoning.  This  process  of 
reasoning  may  lead  him  still  farther,  and 


may  incline  him  to  draw  the  additional 
inference,  namely,  that  if  other  members 
of  the  Establishment,  who  have  remained 
listless  in  their  doubts  for  years,  had 
applied  their  mind  to  the  search  after  the 
true  faith,  with  that  energy  and  indomita- 
ble perseverance  with  which  they  give 
themselves  up  to  temporal  pursuits,  there 
would  have  been  a  far  greater  number 
who  would  have  followed  in  the  path 
traced  out  by  those  heroic  souls  who 
have  so  nobly  and  so  courageously  sacri- 
ficed everything  in  their  glorious  search 
after  the  truth. 

Such  his  doubts,  such  the  facts  that 
have  generated  them,  such  the  reflections 
that  have  increased  them.  Still,  in  his 
case  they  lead  to  no  practical  result.  And 
it  is  his  own  fault  that  they  do  not.  He 
can  reason  cleverly  enough  about  the  con- 
version of  others,  and  speak  eloquently 
about  the  conclusions  which  such  conver- 
sions ought  to  incline  people  to  draw. 
But,  though  he  is  full  of  uncertainties  and 
perplexities  himself,  he  takes  no  means  to 
have  them  cleared  up.  He  is  tossed 
about  on  the  ocean  of  error,  and  he  makes 
no  effort  whatever  to  get  on  the  dry  and 
firm  land.  Nor  can  it  be  argued,  in  exten- 
•  nation  of  this  culpable  apathy,  that  he  is 
ignorant  of  the  dangers  which  surround 
his  present  position.  He  has  no  difficulty 
in  realizing  the  gravity,  the  vital  impor- 
tance, of  the  point  at  issue.  He  knows 
that  religion  has  to  do  with  the  soul,  and 
that  the  soul  is  immortal — that  with 
regard  to  himself  it  is  a  question  of  eter- 
nal  life   or   eternal   death ;    and     that   in 


INDIFFERENTISM  A  CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


33 


retcx^nce  to  God  it  is  a  question  of  serv- 
ing Him  according  to  the  form  of  worship 
He  has  prescribed,  or  some  other  form  of 
worship  at  variance  with  the  one  on  which 
He  has  set  the  seal  of  Divine  sanction. 

All  this  he  fully  understands ;  and  he 
fully  understands,  moreover,  the  terrible 
consequences  which  must  attend  his  want 
of  decision.  Though  harassed  by  so 
many  disquietudes  and  perplexities  about 
matters  of  religion,  he  nevertheless  enjoys 
a  sort  of  lethargic  peace  of  soul.  While 
his  conscience  is  oppressed  by  a  multitude 

'  of  doubts,  he  chooses  practically  to  ignore 
them.  And  if  his  state  of  mind  is  analyzed 
it  may  be  described  in  this  form,  namely  — 
"  I  have  serious  doubts  as  to  the  truth  of 

\  the  religion  which  I  nominally  profess, 
I  have  various  reasons  for  thinking  it  is 
not  the  religion  of  Christ.  I  feel  unac- 
countably and  irresistibly  drawn  to  another 
which  I  have  been  taught  hitherto  to 
despise  and  to  hate,  I  am  quite  uncertain 
whether  I  am  serving  God  in  the  right  way 
or  the  wrong  way ;  and  although  I  am 
pretty  sure  I  could  find  out  for  certain 
which  is  the  religion  in  which  He  wishes 
me  to  serve  Him  if  I  made  the  effort, 
still  I  will  give  myself  no  trouble  about  it, 
I  know  that  I  ought  to  inquire,  but  inquiry 
is  irksome  and  inconvenient,  and  if  once 
begun  and  followed  up  it  may  show  me 
the  necessity  of  making  changes  from  the 
very  thought  of  which  I  shrink  with  hor- 
ror. Many  good  men,  who  are  as  much 
bound  to  inquire  as  I  am,  hold  that  it  is  a 
matter  of  no  consequence  what  form  of 
Christian  belief  a  man  professes,  provided 


he  be  a  man  of  good  works.  I  will  remain 
as  I  am.  I  will  keep  to  the  creed  I  was 
brought  up  in,  I  will  do  as  much  in 
the  way  of  good  works  as  I  can.  I  will 
lead  as  good  a  life  as  possible.  And,  as  to 
matters  of  faith,  I  will  take  my  chance." 
This  may  not  be  recognized  as  expressing 
the  state  of  mind  of  a  certain  class  of 
Indifferentists,  but  I  think  it  will  be  gen- 
erally admitted  that  it  expresses  the  state 
of  mind  of  many. 

Now  here  we  are  engaged  in  a  hand-to- 
hand  combat  with  our  opponents.  The 
defenders  of  the  system  of  Indiffercntism, 
if  true  to  their  principles,  will  hold  that 
this  man  is  quite  secure  as  far  as  religion 
is  concerned,  that  he  is  a  good  man  after 
his  own  fashion,  and  that  he  has  nothing 
whatever  to  fear  in  regard  to  the  world  to 
come. 

I  maintain  that  such  a  man  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  a  good  man  in  God's  sense  of  the 
word  "  good  "  so  long  as  he  remains  wil- 
fully and  apathetically  in  the  state  of 
doubt  in  which  he  is  living  at  present 
He  lacks  the  very  foundation  of  super- 
natural goodness  —  i.  e.,  that  firm, 
unswerving  faith,  without  which  no  super- 
structure of  supernatural  virtue  can  be 
raised.  His  faith,  shifting  like  the  sands 
of  the  beach,  is  equivalent  to  no  faith  at 
all.  It  means  everything  and  it  means 
nothing;  for  it  means  nothing  definite. 
In  the  secret  of  his  heart  he  sets  more 
value  on  a  creed  to  which  he  is  supposed 
to  be  antagonistic  than  he  does  on  the 
one  which  he  nominally  professes.  And 
yet  he  has  not  the  courage  or  strength  of 


34 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


will  to  enter  upon  a  search  after  the  solu- 
tion of  his  doubts.  Self-interest,  human 
respect,  craven  fear,  downright  apathy, 
sheer  indifference,  prevent  him  from  doing 
so.  The  things  of  time  absorb  nearly 
all  his  attention  ;  he  has  none  to  give  to 
the  settlement  of  the  question  on  which 
his  eternal  state  depends.  While  he 
willingly  takes  an  immense  deal  of  trouble 
in  arranging  the  affairs  of  his  house,  of 
his  family,  of  his  business,  in  seeking  after 
the  situation,  occupation,  or  work  which 
brings  the  largest  wage,  in  attending  to 
an  infinity  of  trifles,  he  takes  no  trouble 
at  all  ( although  he  is  harassed  by  constant 
misgivings  about  the  matter)  in  assuring 
himself  whether  he  is  doing  rightly  or 
wrongly  that  greatest  and  most  important 
of  all  duties  — the  duty  he  was  sent  into 
the  world  to  do  —  the  duty  of  serving 
God.  "Fear  God,  and  keep  His  com- 
mandments ;  for  this  is  all  man  "  ( Eccle- 
siastes  xii.  13  ).  Can  we  say  that  the  man 
who  attaches  so  little  importance  to  God's 
service,  that  He  does  not  care  whether  he 
is  serving  Him  in  the  way  that  He  approves 
of,  or  in  a  way  that  He  condemns,  is 
practising  in  any  degree  that  holy  fear 
spoken  of  in  the  inspired  language  which 
I  have  quoted  .-* 

Does  not  the  first  precept  of  the  Dec- 
alogue forbid  not  only  the  worship  of 
strange  gods,  but  also  the  worship  of  the 
true  God  in  a  way  that  is  false  and  wrong  .■' 
On  what  foundation,  then,  can  that  man 
rest  the  confident  hope  of  being  eternally 
saved  who  has  good  reason  to  believe 
that  he   is   not   worshipping   his  Creator 


according  to  the  fashion  He  has  divinely 
revealed,  but  according  to  a  bundle  of 
erroneous  doctrines  and  empty  rites"  which 
have  had  their  origin  in  the  pride  and 
obstinate  opinionativeness  of  novelty-seek- 
ing men }  Is  God  likely  to  give  heaven 
to  those  who  will  not  condescend  to 
inquire  which  is  the  road  that  leads  to  it  ? 
No.  Heaven  is  the  greatest  reward 
which  in  His  omnipotence  He  can  bestow. 
He  will  never  give  it  to  the  man  who 
doubts  seriously  whether  he  is  walking  in 
the  way  that  leads  towards  it  or  the  way 
that  leads  away  from  it,  and  who  does  not 
think  it  worth  his  while  to  make  inquiries, 
though  he  has  easy  and  ample  opportune 
ties  of  doing  so.  If  it  still  be  urged  that 
he  is  a  good  man  after  his  own  fashion, 
I  answer,  that  may  be ;  but  he  is  not  a 
good  man  after  God' s  fashion,  and  on  that 
everything  depends.  That  moral  goodness 
which  God  demands  as  a  qualification  for 
heaven  can  never  be  found  in  the  soul 
which  is  oscillating  (entirely  through  its 
own  fault )  in  vague,  perpetual  uncertainty, 
or  which  is  deliberately  stifling  doubts, 
instead  of  continuing  to  inquire  with  a 
view  to  finding  a  solution  of  them. 

Hence,  I  hold  that  the  very  terms  in 
which  the  theory  of  Indifferentism  is 
enunciated  are  sophistical  —  at  least,  if  it 
is  a  question  of  a  man  into  whose  mind 
has  come  a  reasonable  suspicion  that  he  is 
wrong.  For  that  system  supposes  some- 
thing as  proved  '^\i\z\i  is  not  proved,  which 
never  can  be  proved,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  such  a  thing  is  an  impossibility.  It 
supposes  that  a  man  can  be  a  good    man. 


INDIFFERENTISM  A   CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


3i 


tven  according  to  the  Divine  standard  of 
goodness,  although  he  is  in  constant  wilful 
doubt  whether  he  is  offering  to  God  a  wor- 
ship which  is  agreeable  to  Him,  or  a  wor- 
ship which  He  must  disown  and  reject.  And 
can  that  great  God,  who  is  just  and  holy 
and  true,  ever  look  upon  as  good  the  man 
who  lives  day  by  day  in  grave  doubt,  in 
sheer  indifference,  whether  he  is  glorifying 
Him  by  believing  what  is  true,  or  insult- 
ing Him  by  professing  a  creed  which  he 
has  good  reason  to  believe  may  be  false  ? 
God  is  the  God  of  truth.  He  must  love 
truth  of  necessity  ;  and  by  the  same  law  of 
His  Divine  being.  He  must  bear  an 
everlasting  and  unchanging  hatred  to 
what  is  contrary  thereto. 

The  striking  words  of  the  Cardinal 
Archbishop  of  Westminster  in  reference 
to  this  are  in  place  here.  Alluding  to  a 
kindred  subject  (i.  e.,  "  Rationalism  the 
legitimate  consequence  of  private  judg- 
ment " ),  he  says  :  —  "  Greater  things  than 
argument  are  at  stake  —  the  honor  of  Qur 
Lord  and  the  eternal  salvation  of  souls. 
How  great  is  the  dishonor,  of  which  men 
think  so  little ;  as  if  truth  were  a  sort  of 
coin,  that  they  may  stamp  and  change,  and 
vary  its  die  amd  fix  its  value,  and  make  it 
in  metal  or  paper  as  they  will!  They 
treat  the  truth  as  one  of  the  elements  of 
human  barter,  or  as  an  indulgence  which 
a  man  may  hold  and  use  for  himself  alone, 
leaving  his  neighbor  to  perish.  This  is 
truth  for  me ;  look  you  to  what  you 
believe.  What  dishonor  is  this  to  the 
person  of  our  Lord  .-•  Picture  to  your- 
selves this  night   upon  your  knees    the 


throne  of  the  Son  of  God;  cherubim  and 
seraphim  adoring  the  glory  of  Eternal 
Truth,  the  changeless  light  of  the  Incar- 
nate Word,  yesterday,  today,  and  forever 
the  same ;  the  heavenly  court  replenished 
with  the  illumination  of  God,  the  glorified 
intelligences,  in  whose  pure  spirit  the 
thought  of  falsehood  is  hateful  as  the 
thought  of  sin;  —  then  look  to  earth  on 
those  whom  the  blood  of  Christ  hath 
redeemed ;  look  on  those  who  in  this 
world  should  have  inherited  the  faith ; 
look  at  their  controversies,  their  dis- 
putes, their  doubts,  their  misery ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  all  these  wandering,  sinning, 
perishing  souls,  look  at  those  who  stand 
by  in  selfish,  cold  complacency,  wrapping 
themselves  in  their  own  opinion,  and  say- 
ing, 'This  is  truth  to  me.*  Think,  too,  of 
the  souls  that  perish.  How  many  are 
brought  into  the  very  gulf  of  eternal 
death  through  uncertainty  "i  How,  as 
every  pastor  can  tell  you,  souls  are  torn 
from  the  hand  which  would  save  them 
by  being  sedulously  taught  that  the  dead- 
liest sins  have  no  sin  in  them ;  by  the 
specious  and  poisonous  insinuation  that  sin 
has  no  moral  quality  ;  how  souls  have  first 
been  sapped  in  their  faith  as  Satan 
began  in  Paradise.  '  Yea,  hath  God  said  ? ' 
that  is,  God  hath  not  said.  This  is  per- 
petually at  this  hour  going  on  around 
us  ;  and  whence  comes  it  "i  Because  men 
have  cast  down  the  Divine  authority, 
and  have  substituted  in  its  place  the 
authority  of  men,  that  is,  of  each  man 
for  himself "  ( "  Grounds  of  Faith,"  pp. 
84,  85). 


36 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


I  now  return  to  the  argument  drawn 
from  the  conversion  of  the  centurion : 
and  I  return  to  it  to  answer  an  objection. 

I  am  well  aware  that  the  patrons  of 
Indifferentism  will  appeal  to  a  certain  por- 
tion of  the  chapter  (Acts  x. )  as  containing 
a  vindication  of  their  theory.  They  quote 
the  thirty-fourth  and  thirty-fifth  verses  as 
a  clear  and  explicit  defence  of  it.  In 
these  verses  we  find  St.  Peter,  after  hear- 
ing from  the  lips  of  Cornelius  an  account 
of  the  wonderful  way  in  which  he  had 
been  visited  by  an  angel,  and  commanded 
to  send  for  him,  giving  expression  to  his 
thankful  admiration  of  God's  loving  prov- 
idence in  leading  pure-minded  men  into 
the  true  Church.  These  verses  run  thus  : 
—  "And  Peter  opening  his  mouth  said: 
In  very  deed  I  perceive  that  God  is  not  a 
respecter  of  persons.  But  in  every 
nation,  he  that  feareth  Him  and  worketh 
justice,    is   acceptable  to  Him  "  (  Acts  x. 

34,  35)- 

Now,  the  supporters  of  Indifferentism, 
looking  at  these  words  quite  apart  from 
the  context  and  from  the  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances in  which  they  were  spoken, 
seem  to  think  that  they  warrant  almost 
any  conclusion  ;  and  they  have  no  scruple 
in  drawing  a  very  wide  one.  They  say 
(at  least  some  of  them  say)  that  it  is 
evident,  from  this  emphatic  declaration  of 
the  apostle,  that  God  does  not  care  what 
a  man  is,  in  point  of  religion — that  He 
is  quite  indifferent  whether  he  is  a  Jew  or 
a  Gentile,  a  Pagan  or  a  Turk,  a  Presbyte- 
rian, a  Protestant,  a  Ritualist,  or  even  a 
Roman  Catholic  (if  you  will),  provided  he 


be  an  honest,  straightforward,  benevolent 
charitable  man. 

Let  us  see  if  there  is  anything  in  the 
verses  in  question  to  justify  this  bold 
reasoning.  Can  these  words  of  St.  Peter 
be  construed,  even  by  the  most  subtle 
understanding  of  them,  into  a  vindication 
of  the  theory  of  Indifferentism  ?  No,  cer- 
tainly not.  For,  quite  apart  from  their 
true  meaning,  as  made  evident  by  the 
context,  the  very  circumstances  even,  in 
which  they  were  spoken,  embody  an 
unanswerable  refutation  of  any  such  theory. 
If  God  were  indifferent  as  to  what  form 
of  worship  His  creatures  paid  Him,  then 
St.  Peter's  visit  on  that  occasion  to  Cor- 
nelius was  useless — his  long  journey  of 
more  than  a  day  from  Joppe  to  Cesarea  was 
useless  —  the  journey  of  the  three  men 
who  travelled  so  far  to  invite  him  was 
useless — the  coming  of  the  angel  from 
heaven  was  useless  —  the  truths  Peter 
announced  to  him  were  useless,  and  would 
have  served  the  purpose  quite  as  well  if 
they  had  been  but  a  repetition  of  the  old 
doctrines  of  the  Synagogue,  or  a  rehearsal 
of  those  fragments  of  revelation  which 
were  already  familiar  to  Cornelius  —  the 
baptism  was  useless,  an  idle  ceremony 
which  might  have  been  very  conveniently 
replaced  by  some  of  the  old  rites  of  the 
Jewish  ceremonial.  In  such  a  supposition 
these  long  journeys  and  the  consequent 
fatigue,  the  preparatory  instructions  given 
to  the  centurion  and  his  family  before 
his  reception  into  the  Church,  the  per- 
formance of  the  sacred  functions  by  which 
they  were   made  members  of  the  Church 


INDIFFERENTISM  A   CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION, 


Z7 


—  all  this  might  have  been  dispensed 
with  ;  and  so  all  parties  might  have  been 
spared  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  trouble. 
But,  can  we  conceive  a  God  of  infinite 
wisdom,  who  must  have  an  end  in  every- 
thing He  does,  going  beyond  the  lines  of 
His  ordinary  providence,  working  great 
miracles,  employing  so  many  intermediate 
agents  —  i.  e.,   servants,   apostles,    angels 

—  to  lead  a  man  who  was  already  accept- 
able to  Him  to  a  knowledge  of  a  certain 
definite  creed,  if  He  cared  so  little  about 
matters  of  faith  as  the  advocates  of 
IndifFerentism  would  have  us  believe  ? 
Is  not  the  secret,  why  these  propagandists 
of  broad  Christianity  give  to  the  passage 
in  question  so  free  and  wide  an  interpre- 
tation, patent  to  every  reasonable  man 
who  thoughtfully  investigates  the  matter  ? 
Is  it  not  this  ?  They  would  have  it  that 
God  must  be  indifferent  about  religion, 
just  because  they  are  disposed  to  be 
indifferent  about  it  themselves.  They 
paint  Him,  not  according  to  the  dictates 
of  intimate  conviction,  but  according  to 
the  bent  of  natural  inclination ;  and  they 
cling  to  Indifferentism  as  a  creed,  not 
because  they  believe  it  is  one  which  is 
particularly  calculated  to  give  Him  glory, 
but  because  it  is  one  that  is  particularly 
suited  to  their  own  convenience.  It  presup- 
poses little  restraint ;  still,  quite  as  much  as 
they  are  disposed  to  bear.  It  is  an  excuse 
for  a  religion,  while  it  leaves  them  free  to 
believe  what  they  like,  and,  with  regard 
to  many  points,  perhaps  to  do  what  they 
like.  In  point  of  convenience,  there  is 
nothing   that   has    the    resemblance   of   a 


Christian  creed  than  can  be  compared 
with  it.  It  saves  people  from  the  reproach 
of  being  absolute  unbelievers,  while  it 
gives  them  unlimited  latitude  both  as  to 
articles  of  faith  and  as  to  the  laws  of 
moral  conduct.  In  fact  it  may  be  said 
to  be  diluted  idolatry ;  for  those  who 
profess  it  make  God  not  what  He  is, 
but  what  they  wish  him  to  be  —  that  is, 
as  careless  and  indifferent  about  His 
religion  as  the  most  careless  and  indiffer- 
ent amongst  His  creatures. 

But  now  having  considered  the  circum- 
stances in  which  the  words  were  spoken, 
let  us  sift  the  meaning  of  the  words  them- 
selves. "  In  very  deed,"  said  St.  Peter, 
"  I  perceive  that  God  is  not  a  respecter  of 
persons.  But  in  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  Him  and  worketh  justice  is  accept- 
able to  Him."  The  real  meaning  is  evi- 
dently this.  1st.  That  God  does  not 
exclude  the  Gentiles  from  the  gifts  of 
faith  and  of  grace,  and  that  He  is  as 
willing  to  receive  Gentiles  as  Jews  into 
His  Church.  2d.  That  while  He  is  free 
to  give  or  withhold  from  men  the  gifts  of 
His  grace,  which  are  quite  gratuitous, 
He  at  the  same  time  has  no  regard  to  a 
man's  race,  or  lineage,  or  pedigree,  or 
country,  or  nationality,  when  there  is  a 
question  of  the  distribution  of  those  gifts  ; 
in  other  words,  that  the  beginning  of  a 
member  of  a  particular  race,  or  a  native  of 
a  particular  country,  is  not  demanded  by 
Him  as  a  prerequisite  for  becoming 
acceptable  to  Him,  or  for  finding  favor  in 
His  eyes.  3d.  That  if  a  man  knows 
God  and  fears  Him,  and  leads  a  just  life 


38 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


according  to  the  supernatural  lights  which 
are  given  him,  and  does  the  works  of 
justice  with  the  aid  of  Divine  grace, 
according  to  his  present  knowledge  of 
religion,  while  he  is  yet  in  invincible 
ignorance  that  there  is  any  other  religion 
which  is  true,  or  at  all  events,  that  there 
is  any  other  which  is  better  than  his  own, 
and  if  he  is  in  such  a  frame  of  mind  that  in 
case  it  were  made  evident  to  him  that  his 
old  religion  can  be  no  longer  right  for 
him,  he  would  be  quite  willing  to  abandon 
it,  and  quite  willing,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  embrace  another  as  soon  as  he  became 
absolutely  certain  it  was  the  Divine  Will 
he  should  do  so  —  then  such  a  man, 
whether  he  was  born  in  Judea  or  Galilee, 
or  in  some  heathen  land,  like  Job,  shall 
find  favor  with  God. 

This  must  be  the  meaning  of  Peter's 
words,  for  it  is  evident  Cornelius  himself 
is  the  ideal  Peter  is  describing.  He 
(Peter)  is  contemplating  a  man  whose 
circumstances  in  regard  to  religion,  whose 
tone  of  mind,  and  whose  dispositions  of 
heart  resembled  those  of  the  centurion. 
And  hence  the  widest  conclusion  that 
must  be  drawn  from  his  words  is,  that  God 
looks  with  favor  on  those  who  live  in  holy 
fear  and  lead  a  just  life  according  to  their 
lights,  as  Cornelius  did,  and  who,  having 
no  knowledge  of  a  better  way  of  serving 
Him  at  present,  are  ready  to  adopt  a  new 
and  a  higher  form  of  worship  as  soon  as  it 
is  His  good  pleasure  to  reveal  it  to  them. 
It  is  to  people  who  act  up  to  their  lights 
in  this  way  St.  Thomas  alludes  when  he 
teaches  that  it  is  to  be  held  as  most  certain 


that  God  will  either,  by  some  interiof 
inspiration,  reveal  to  them  what  is  of  nec- 
essary belief  for  salvation,  or  will  send 
them  some  preacher  of  the  faith,  as  He 
sent  St.  Peter  to  Cornelius,  rather  than  let 
them  perish  through  want  of  faith.  His 
words  are  —  "  Si  eniin  aliqiiis,  taliter  nutri- 
tus,  ductum  naturalis  rationis  sequ^retur  in 
appetitu  boni  et  fiigA  mali,  certissime  est 
tenejidiim.  quod  ei  Deus  vel  per  internam 
inspirationem  revelaret  ea  qii(2  sunt  ad  cre- 
dendum  necessaria  vel  aliquem  fidei  pra- 
dicatorem  ad  euni  dirigeret,  sicut  misit 
Petrum  ad  Corneliinn  "  {De  fide,  2-14,  Art. 
xi.).  He  is  treating  the  case  of  a  man 
who  lives  in  a  place  where  none  of  the 
ordinary  or  natural  means  of  attaining  to 
a  knowledge  of  Divine  revelation  are  to 
be  found.  The  conversion  of  Cornelius 
is,  indeed,  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
truth  of  the  teaching  of  this  great  doctor 
of  the  Church. 

But  the  meaning  of  the  verses  in  ques- 
tion will  become  still  more  clear,  if  we 
look  at  the  matter  from  another  point  of 
view.  Suppose  that  St.  Peter,  as  soon  as 
he  reached  Cesarea,  perceived  that  Cor- 
nelius, in  the  short  interval  between  the 
vision  of  the  angel  and  his  own  arrival  at 
his  house,  had  changed  his  mind  again, 
and  had  begun  to  resist  God's  will,  though 
it  had  been  so  clearly  manifested  to  him ; 
and  suppose  that  he  declared  to  Peter  that 
although  he  knew  with  absolute  certainty 
the  religion  he  came  to  announce  to  him 
was  now  the  only  true  one  —  that  it  was 
the  Divine  Will  he  should  embrace  it  at 
once,  and  that   it  was  wrong   for  him   to 


JXDIFFERENTISM  A    CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


39 


follow  the  old  one  any  longer  —  still, 
having  regard  to  the  tremendous  temporal 
difficulties  which,  for  a  man  in  his  position, 
stood  in  the  way,  he  could  not  think  of 
making  the  sacrifices  which  such  a  step 
demanded,  would  St.  Peter,  in  such  a  sup- 
position, have  spoken  words  which  implied 
that  he  (Cornelius)  was  there  and  then 
acceptable  to  God  ?  Every  reasonable 
man  must  answer  No ;  for,  although  Cor- 
nelius had  been  (or  in  case  he  had  been) 
in  the  Divine  favor  till  then  —  till  the 
hour  came  when  there  was  question  of 
corresponding  with  or  rejecting  the  signal 
grace  then  offered,  he  would  have  sinned 
the  moment  he  wilfully  and  persistently 
rejected  it.  And  his  sin  would  have  been 
the  particularly  great  sin  of  the  man  who, 
while  heaven's  light  was  shining  upon  him 
with  its  brightest  rays  to  show  him  what 
was  false  on  one  side  and  what  was  true 
on  the  other,  chose  falsehood  in  preference 
to  truth,  and  did  so  from  motives  of  self- 
interest,  and  in  open  resistance  to  God's 
will. 

Till  the  apparition  of  the  angel,  or  a 
little  before,  Cornelius,  though  knowing 
the  one  true  God,  and  having  implicit  faith 
in  Christ,  the  Mediator,  had  been  living  in 
invincible  ignorance  that  there  was  a 
higher  and  a  holier  religion  than  that 
which  he  was  practising ;  but  that  igno- 
rance had  begun  now  to  be  vincible.  The 
announcement  that  the  promulgation  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  had  been  made  at 
Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  was 
spreading  widely.  It  had  already  reached 
several  cities  of  the  Roman  provinces,  and 


Cornelius  had  probably  heard  tidings  of 
it  from  the  Jews  with  whom  he  associated 
at  Cesarea.  At  all  events,  that  Gospel 
had  now  been  promulgated  to  himself, 
personally,  in  a  manner  so  wonderful  and 
so  miraculous  that  there  was  no  longer 
room  for  any  doubt.  Had  he  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  truths  it  announced  and 
the  laws  it  imposed,  he  would  have  sinned, 
and  lost  by  his  sin  the  grace  he  had 
hitherto  possessed,  or  the  favor  of  God,  in 
whose  eyes  he  had  till  then  been  accept- 
able. 

Our  opponents  are  not  disconcerted. 
They  hold  that  the  conversion  of  Cor- 
nelius, and  the  arguments  we  have  drawn 
from  it,  do  not  weaken  their  position  in 
the  least.  Although  Cornelius  knew  the 
true  God,  they  observe,  still  he  had  not 
explicit  faith  in  Christ  the  Mediator;  nor 
had  he  been  as  yet  instructed  in  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
But  we,  they  urge,  are  Christians,  and  ai 
such  we  believe  those  great  and  broad 
truths  on  which  Christianity  is  built.  We 
hold,  however,  that  within  the  limits  of 
those  broad  and  wide  fundamental  truths, 
it  is  lawful  to  construct  several  different 
creeds,  and  creeds,  too,  which  on  many 
points  contradict  each  other. 

This  reasoning  is  easily  answered.  It 
carries  with  it  its  own  refutation,  That 
the  sophistry  it  contains  may  be  more 
thoroughly  exposed  and  our  answer  to  it 
appear  in  clearer  light,  we  must  look 
again  at  some  of  the  doctrines  on  which 
the  principal  Christian  creeds  differ,  and 
at  the  same  time  keep  before  our  minds 


¥> 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


the  momentous  importance  of  those  doc- 
trines. These  creeds  differ  on  the  doctrine 
of  the  Real  Presence  of  Christ  in  the 
Eucharist,  on  the  doctrine  of  sacramental 
confession,  on  the  question  of  the  Pope's 
jurisdiction.  They  also  differ  as  to 
whether  there  is  a  voice  on  earth  which  is 
infallible  when  it  speaks  on  certain  matters 
in  certain  given  circumstances.  Now,  surely 
it  is  a  matter  of  importance  whether  Christ 
is  or  is  not  truly  and  really  present  in  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  whether  con- 
fession is  or  is  not  the  ordinary  means 
instituted  by  Christ  for  obtaining  forgive- 
ness of  the  grievous  sins  committed  after 
baptism,  whether  the  Supreme  Pontiff  has 
or  has  not  universal  spiritual  jurisdiction 
over  the  whole  world,  and  whether  he  is 
or  is  not  infallible  when  he  speaks  in  his 
character  of  universal  teacher  on  matters 
of  faith  and  morals.  Could  there  be 
doctrines  which  affect  the  interests  of 
men's  souls  more  deeply  than  these .? 
"With  this  question  we  proceed  to  answer 
the  statement  of  the  Indifferentist :  that 
within  the  limits  of  the  broad  and  wide 
fundamental  truths  on  which  Christianity 
is  built  it  is  lawful  to  construct  different 
creeds,  and  creeds  even  which  on  many 
points  contradict  each  other. 

What  is  Christianity }  We  do  not  ask 
for  an  elaborate  definition  drawn  from  any 
theological  treatise.  Better  not  use  such, 
perhaps,  as  the  authority  of  the  theologi- 
cal school  from  which  it  issued  might  be 
questioned.  We  shall  take  the  usual  or 
common  definition  or  description  found  in 
almost  every  dictionary,  which  is  to  this 


effect :  Christianity  is  the  religion  taught 
by  Christ. 

Now,  the  religion  taught  by  Christ  was 
on  in  its  beginning,  it  has  been  one  ever 
since,  and  it  must  ever  remain  one  to  the 
end  of  time.  It  cannot  be  two.  It  can- 
not differ  from  itself ;  if  it  could,  it  would 
not  be  Christ's.  As  there  is  only  one 
true  baptism,  says  St.  Paul,  one  true 
Saviour,  one  true  God  and  Father  of  all, 
so  there  can  be  only  one  true  faith. 
"Careful  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  bond  of  peace.  One  body  and  one 
spirit,  as  you  are  called  in  one  hope  of 
your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
Baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who 
is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us 
all "  ( Ephes.  iv.  yG).  In  other  words, 
Christianity,  as  it  signifies  the  religion 
revealed  by  Christ,  means  truth.  For 
Christ  is  the  God  of  truth,  who  cannot 
speak  a  lie.  And  truth  is  one  —  it  is 
something  pure  and  simple.  It  is  not  a 
compound  consisting  of  various  elements, 
some  of  which  are  true  and  others  false. 
It  can  admit  no  alloy  of  falsehood  without 
losing  its  essence,  without  ceasing  to  be 
what  it  is.  Light  and  darkness  cannot 
co-exist ;  heat  and  cold  cannot  be  found  in 
the  same  place  at  the  same  time.  False- 
hood and  truth  cannot  be  built  together 
on  Christ,  who,  as  the  God  of  truth,  is 
the  foundation  on  which  His  religion 
rests.  To  affirm,  then,  that,  within  the 
broad  and  wide  limits  of  Christianity, 
different  creeds,  and  even  contradictory 
creeds,  may  be  lawfully  built  up,  is  simply 
to  affirm  that  Christ's  religion  may  mean 


INDIFFERENTISM  A   CONTRADICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


4' 


truth  and  falsehood  at  once  —  may  be  a 
mixture  of  what  is  true  and  what  is  false  ; 
and  that  Christ  Himself  meant  it  to  be 
such,  since,  if  He  did  not  mean  it  to  be 
such,  it  would  be  against  all  reason  to 
hold  that  contradictory  creeds  may  law- 
fully spring  out  of  it.  But  was  not  that 
religion  true  in  all  its  parts,  when  Christ 
delivered  it  to  His  apostles,  to  be  propa- 
gated throughout  the  world  ?  And,  was 
it  not  true  in  all  its  parts  when  His 
apostles  transmitted  it  to  their  successors  ? 
And  was  it  not  that  it  might  remain 
true  in  all  its  parts,  free  from  all 
alloy  of  falsehood,  to  the  end  of  time, 
that  He  promised  to  send  His  Spirit,  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  to  teach  all  truth  ;  and 
promised,  too,  to  be  with  His  Church 
Himself  all  days  even  to  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  world  ? 

Could  He  mean,  when  He  revealed 
those  doctrines  which  were  to  constitute 
Christianity,  that  He  left  men  free  to 
give  them  contradictory  forms  according 
as  fancy  or  inclination  prompted  ?  Had 
even  the  apostles  themselves  any  power  to 
change  them,  or  to  leave  people  free  to 
believe  their  opposites,  as  they  thought 
fit  ?  And  if  the  apostles,  to  whose  guar- 
dianship they  were  committed,  could  not 
change  them  in  the  least  item,  how  does 
it  appear  that  any  innovator  or  new  evan- 
gelist, who  has  come  into  the  world  since 
their  day,  has  had  any  authority  to  take 
such  liberty  with  them?  What  passage 
is  there  in  the  whole  range  of  Scripture 
from  Genesis  to  the  Apocalypse  —  what  has 
there  been  handed   down   in   tradition  — 


what  is  there  in  the  dictates  of  right 
reason  to  justify  the  assumption  that 
Christ  meant  to  leave  people  free  to  draw 
contradictory  creeds  out  of  the  religion 
which  He  revealed  ?  Does  not  every- 
thing in  Scripture,  in  tradition,  in  reason, 
point  the  other  way  ?  I  have  nevei 
heard,  you,  dear  reader,  have  never  heard, 
no  one  has  ever  heard,  that  He  said  at 
any  time,  that  if  men  believed  the  unity 
of  God,  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  and 
the  Redemption,  they  might  be  free  about 
all  the  other  dogmas  of  His  revelation. 

But,  quite  independently  of  reasoning  oi 
this  kind,  the  statement  is  refuted  from 
the  very  words  in  which  it  is  made.  It 
leads  to  conclusions  the  most  absurd. 
To  say  that,  within  the  limits  of  the 
great  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christian- 
ity, there  is  room  for  different  creeds,  and 
creeds  which  on  many  points  contradict 
each  other,  is  hardly  anything  less  than  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  For  if  such  lib- 
erty is  allowed,  Christianity  can  never 
have  any  limits  at  all.  In  other  words, 
while  the  theory  of  Indifferentism  may  be 
said  to  have  certain  limits  to  begin  with, 
it  has  none  whatever  to  end  with.  It  can 
be  expanded  to  any  degree  its  upholder 
wishes,  be  stretched  out  indefinitely,  and 
be  made  to  mean  anything  and  everything, 
or  nothing,  according  to  men's  whims, 
fancies,  caprices,  private  judgment,  most 
foolish  eccentricities.  There  is  no  restrict- 
ive or  restraining  element  in  it  to  check 
its  course.  It  is  necessarily  progressive, 
changeful,  variable.  Freedom  of  opin- 
ion  is   principle  of  life ;   and  freedom  of 


42 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


opinion  has  never  recognized  any  lim- 
its in  the  past,  nor  is  there  any  hope  it 
will  ever  recognize  any  in  the  future.  The 
only  sphere  in  which  it  finds  itself  at 
home  is  illimitable  space.  There  is  no 
anchor  to  keep  it  within  fixed  distance. 
It  is  like  a  puny  boat,  unfastened  from 
its  moorings,  swept  over  the  ocean  by  the 
rage  of  the  tempest,  without  steersman, 
without  rudder,  without  chart,  iX.  the 
mercy  of  every  wind  and  wave. 

Here  is  the  secret  why  the  religion  of 
the  Reformation  has  been  divided,  and 
subdivided,  and  re-subdivided,  into  num- 
berless sects.  It  claimed  the  right  of 
liberty  of  opinion,  of  individual  preference  ; 
it  repudiated  the  idea  of  being  bound  to 
obey  any  controlling  or  authoritative  voice 
that  could  keep  it  within  definite  lines. 
Hence,  its  doctrines,  like  circles  on  the 
water,  became  wider  and  wider  as  time 
went  on.  These  doctrines  are  expanding 
still  every  day  ;  and  it  is  not  unreasonable 
to  say  that  the  only  thing  that  will  put  an 
end  to  their  constant  expansion  will  be  the 
day  of  general  judgment. 

But  perhaps  we  shall  be  told  that  even  in 
the  Church  of  Rome,  which  boasts  to  be  so 
clear  and  definite  in  her  teachings,  liberty 
of  opinion  with  regard  to  certain  matters 
of  doctrine  is  allowed,  and  that  in  all 
such  matters  members  of  her  communion 
may  hold  different  and  even  contradictory 
views.  Why,  then,  condemn  in  another 
Church  what  we  approve  in  our  own } 
Is  it  not  unfair  to  deny  to  others  a  right 
which  we,  to  a  certain  extent,  make  use  of 
ourselves  ?     What  is   the   difference,  ask 


our  opponents,  between  our  system  and 
that  followed  by  the  Church  of  Rome  "i 
Is  it  not  this,  that  while  sJie  marks  off  the 
limits  of  liberty  of  opinion  at  a  certain 
point,  we  make  those  limits  a  little  wider } 
She  gives  a  certain  amount  of  latitude,  we 
give  a  little  more.  The  difference,  there- 
fore, is  a  difference,  not  of  kind,  but  of 
degree. 

We  shall  not  seek  to  evade  the  difficulty. 
We  shall  meet  it  fairly,  face  to  face.  And 
we  say  at  once  it  is  not  a  difference  of 
degree,  but  an  essential  difference  of  prin- 
ciple between  the  Catholic  and  non-Catho- 
lic churches.  Catholics  recognize  the 
infallible  voice  of  the  church,  as  the  divinely 
established  means  of  securing  unity  in 
faith,  by  fixing  the  limits  of  free  thought 
and  necessary  faith.  But  non-Catholics 
sanction  the  right  of  private  judgment, 
which  is  a  principle  not  of  unity,  but  of 
division  and  diversity.  We  readily  admit 
that  there  are  certain  things  in  which  the 
Catholic  Church  allows  her  children  liberty 
of  opinion.  But  the  very  lines  within 
which  she  circumscribes  that  liberty  may 
be  regarded  as  an  additional,  though  an 
implicit,  proof  of  her  truthfulness.  She 
marks  out  clearly  the  limits  up  to  which 
liberty  may  go,  beyond  which  it  must  never 
go.  "  Thus  far,"  she  says  to  her  children, 
"  you  may  go  in  the  exercise  of  freedom  of 
opinion,  but  no  farther." 

She  defines,  too,  with  equal  clearness, 
the  sphere  within  which  necessary  faith 
is  demanded,  and  demanded  under  penal- 
ties of  the  gravest  kind.  And  so  authori- 
tative is  her  voice,  and  so  distinctly  does 


INDIFFERENTISM  A    COiVTRA DICTION  OF  REVELATION. 


43 


she  draw  the  lines  that  mark  the  bounda- 
ries botTi  of  liberty  and  of  obligation,  that 
if  one  of  her  own  children  persistently 
held  that  there  was  no  liberty  of  belief 
where  she  granted  it,  she  would  cease  to 
regrard  him  as  a  member  of  her  communion, 
and  would  brand  him  at  once  with  the 
mark  of  heresy.  Nor  would  she  be  less 
stern  in  pronouncing  upon  him  the  sen- 
tence of  excommunication  if  he  obstinately 
refused  to  submit  his  understanding  to  any 
of  those  great  and  distinctly  revealed 
truths  which  she  binds  her  members, 
under  pain  of  heresy,  to  believe.  More 
than  this ;  if,  in  order  to  meet  some 
dangerous  innovation,  she  brings  a  certain 
doctrine  into  more  striking  prominence, 
and  clothes  it  in  a  new  garb,  though  an 
old  truth,  so  as  to  meet  the  heresy  it  is 
meant  to  combat  and  to  crush,  any  of  her 
members  persistently  refuses  to  subscribe 
to  her  definition,  she  condemns  him  at 
once  in  her  most  emphatic  terms,  and  cuts 
him  off  unhesitatingly  from  her  com- 
munion. 

Surely  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  a  religion  which  is  secured  by 
bulwarks  such  as  these  against  the  assaults 
of  Rationalism,  and  a  religion  which,  I 
may  say,  consists  of  nothing  else  but 
Rationalism,  which  is  made  up  of  those 
favorite  doctrines  which  free  inquiry, 
guided  by  taste  and  inclinations,  leads  a 
man  to  choose  as  his  formula  of  belief. 
Wide,  indeed,  is  the  distance  that  sepa- 
rates the  man  who  belongs  to  a  Church 
which,  under  penalties  such  as  I  have 
named,  demands  submission  to  her  teach- 


ings, from  the  man  who  makes  his  own 
fancy  and  caprice  the  only  measure  of  his 
faith,  and  the  only  standard  of  his  morality. 

The  Church  of  Christ  makes  religion 
something  clear,  distinct,  definite;  Indif- 
ferentism  makes  it  something  so  vague  and 
so  variable  that  it  reduces  it  to  nothing. 
That  Church,  pointing  to  her  teachings, 
says  to  her  children  :  "These  are  the  doc- 
trines which  I,  in  Christ's  name,  declare 
have  been  divinely  revealed.  These  you 
are  bound  to  believe.  In  whatever  else 
there  may  be  liberty  of  opinion,  there  can 
be  no  liberty  here." 

The  system  of  Indifferentism,  on  the 
contrary,  authorizes  its  disciples  to  look 
through  the  whole  series  of  Christian 
creeds,  just  as  they  would  look  through 
the  range  of  stalls  at  a  bazaar  ;  gives  them 
full  freedom  to  patronize  the  one  which 
most  commends  itself  to  their  taste  — 
with  the  additional  privilege  of  giving  it 
up  when  they  get  tired  of  it,  and  of 
patronizing  some  other  in  preference  when 
fancy,  family  connection,  matrimonial 
alliance,  self-interest,  greater  convenience, 
or  anything  else  whatever  inclines  them 
to  do  so. 

The  Church  of  Christ  makes  religion 
consist  in  God's  unchanging  revelation ; 
Indifferentism  makes  it  consist  in  man's 
ever-changing  opinion.  The  Church  of 
Christ  insists  on  belief  in  one  definite  creed  ; 
Indifferentism  openly  and  boldly  sanctions 
the  lawfulness  of  holding  as  many  antag- 
onistic creeds  as  there  are  men  who  hold 
antagonistic  opinions.  Which  system  has 
the  stronger  claim  to  be  judged  true.? 


w       Jlefutation  of  Indifferentism 

FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  JERUSALEM. 


HE  apostles  realized  fully  that 
they  were  bound  to  guard  with 
jealous  care  the  sacred  deposit 
of  faith  which  had  been  com- 
mitted to  their  keeping.  They 
knew  with  infallible  certainty 
that  that  faith  was  true  —  true  in  substance 
and  true  in  detail.  It  had  come  from  the 
lips  of  Him  who  was  the  Fountain  of  all 
truth.  They  could  not  allow  even  the 
least  element  of  falsehood  to  be  mixed  up 
with  it. 

They  had  not  been  long  engaged  in  the 
ministry  of  preaching  when  they  had  an 
opportunity  of  showing  their  zeal  in  pro- 
tecting it  against  innovation.  The  church 
was  §till  in  her  infancy  when  the  voice  of 
error  made  itself  heard,  and  sought  to 
destroy  her  young  life.  Proud,  obstinate 
men  arose,  who  resisted  the  apostles, 
disputed  with  them,  questioned,  and  even 
in  some  points  denied,  the  truth  of  their 
teaching.  These  restless  innovators 
maintained  loudly  and  defiantly  that  the 
Gentile  converts  could  not  be  saved, 
unless  they  superadded  the   observances 

44 


of  the  Mosaical  Law  to  those  of  the 
New  Gospel,  and  that  Judaism  was  a 
necessary  intermediate  step  from  paganism 
to  Christianity.  St.  Paul  opposed  these 
positions  with  all  his .  energy.  Peter, 
James,  and  John  held  the  same  doctrine. 
The  question  was  one  of  great  moment. 
The  zealots  for  the  Law  were  moving 
heaven  and  earth  to  carry  their  point,  i.  e., 
to  make  submission  to  legal  prescriptions 
a  necessary  qualification  for  a  Gentile's 
becoming  a  Christian.  It  was  a  critical 
time  in  the  life  of  the  Church.  The 
apostles  found  themselves  placed  in  cir- 
cumstances of  exceptional  difficulty :  they 
must  either  allow  some  little  falsehood  to 
be  mingled  with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
or  they  must  condemn  such  falsehood,  and 
condemn  it  by  a  public  act,  which  would 
have  the  effect  of  changing  into  the 
bitterest  enemies  of  the  Church  some  who 
had  hitherto  been  most  zealous  in  extend- 
ing her  sway  and  in  propagating  her 
doctrines.  They  foresaw  clearly  enough 
the  consequences  of  such  public  con- 
demnation.     A    storm     of     persecution. 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM. 


45 


which  the  church,  yet  young  and,  accord- 
ing to  human  appearances,  ill  able  to  bear, 
was  sure  to  follow.  Not  merely  in  Jerusa- 
lem and  Judea,  but  in  the  other  Roman 
provinces  —  indeed,  in  every  part  of  the 
world  where  Jews  were  found,  it  would 
create  bitter  and  persistent  opposition. 
Perhaps  those  Jews  might  prevail  so  far 
with  the  Roman  authorities  as  to  induce 
them  to  prohibit  entirely  the  further 
preaching  of  the  New  Faith. 

Such  were  the  difficulties  the  apostles 
had  to  contend  against  —  such  the  dangers 
they  had  to  encounter.  Yet  they  did  not 
hesitate  ;  they  could  not  allow  the  Gospel 
of  which  they  were  the  appointed  guar- 
dians, to  be  corrupted,  changed,  or  added 
to.  Compromise  in  things  so  sacred  was 
out  of  the  question.  There  could  be  no 
communication  between  light  and  dark- 
ness ;  truth  and  error  could  not  live 
together  in  the  Church  of  their  Divine 
Master.  They  must  preserve  the  deposit 
of  faith  pure,  integral,  incorrupt,  unmixed 
with  even  the  least  leaven  of  falsehood. 
Though  all  earth  and  hell  should  rage 
against  the  rising  Church,  they  must  con- 
demn error,  condemn  it  publicly ;  and 
condemn  it  not  merely  separately  and 
individually,  each  apostle  by  himself  — 
they  must  condemn  it  with  unanimous 
voice  when  met  together  in  sacred  council. 
They  were  to  put  on  record  a  public  act 
which  would  show  the  people  of  future 
times  that  there  was  one  Gospel,  and  one 
only  —  that  it  could  not  change  without 
ceasing  to  be  what  it  was  in  the  beginning. 
And  the  example  they  were  thus  to  set  in 


the  very  dawn  of  Christianity  was  to  be 
a  standing  record  throughout  all  centuries 
and  all  generations  how  error  was  to  be 
treated  —  how  the  Gospel  of  Christ  could 
never  bear  the  innovations  of  human 
opinion — how  that  Gospel,  pure,  intact, 
unchanged,  as  it  came  from  the  lips  of  its 
Divine  Author,  was  the  one  to  be  trans- 
mitted to  succeeding  ages,  and  not  some 
other  gospel  that  was  more  or  less  at 
variance  with  it 

Though  it  was  inconvenient  at  the  time 
to  hold  a  council,  yet  a  council  was  held. 
It  was  the  first  ever  convoked  in  the 
Church.  All  the  apostles  who  could  be 
present  took  part  in  it.  Some  were  far 
away  in  distant  lands  teaching  and  preach- 
ing; one,  St.  James  the  Greater,  had 
already  received  the  crown  of  martyrdom. 
Peter,  James  the  Less,  and  John,  Paul, 
and  Barnabas  were  there.  Peter,  as 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  Vicar  of  Christ, 
first  Pope,  opened  the  council  and  pre- 
sided throughout.  The  doctrines  and 
observances  which  the  innovators  sought  to 
introduce  were  examined,  discussed,  and 
condemned.  All  agreed  that  such  doc- 
trines  were  irreconcilable  with  the  Gospel 
of  their  Divine  Master.  The  parting 
'words  which  that  Divine  Master  had 
spoken  on  the  day  of  His  Ascension  were 
still  fresh  in  their  memories,  and  still 
sounding  in  their  ears :  "  Going,  teach  all 
nations  .  .  .  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you."  And  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  had 
been  promised  to  the  Church,  who  hti 
already  come  down  into  her,  and  who  w  ,  ^ 


46 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


to  dwell  in  her  to  the  end  of  time,  was 
with  them  to  suggest  to  them  all  truth. 
He  guided  them  in  their  mode  of  acting, 
inspired  their  deliberations,  placed  the 
matter  in  clear  light  before  them,  swayed 
their  decision,  and  left  no  room  for  doubt 
as  to  the  course  they  must  follow.  They 
knew  with  infallible  certainty  that  the 
Mosaical  prescriptions  were  not  amongst 
the  things  which  their  Divine  Master  had 
commanded  to  be  observed ;  and  they 
knew  with  equal  certainty  that  that  Divine 
Master  would  never  allow  man  to  add  to, 
or  subtract  from,  or  change  in  any  way 
whatever  the  Gospel  which  He  had  an- 
nounced. That  Gospel  was  in  their  hands, 
and  they  would  guard  its  identity  and 
integrity  at  the  expense  of  their  lives. 
They  condemned  emphatically  and  unhesi- 
tatingly the  doctrine  which  taught  the 
obligation  of  the  Jewish  ceremonial  law 
on  the  Gentile  converts. 

"Then  it  pleased  the  apostles  and 
ancients,  with  the  whole  Church,  to  choose 
men  of  their  own  company,  and  to  send 
them  to  Antioch  with  Paul  and  Barnabas  : 
Judas,  who  was  surnamed  Barsabas,  and 
Silas,  chief  men  among  the  brethren, 
writing  by  their  hands  :  The  apostles  and 
ancients,  brethren,  to  the  brethren  of  the 
Gentiles  that  are  at  Antioch  and  in  Syria 
and  Cilicia,  greeting:  Forasmuch  as  we 
have  heard  that  some  who  went  out  from 
us  have  troubled  you  with  words,  subvert- 
ing your  souls,  to  whom  we  gave  no  com- 
mands :  it  hath  seemed  good  to  us, 
assembled  together,  to  choose  out  men, 
and  send  them  to  you   with  our  dearly- 


beloved  Barnabas  and  Paul ;  men  who 
have  given  their  lives  for  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  sent,  there- 
fore, Judas  and  Silas,  who  themselves  also 
will  by  word  of  mouth  tell  you  the  same 
things.  For  it  hath  seemed  good  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  to  us,  to  lay  no  further 
burthen  upon  you  than  these  necessary 
things :  that  you  abstain  from  things 
sacrificed  to  idols,  and  from  blood, 
and  from  things  strangled,  and  from 
fornication  :  from  which  things  keeping 
yourselves,  you  shall  do  well  Fare  ye 
well "  (Acts  XV.  22-29). 

Such  was  the  decree.  The  importance 
attached  to  it,  the  care  that  was  taken  to 
promulgate  it,  and  the  effort  that  was 
made  to  secure  its  observance,  may  be 
judged  from  the  forty-first  verse  of  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts,  in  which  the 
history  of  the  council  is  given :  "  And  he 
(Paul)  went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia, 
confirming  the  churches :  commanding 
them  to  keep  the  precepts  of  the  apostles 
and  the  ancients."  And  the  same  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fourth  verse  of  the 
sixteenth  chapter,  in  which  are  found  these 
words  :  "  And  as  they  (Paul  and  Timothy) 
passed  through  the  cities  they  delivered 
unto  them  the  decrees  for  to  keep,  that 
were  decreed  by  the  apostles  and  ancients 
who  were  at  Jerusalem." 

The  consequences  they  had  anticipated 
quickly  followed.  Several  apostacies  date 
from  the  holding  of  that  council.  Some, 
who  till  then  had  been  amongst  the  most 
firm  adherents  of  the  Church,  broke  with 
her   completely,    and    became    her    most 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM, 


47 


bitter  and  determined  persecutors.  As 
long  as  she  withheld  from  condemning 
Judaizing  innovations,  they  were  numbered 
amongst  her  best  friends ;  the  moment  she 
pronounced  her  definition  of  condemnation, 
they  assumed  an  attitude  of  the  most  des- 
perate antagonism.  Her  stern,  unyielding 
guardianship  of  her  doctrines  brought  upon 
her  a  persecution  from  which  a  slight  com- 
promise would  have  saved  her.  But  she 
could  not  purchase  peace  at  the  sacrifice 
of  even  the  least  tittle  of  her  teaching. 

Now,  does  not  the  course  of  action 
which  this  council  followed  naturally  sug- 
gest the  question  :  Would  the  apostles 
have  acted  piously,  prudently,  or  even 
justly,  in  thus  giving  a  decision  which  they 
foresaw  would  most  likely  sever  from  the 
Church  forever  men  who  had  great  influ- 
ence for  good  or  for  evil,  if  they  thought 
it  mattered  little  whether  people  believed 
the  Gospel  as  our  Lord  delivered  it,  or 
believed  that  Gospel  when  added  to, 
diminished,  or  changed  by  the  innovations 
of  man }  Or,  if  they  thought  it  mattered 
little  whether  an  element  of  falsehood 
was  mixed  up  with  the  truth,  why  not 
tolerate  the  different  views  prevailing  as 
to  the  obligation  or  non-obligation  of  the 
Mosaic  ceremonial  law  being  essential  to 
the  Christian  Faith,  and  leave  all  in  peace 
and  free  to  hold  which  opinion  they  pre- 
ferred on  this  point,  provided  they  pro- 
fessed themselves  members  of  the  New 
Church,  and  continued  to  fulfil  her 
precepts } 

But,  further,   does   not   the   holding   of 
that  council,  the  circumstances  that  led  to 


its  convocation,  and  the  decisions  it  put 
forth,  suggest  another  question }  Would 
those  apostles,  who  condemned  so  loudly 
this  innovation  of  Judaism,  have  approved 
the  modern  system  of  Liberalism  in  reli- 
gion, of  Latitudinarianism,  of  Indiffer- 
entism,  or  whatever  other  name  we  choose 
to  give  W.  Would  Peter,  James,  and 
John,  Paul,  and  Barnabas,  or  any  other 
apostle,  or  all  the  apostles,  have  ratified  at 
that  council  the  doctrine  that  God  was 
indifferent  what  form  of  Christian  belief 
people  nominally  adhered  to,  provided  they 
were  good  people  after  their  own  fashion  "> 
Can  any  reasonable,  serious  man  hold  that 
the  apostles  had  it  in  their  power  on 
that  occasion  to  pronounce  the  decision 
that,  after  all,  men  were  not  strictly  bound 
to  believe  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Gos- 
pel —  that  they  were  quite  at  liberty  to 
adopt  any  other  doctrines  in  preference  if 
they  chose }  If  so,  it  was  useless  to  hold 
a  council  at  all,  useless  to  teach,  useless  to 
preach ;  and  far  worse  than  useless,  it  was 
both  indiscreet  and  foolish  to  evoke  such 
a  storm  of  opposition  to  themselves. 

A  theory  of  religion  that  would  have 
been  condemned  in  the  Church  of  the 
first  century  cannot  be  regarded  as  tenable 
in  the  Church  of  the  nineteenth.  The 
Church  of  Christ  does  not  change  —  if 
she  did,  she  would  not  be  the  Church  of 
Christ.  She  cannot  condemn  a  doctrine 
at  one  period  as  heretical,  and  sanction  it 
at  another  as  being  in  harmony  with  ortho- 
dox teaching. 

Here,  then,  in  the  very  outset  of  Chris- 
tianity, we  see  the  apostles  in  possession 


48 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


of  the  deposit  of  faith,  holding  in  their 
hands  the  treasure  of  those  revealed 
truths  which  their  Divine  Master  meant  to 
constitute  His  religion  —  a  religion  which 
was  more  precious  in  their  eyes  than  life 
itself,  and  to  protect  which  against  the 
blighting  breath  of  error  they  were  willing 
to  shed  their  blood  and  die  the  martyr's 
death.  Restless,  turbulent,  novelty-seek- 
ing men  sought  to  tear  it  from  their  grasp, 
to  enlarge  it,  to  improve  it,  to  make  it 
square  with  their  individual  ideas  of 
Christian  obligation,  to  give  it  a  form  of 
their  own ;  but  an  authoritative  declara- 
tion, which  bore  upon  it  the  impress  of 
Divine  inspiration,  coming  from  the  lips  of 
apostles  assembled  in  sacred  council,  made 
them  understand  that  that  religion  meant 
one  thing,  and  not  anything'  —  that  it  was 
impenetrable  to  heresy  —  that  it  was 
proof  against  the  assaults  of  error  or 
innovation  —  that  the  opinions  of  men's 
private  judgment  could  never  find  a  place 
in  it  —  that  the  privilege  of  individual 
preference  must  ever  be  discountenanced 
and  repudiated  by  it,  as  a  blasphemous 
attempt  to  dissolve  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
and  to  melt  to  nothing  the  doctrines  He 
came  from  heaven  to  announce  —  that  it 
must  ever  keep  the  form,  and  shape,  and 
color  >Jt  had  at  the  beginning  —  that  it 
must  preserve  till  the  end  of  time  the 
complete  identity  it  had  on  the  day  when 
it  was  first  confided  to  their  sacred  keeping. 
Such  was  the  attitude  of  the  Church 
towards  heresy  and  innovation  in  the  first 
century,  while  her  first  apostles  still  lived. 
She  had  just  come  fresh  from  the  hands  of 


her  Divine  Founder.  The  Holy  Ghost 
had  descended  upon  her  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  and  she  was  yet  in  the  splen- 
dors of  His  first  indwelling.  The  apostles, 
who  were  the  custodians  of  her  doctrines, 
and  who  were  to  bear  them  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  were  guided  by  the  inspirations 
of  that  Divine  Spirit;  and,  thus  guided, 
they  acted  in  the  Name  and  spoke  with 
the  voice  of  Him  who  gave  them  the 
great  commission  to  teach  and  to  preach. 
What  they  approved  was  approved  by  Him, 
and  what  they  condemned  was  condemned 
by  Him.  Surely  we  cannot  say  that  in 
preaching  the  Gospel,  and  in  condemning 
error,  they  went  beyond  the  limits  of  His 
authorization.  Surely  the  course  of  action 
which  they  took  in  the  face  of  heresy  was 
the  course  of  action  their  successors  were 
to  take  in  similar  circumstances  to  the 
end  of  time.  Surely,  too,  all  will  freely 
admit  that  the  Church  was  right  in  their 
day ;  for  if  she  was  not  right  in  their  day 
she  has  never  been  right.  And  if  in  that 
day,  when,  in  the  admission  of  all,  she  had 
still  upon  her  the  signs  of  her  Divine 
credentials,  she  was  so  intolerant  of  error 
can  she  afford  to  be  less  intolerant  of 
error  now  .-•  If  she  felt  it  a  duty  to  con- 
demn error  in  the  first  century,  can  she 
let  it  pass  unnoticed  in  the  nineteenth } 
If  she  would  not  allow  the  least  addition  to 
be  made  to  her  doctrines  while  her  first 
apostles  still  lived  to  be  her  mouthpiece, 
can  she  allow  the  people  of  the  present 
day  to  make  any  change  in  those  doc- 
trines, or  to  believe  what  they  like,  or 
deny  what  they  like  1     If  so,  who  gave  her 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM. 


49 


leave   to   change   her   spirit  —  to    depart 
from    the    stern,   unyielding    rigor    with 
which   she   guarded    the    Gospel    of    her 
Divine  Founder  in  the  beginning  ?     Who 
authorized  the  successors  of  the  apostles 
to  be  more  indulgent  towards  heresy  than 
the  apostles  had  been   themselves  ?     Was 
the   Church  which  would   not,  and   could 
not,  bear  the  interference  of  free  inquiry 
in  the  apostolic  age  to  set  the  seal  of  her  [ 
sanction  on  that   privilege   at   any  future  ; 
date  ?      Did   she   not   mean   the   decisive 
voice  of  her  first  council  to  give  the  tone 
to  her  teachings  in  this  respect  down  to  \ 
the  consummation  of  the  world  ? 

Suppose  that  that  first  council  had  been 
convoked,  not  to  discuss  the  question  of 
Jewish   or   Mosaical   observances,  but    to  i 
discuss  the  question   which    is   the   main  | 
subject  of  this  little  tract  —  i.  e.,  whether  \ 
one    religion   was   as    good    as    another, 
whether  it  could  be  lawfully  held  that  God  ■ 
did  not  care  what  religion  people  professed,  ' 
provided  they  were  good  people  after  their 
own  ideas  —  could  we  imagine  the  apostles 
putting    forth    a    decision    like     this  ?  — 
"  Knowing    that  all    religions    are    equal 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  foreseeing   the 
different      opinions      that     will      prevail 
amongst     men,    and     foreseeing,     conse- 
quently, the  difficulty  of  preserving  unity 
in   matters   of    doctrine,  it   hath    seemed 
good  to   the   Holy   Ghost  and   to   us   to 
declare  that  all  people  shall  be  at  perfect 
liberty  to  believe  that  one  religion  is  as 
good  as  another — that  they  shall  be  at  per- 
fect liberty  to  give  any  meaning  they  like  to 
those  words  of  Christ,  and  to  chose  words 


of  us,  the  apostles,  which  will  be  handed 
down  to  them — that  they  shall  be  entirely 
free,  too,  to  believe  as  much  as  they  like 
or  as  little  as  they  like — that  it  is  a  matter 
of  absolute  indifference  to  God  what  creed 
a  man  professes,  provided  he  live  up  to  it." 
Now,  if  the  theory   of    Indifferentism, 
Latitudinarianism,  Liberalism,  in  religion 
were   tenable,   this   decision    would    have 
sounded  perfectly  natural  on  the  lips  of 
the  apostles  assembled  in  council ;  and  yet 
such  decision  would  have  been  in  absolute 
opposition  to  the  sacred  cause   that   had 
brought  them   together,  and   that   united 
their  voices  in  condemning  the  men  who 
sought  to   force   upon   the   Church   their 
own   private,  personal   views   of  religion. 
Nay,   it  would   be    nothing   short    of     a 
blasphemy  to  say  that    such   a   definition 
could  come   from   the   lips   of  those  who 
stood  around  Jesus  Christ  on  the  day  of 
His  Ascension  and  heard  from   His  lips 
the  memorable  words  —  "  Going,  teach  all 
nations  .  .  .  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things   whatsoever    I     have     commanded 
you."     May  we  not  imagine  we  hear  those 
heroic  heralds  of  the  faith  speaking  from 
the  benches  of  that  first  council  chamber 
to  the  generations  yet  unborn  —  to  their 
successors  in  the  most  distant  centuries  — 
and  saying  to  them  —  "  As  we  have  done, 
so   do    ye.      Guard,   protect,   defend    the 
deposit   of   faith   against   the  assaults   of 
innovation,  against  the  dictates  of  private 
judgment,   against    the     errors    of    men, 
against  all  the  false  theories  of  time,  and 
do  not  ever  allow  even  the  least  breath  of 
heresy  to  rest  upon  it." 


Fui'thei'  Refutation  &  IqiliffePEiiti^m  I  l^eVelafsion 


3^^^^^^^ 


REFUTATION  FROM  ST.  PAUL'S  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 


HAVE  said  that  the  impor- 
tance attached  to  the  decree 
of  the  council  of  Jerusalem, 
the  care  that  was  taken  to 
promulgate  it,  and  the  effort 
that  was  made  to  secure  its 
observance,  might  be  gathered  from  the 
forty  first  verse  of  the  chapter  in  which 
the  history  of  the  council  is  given.  Allu- 
sion is  made  in  the  verse  in  question  to 
the  mission  of  St.  Paul  to  the  churches  in 
Syria  and  Cilicia :  —  "  And  he  (Paul)  went 
through  Syria  and  Cilicia  confirming  the 
churches  ;  commanding  them  to  keep  the 
precepts  of  the  apostles  and  of  the 
ancients." 

I  may  add  that  the  effort  made  to  pro- 
cure the  fulfilment  of  that  decree  may  be 
seen  in  still  clearer  light  in  the  words  of 
that  great  apostle  himself  to  the  Galatians. 
In  his  epistle  to  the  neophytes  of  Galatia 
we  find  him  branding  with  withering  curse 
those  very  same  errors  which  he  and  his 
brethren  in  the  apostolate  had  assembled 
in  council  to  combat  and  to  crush.  And 
the   words   of  warning   and   reprehension 

60 


which  he  writes  on  the  occasion  embody 
an  overwhelming  refutation  of  this  flexible 
system  of  Indifferentism. 

Language  could  not  be  stronger,  more 
clear,  or  more  scathing  than  that  in  which 
this  great  doctor  of  the  Gentiles  condemns 
and  anathematizes  those  who  sought  to 
introduce  a  second  gospel  among  the 
Galatians.  He  himself  had  evangelized  the 
Galatians,  and  had  made  them  members 
of  the  one  true  fold.  Scarcely,  however, 
had  the  seeds  of  faith  begun  to  germinate 
and  produce  fruit  amongst  them,  when  the 
voice  of  heresy  was  heard.  Galatia  was 
one  of  the  portions  of  Asia  Minor  in 
which  the  struggle  made  by  the  Jewish 
converts  to  have  the  ceremonial  precepts 
of  the  Mosaical  Law  superadded  to  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  and  made  binding  on 
the  Gentile  converts,  was  most  violent 
and  most  persistent.  The  Judaizing 
teachers  had  succeeded  in  spreading  their 
doctrines  of  innovation  pretty  widely. 
St.  Paul,  hearing  that  some  of  those  whom 
he  had  won  to  Christ  had  fallen  away, 
through  the  influence   of  spurious    evan- 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


51 


gelists,  wrote  an  epistle  to  the  Galatians. 
The  first  chapter  of  that  epistle  strikes  as 
directly  at  certain  errors  of  the  present 
day  as  at  those  errors  in  condemnation  of 
which  it  was  originally  written.  After 
wishing  the  Galatians  grace  and  peace 
from  God  the  Father  and  from  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  he  says: — "I  wonder  that 
you  are  so  soon  removed  from  Him  who 
called  you  to  the  grace  of  Christ,  to 
another  gospel  :  which  is  not  another ; 
only  there  are  some  that  trouble  you,  and 
would  pervert  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  But 
though  we  or  an  angel  from  heaven  preach 
a  gospel  to  you  beside  that  which  we  have 
preached  to  you,  let  him  be  anathema. 
As  we  said  before,  so  I  now  say  again : 
"If  any  one  preach  to  you  a  gospel 
besides  that  which  you  have  received,  let 
him  be  anathema.  For  I  give  you  to 
understand,  brethren,  that  the  Gospel 
which  was  preached  by  me  is  not  accord- 
ing to  man.  For  neither  did  I  receive 
it  from  man,  nor  did  I  learn  it,  but  by  the 
revelation  of  Jesus  Christ." 

I  have  just  implied  that  this  scathing, 
unqualified  condemnation  of  false  teach- 
ing strikes  as  directly  at  the  Indifferent- 
ism  of  the  nineteenth  century  as  at  the 
errors  of  the  innovators  of  the  first 
century,  who  sought  to  impose  useless 
burthens  on  the  Galatians.  May  I  not 
express  the  idea  in  stronger  language 
still  1  St.  Paul  was  denouncing  men 
whose  chief  error  was  to  put  forward  as 
binding  in  conscience  certain  ceremonial 
precepts  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  which  had 
been  of  obligation  in  the  Old  Dispensa- 


tion, which  could  never  be  binding  as  part 
of  the  New,  and  which  were  to  be  entirely 
abolished  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Church's  history.  The  aim  of  those 
proud  zealots  was  not  so  much  to  change 
any  particular  article  of  faith,  as  to  add 
to  the  articles  of  faith  superfluous,  and 
henceforth  useless,  ceremonial  observ- 
ances. And  if  he  spoke  with  such 
vehemence  against  those  who  tried  to  add 
to  the  Gospel  things  which  had  once  been 
obligatory,  and  still  were  lawful,  for  Jewish 
converts,  would  he  not  have  used  stronger 
and  more  unsparing  language  still,  if  such 
could  be  conceived,  against  the  abettors 
of  a  system  which  attempts  to  overthrow 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
and  which  teaches  errors  which  are  in 
open,  palpable  contradiction  to  them  }  If 
he  hurled  such  withering  anathemas  on 
the  heads  of  the  men  who  dared  to  add 
human  opinions  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church,  what  anathemas  would  he  not 
thunder  against  those  who  should  seek  to 
sap  her  very  foundations  by  proclaiming 
that  it  did  not  matter  whether  people 
believed  the  Gospel  she  taught,  or  some 
other  gospel  which  denied  what  she 
affirmed,  and  affirmed  what  she  denied  ! 

Can  we  conceive  the  man  who  wrote 
these  words  of  apostolic  censure  receiving 
into  the  Church,  or  permitting  to  remain 
iti  the  Church,  Galatians,  Romans,  Cor- 
inthians, Ephesians,  Philippians,  Colos- 
sians,  Thessalonians,  Hebrews,  Jews,  or 
people  of  any  country  under  the  sun,  if 
they  persisted  in  refusing  to  become  her 
members,  or  to  remain  in  her  communion, 


52 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


except  on  the  condition  that  they  were  to 
have  the  free  exercise  of  their  private 
judgment,  and  to  be  at  liberty  to  accept 
or  to  retain  this  or  that  particular  doctrine 
according  to  their  own  individual  inter- 
pretation of  what  is  contained  in  Holy 
Scripture  ?  Or  can  we  imagine  that  if  he 
appeared  now  in  this  nineteenth  century 
before  the  influential,  learned  advocates  of 
Indifferentism,  he  would  give  any  assent 
to,  or  connive  at,  the  statement  that  all 
gospels  are  good  —  that  one  religion  is  as 
good  as  another  —  that  all  Christian 
creeds,  although  they  contradict  each 
other  in  matters  which  are  of  vital  impor- 
tance, if  any  can  be,  are  equally  good,  or 
pretty  much  the  same ;  and  that  it  is 
quite  immaterial  which  of  them  a  man 
embraces  as  his  symbol  of  faith,  provided 
he  shape  his  life  after  the  one  upon  which 
his  choice  has  fallen.  They  must  have  a 
strong  imagination,  indeed,  who  can  sup- 
pose that  such  a  theory  could  be  endorsed 
by  the  apostle,  who  pronounced  such 
scathing  anathemas  on  the  innovators  of 
Galatia. 

But,  further,  it  must  not  be  overlooked 
(for  it  is  a  point  deserving  of  very  special 
notice)  that  he  expresses  his  condemna- 
tion of  those  erring  evangelists  who 
sought  to  force  false  teachings  on  the  Gal- 
atians  a  second  time,  and  almost  in  the 
same  terms.  Lest  the  Galatians  might 
suppose  that  his  words  of  censure  were 
rhetorical,  or  that  he  was  writing  from 
human  impulse,  or  that  he  was  rebuking 
them  from  a  feeling  of  intense  disappoint- 
ment at  their  sudden  change,  and  that  in 


calmer  moments  he  would  reprove  them 
with  less  severity  —  lest  any  thought  of 
that  kind  should  enter  their  minds,  he 
repeats,  with  all  the  power  he  can  com- 
mand,  and  with  all  the  emphasis  with 
which  his  character  of  apostle  can  invest 
his  words,  the  same  anathema  again  : — 
"  As  we  said  before,  so  I  say  now  again  : 
If  any  one  preach  to  you  a  gospel  besides 
that  which  you  have  received  let  him  be 
anathema." 

More  than  this,  as  the  false  teachers, 
whose  sophistry  and  influence  he  wanted 
to  make  powerless,  had  quoted,  but  of 
course  falsely  quoted,  the  authority  of 
Peter,  James,  and  John  in  support  of  their 
opinions,  he  (St.  Paul)  pointed  to  the  Gos- 
pel which  he  had  preached  as  a  thing  of 
such  sacredness,  such  indissoluble  unity, 
such  everlasting  identity,  that  neither  he 
nor  any  of  the  apostles,  nor  even  an  angel 
of  God,  had  power  to  change  it  in  the 
least  item.  "I  wonder,"  he  says,  "that 
you  are  so  soon  removed  from  him  who 
called  you  to  the  grace  of  Christ  to 
another  gospel,  which  is  not  another." 
He  first  condescends  to  style  the  errors  of 
those  heretical  evangelists  "another  gos- 
pel," in  order  that,  by  correcting  himself  in 
having  dignified  them  by  that  name,  he 
may  draw  more  attention  to  them,  and 
that  his  overwhelming,  crushing  condemna- 
tion of  them  may  call  forth  greater  horror, 
and  may  be  more  deeply  impressed  upon 
their  memories.  "Which  is  not  another 
Gospel,"  he  adds  ;  for  another  Gospel  there 
cannot  be  —  there  can  never  be.  There 
is  but  one,  the  one  which  we  have  preached 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


55 


to  you  —  while  the  world  lasts  there  can- 
not be  another.  Wicked  men  may  strive 
to  pervert  it,  to  add  to  it,  to  diminish  and 
explain  it  away,  to  mutilate,  to  corrupt,  to 
change  it ;  but  it  still  remains,  and  must 
ever  remain,  unchanged,  unchanging,  and 
unchangeable,  like  the  God  whose  immuta- 
ble truths  it  announces.  "Jesus  Christ 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  the  same  for 
ever "  {Heb.  xiii.  8).  "  One  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism.  One  God  and  Father 
of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and 
in  us  all "  {Ephes.  iv.  5,  6). 

Some,  however,  who  would  fain  justify, 
through  the  principles  of  Indifferentism, 
the  system  of  faith  which  they  at  present 
profess  (although  they  have  serious  mis- 
givings about  its  truth),  take  refuge  in  a 
fact  which  affords  anything  but  ground  for 
solid  argument.  When  driven  from  every 
other  position,  they  fell  back  upon  this  as 
a  sort  of  forlorn  hope.  They  say  : —  "  The 
creed  which  I  now  profess  was  the  creed 
professed  by  my  father  ;  it  was  the  creed 
of  my  grandfather,  the  creed  of  my  ances- 
tors from  time  immemorial  —  at  all  events, 
since  the  Reformation ;  if  it  was  good 
enough  for  them,  it  ought  to  be  good 
enough  for  me." 

This  is  weak  philosophy  indeed.  The 
many  and  wonderful  conversions  to  the 
Catholic  faith  which  have  taken  place  in 
England  within  the  last  half  century  might 
be  regarded  as  furnishing  a  sufficient 
answer  to  this.  But  entirely  apart  from 
the  logic  of  such  events,  an  answer  is 
easily  found.  The  fact  that  a  man's  reli- 
gion  was  the  religion  of  his  father,  the 


religion  of  his  grandfather,  and  the  reli- 
gion  of  his  ancestors  for  centuries  past, 
does  not  prove  that  religion  to  be  true.  If 
it  was  wrong  in  its  beginning,  it  has  been 
wrong  ever  since  ;  age  cannot  have  made  it 
right.  The  transmission  of  an  error  from 
one  generation  to  another  cannot  change 
that  error  into  truth.  Length  of  time,  under 
certain  given  circumstances,  may  give  a 
prescriptive  claim  to  the  possession  of  prop- 
erty, but  no  number  of  years  can  give 
error  any  sort  of  claim  to  the  submission 
of  man's  understanding.  A  custom  may 
be  sanctified  by  antiquity  ;  but  an  anti- 
quity equal  to  the  age  of  the  world  could 
not  sanctity  falsehood  or  change  heresy 
into  orthodox  religion. 

That  falsehood  may  be  polished  up, 
refurbished,  gilded,  draped  in  a  fascinating 
sophistry,  which  makes  it  appear  tolerable, 
plausible,  and  even  commendable  in  the 
eyes  of  the  over-credulous  and  unreflect- 
ing ;  it  is  falsehood,  however,  all  the  while, 
and  must  remain  falsehood  to  the  day  of 
doom. 

More  than  this,  if  reasoning  of  this  kind 
j  ustified  a  man  in  remaining  in  the  creed 
he  was  born  in,  the  Gospel  of  Christianity 
could  never  have  been  reasonably  expected 
to  make  any  progress.  For  both  the  Jews 
and  the  Gentiles,  to  whom  the  apostles 
preached,  might,  in  such  a  supposition, 
have  rejected  entirely  the  doctrines  of  the 
New  Faith.  They  could  have  said  to 
those  who  sought  to  make  the  light  of  the 
Christian  Gospel  shine  upon  them  that 
they  were  quite  satisfied  with  the  religion 
they  were  already  professing,  that  it   had 


54 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


been  the  traditional  religion  of  their  fami- 
lies for  centuries  before,  that  they  did  not 
deem  themselves  better  than  those  of  their 
race  who  had  gone  before  them,  and  that 
they  could  not  make  up  their  minds  to 
abandon  a  form  of  worship  to  which  their 
predecessors  had  clung  so  long,  so  faith- 
fully, so  persistently,  and  so  scrupu- 
lously. 

But  further,  our  opponents,  by  this  quasi- 
appeal  to  the  past,  are  unconsciously  open- 
ing the  way  to  the  argument  which,  of  all 
others,  is  the  most  fatal  to  the  theory  they 
are  advocating.  For  although  their  pres- 
ent faith  has  been  in  its  many  and  perpetu- 
ally changing  forms,  the  faith  of  their 
fathers  for  some  generations,  or  even  some 
centuries  past,  yet  there  was  a  time  a  little 
further  back  when  it  was  not  the  faith  of 
their  fathers.  From  the  sixteenth  century, 
Protestantism,  or  some  fragmentary  reli- 
gion which  was  an  offspring  of  Protestant- 
ism, may  have  been  the  creed  according  to 
which  the  successive  generations  of  their 
family  worshipped  ;  beyond  that  century  it 
could  not  have  been,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  it  did  not  exist.  And,  if  it  had  no 
existence  till  then,  and  was  born  into  the 
world  only  at  that  date,  it  was  born  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  years  too  late  to  be 
the  religion  of  which  St.  Paul  spoke  when 
he  said — "If  I  or  any  angel  of  heaven 
preach  to  you  a  gospel  besides  that  which 
we  have  preached,  let  him  be  anath- 
ema." 

Cardinal  Manning,  speaking  on  "  Re- 
vealed truth  definite  and  certain,"  and 
referring  to  this  last  resource  of  the  Indif- 


ferentist,  says  : — "  Well,  you  will  perhaps 
tell  us  that  you  have  inherited  the  faith 
you  hold.  The  inheritance  of  faith,  that 
is  a  Divine  principle.  We  bow  before  the 
principle  of  inheritance.  But  why  did  you 
cut  off  the  entail  of  your  forefathers  ? 
Why,  three  hundred  years  ago,  did  you  cut 
off  the  entail  of  that  inheritance  .-'  If  it  be 
not  cut  ofT,  why  is  the  contest  ?  If  it  be 
cut  off,  why  was  it  cut  off  ?  To  inherit 
the  faith  is  the  Divine  rule.  It  needs  only 
one  thing,  infallibility,  to  secure  it.  It 
needs  only  one  support  to  giye  it  substance 
and  certainty :  a  Divine  tradition  flowing 
from  the  Throne  of  God  through  prophets, 
seers,  apostles,  evangelists,  martyrs, 
saints,  and  doctors  in  world-wide  stream, 
ever  deepening,  never  changing,  from  the 
beginning  until  now.  Show  this  Divine 
certainty  as  the  basis  of  your  conviction, 
and  then  inherit  both  truth  and  faith. 
But  the  inheritance  of  opinion  in  a  family, 
or  a  diocese,  or  a  province,  or  nation  — 
what  is  it  "i  Human  in  the  beginning,  and 
human  to  the  end  :  '  the  traditions  of  men.' 
You  say  you  have  inherited  the  faith, 
and  that  this  is  the  Church  of  your  fore- 
fathers. Go  back  three  hundred  years 
ago  and  ask  the  priests  of  God,  who  stood 
then  at  the  altar,  how  they  would  expound 
the  faith  you  still  profess  to  hold.  Ask 
them  what  they  believed  while  they  minis- 
tered in  cope  and  chasuble.  Go  back  to 
the  Apostle  of  England  who  first  bore 
hither  again  the  light  of  the  Gospel  after 
Saxon  paganism  had  darkened  this  fair 
land.  Ask  St.  Augustine  what  he  believed 
of  these  words  — '  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


55 


this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church.'  Give 
your  exposition,  and  ask  Jiis.  What  would 
he  have  taught  you  of  visible  unity  ? 
What  would  he  teach  you  of  the  Church 
of  God  ?  Ask  him,  Is  it  one  numerically, 
or  only  by  metaphor  ?  Is  it  visible,  that 
all  men  may  see  '  the  city  seated  on  a 
mountain,'  or  invisible,  that  men  may 
weary  themselves  and  never  find  it?  Has 
it  a  head  on  earth  representing  its  Divine 
Head  in  Heaven  ?  Or  has  it  no  head,  and 
may  set  up  many  of  its  own  ?  What  would 
he  have  taught  you  of  your  baptismal  creed  ? 
Or  that  great  saint  who  sent  him  from  the 
apostolic  throne,  what  would  he  have  testi- 
fied to  you  of  those  doctrines  of  faith  which 
you  are  to  look  upon  as  errors  ?  Ask 
Gregory,  first  and  greatest  of  the  name, 
what  he  believed  of  the  powers  left  by  the 
Incarnate  Son  to  his  Church  on  earth ; 
what  he  taught  of  the  power  of  the  keys 
transmitted  by  his  predecessors  in  lineal 
descent  from  the  hands  of  his  Divine  Lord. 
Ask  what  he  taught  of  the  power  of  absolu- 
tion in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance ;  what 
he  believed  of  the  Reality  on  the  altar, 
and  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  daily  offered  in 
all  the  world ;  of  the  communion  of 
saints  ever  interceding,  by  us  ever  invoked ; 
of  the  intermediate  state  of  departed  souls, 
purifying  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  Ask 
Gregory,  saint  and  doctor,  to  whom  we 
owe  the  faith,  what  he  taught  of  those  doc- 
trines which  you  have  rejected.  If  the 
disciple  and  his  Master,  if  he  that  was  sent 
and  He  that  sent  him,  were  to  come  now 
and  tread  the  shore  of  this  ancient  river, 
whither    would    they    turn    to    worship  "i 


Would  they  go  to  the  stately  minster, 
raised  by  their  sons  in  the  faith,  where 
even  now  rests  a  sainted  king  of  Catholic 
England .''  Would  they  bend  their  steps 
thither  to  worship  the  God  of  their  fathers, 
and  their  incarnate  Lord,  from  whom  their 
mission  and  their  faith  descended }  or 
would  they  not  rather  go  to  some  obscure 
altar  in  its  neighborhood,  where  an 
unknown  and  despised  priest  daily  offers 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  in  communion  with  the 
world-wide  church  of  God  ?  If  then  you 
claim  inheritance  as  the  foundation  of  your 
faith,  be  true  to  your  principle,  and  it  will 
lead  you  home.  Trifle  not  with  it.  Truth 
bears  the  stamp  of  God  and  truth  changes 
men  to  the  likeness  of  God.  Trifle  not  with 
the  pleadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  within 
you ;  for  he  has  a  delicate  touch,  and 
sensitively  shrinks  from  wilfulness  and 
unbelief.  If  truth  struggle  within  you, 
follow  it  faithfully.  Tread  close  upon  the 
light  that  you  possess.  Count  all  things 
loss  that  you  may  win  truth,  without 
which  the  inheritance  of  God's  kingdom  is 
not  ours.  Labor  for  it  and  weary  your- 
selves until  you  find  it.  And  forget  not 
that  if  your  religion  be  indefinite,  you  have 
no  true  knowledge  of  your  Saviour ;  and 
if  your  belief  be  uncertain,  it  is  not  the 
faith  by  which  we  can  be  saved."  {The 
Grounds  of  Faith,  pp.  16-19.) 

Though  our  proper  scope  is  rigid  dem. 
onstration,  yet  we  may  be  excused  if  we 
make  the  following  little  digression  to 
record  an  example  which  bears  intimately 
on  the  phase  of  Indifferentism  which  we 
have  just  been  noticing.     This  little  book 


56 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


may  (and  we  hope  it  will,  largely)  fall  into 
the  hands  of  persons  outside  the  Catholic 
Church  who  have  begun  to  doubt  the 
truth  of  their  present  religion,  and  whose 
chief  objection  to  further  inquiry  or 
nearer  approach  to  Catholic  unity  is  the 
shrinking,  or  shyness,  or  inward  move- 
ment of  human  respect,  which  they  feel 
at  the  idea  of  giving  up  the  traditional 
creed  of  their  family.  Let  such  reflect  on 
the  noble  and  chivalrous  answer  given  by 
Count  Leopold  Stolberg,  after  he  became 
a  Catholic,  to  Frederick  William  IIL, 
King  of  Prussia,  father  of  the  late 
Emperor  of  Germany.  Stolberg  was  a 
man  of  unswerving  uprightness  and  of 
uncommon  learning.  He  read  much, 
studied  much,  reasoned  much,  wrote  much 
and  well.  All  Germany  was  filled  with 
the  fame  of  his  learning,  of  his  writings, 
and  of  his  high-mindedness.  He  was  a 
good  man  according  to  his  lights  ;  he 
followed  those  lights  faithfully.  After 
mature  deliberation,  it  became  clear  to 
him  that  he  was  bound  to  abjure  Protest- 
antism and  to  embrace  the  Catholic  faith 
in  its  stead.  He  did  not  hesitate  or  allow 
himself  to  be  held  back  by  useless  and 
dangerous  delays.  He  made  his  submis- 
sion to  the  Church  of  Rome  promptly 
and  publicly ;  and  did  so  in  spite  of 
difficulties  greater  in  number,  and  of  a 
more  serious  kind,  than  any  that  surround 
the  conversions  which  are  taking  place 
around  us  at  present.  The  first  time  he 
appeared  at  court  after  his  renunciation 
of  Lutheranism  and  solemn  reception 
Into  the  Catholic  Church,  the  king  said  to 


him  in  a  tone  of  bitter  reproach  —  "I 
cannot  respect  the  man  who  has  abandoned 
the  religion  of  his  fathers."  "Nor  I, 
sire,"  replied  Stolberg;  "for  if  my  ances- 
tors had  not  abandoned  the  religion  of 
their  fathers,  they  would  not  have  put  me 
to  the  trouble  of  returning  to  it." 

Here  is  the  right  spirit  —  here  is  fear- 
less courage  of  the  right  kind.  Neither 
the  desire  of  retaining  the  king's  esteem, 
nor  the  fear  of  losing  the  king's  friend- 
ship, could  sway  this  noble-hearted  man 
one  iota.  He  saw  that  Protestantism 
meant  only  Latitudinarianism  or  Indiffer- 
entism,  that  it  had  no  foundation  to  rest 
upon,  that  it  led  to  incipient  Rationalism 
by  bringing  revelation  down  to  a  level 
with  the  law  of  nature,  and  that  in  its 
further  stages  it  led  to  Atheism.  And,  see- 
ing this,  he  broke  with  it  forever,  and  sought 
admission  into  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

Indifferentism,  then,  has  no  firm  ground 
to  stand  on.  It  cannot  bear  investigation. 
It  may  appear  substantial,  firm,  fair,  and 
fascinating  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  do 
not  care  to  look  beneath  the  surface ;  it 
breaks  and  crumbles  to  pieces  in  analysis. 

It  would  have  us  believe  that  God  spoke 
with  the  view  of  revealing  something, 
and  that  yet  He  revealed  nothing  definite ; 
that  He  made  known  some  doctrine,  and 
at  the  same  time  gave  men  leave  to  give 
that  doctrine  any  meaning  they  pleased ; 
that  He  proclaimed  some  statement  as 
true,  and  left  men  perfectly  free  to  believe 
it  was  false  ;  that  He  made  a  revelation, 
and,  while  making  it,  did  not  care  in  the 


REFUTATION  OF  INDIFFERENTISM  FROM  REVELATION. 


57 


least  in  what  sense  men  received  it,  or 
whether  they  received  it  at  all,  or  whether 
they  received  it  in  two  opposite  senses, 
the  one  contradictory  of  the  other.  It 
would  have  us  believe  that,  while  our 
Divine  Lord  says  faith  is  necessary  to 
salvation,  faith  after  all  is  not  necessary 
to  salvation ;  in  other  words,  that  the 
statement  is  true  or  false  according  to  the 
standpoint  from  which  it  is  looked  at. 
It  would  have  us  believe  that,  while  God 
meant  something  definite  when  He  gave 
the  Ten  Commandments  through  Moses 
on  Mount  Sinai,  His  Divine  Son  did  not 
mean  anything  definite  at  all  when,  on  the 
Mount  of  His  Ascension,  He  commanded 
His  apostles  to  teach  and  to  preach  to  the 
nations  the  doctrines  and  precepts  they 
had  heard  from  Him,  It  will  not  allow 
the  Ten  Commandments  to  be  subjected 
to  the  action  of  free  inquiry  or  private 
judgment,  and  it  lets  free  inquiry  and 
private  judgment  deal  as  they  like  with 
the  doctrines  revealed  personally,  directly, 
audibly,  visibly,  by  our  Lord  Himself. 
It  makes  the  Divine  message  so  impalpa- 
ble, so  versatile,  so  chameleon-like  in  its 
changeableness,  that,  by  some  inherent, 
heaven-born  property  which  it  possesses, 
heaven  knows  how,  it  necessarily  accom- 
modates itself  to  each  fresh  mind  it  meets. 
Indifferentism  means  all  this  and  more. 
It  is  a  contradiction  of  man's  reason,  and 
it  is  a  contradiction  of  God's  Word.  It 
is  a  contradiction  of  the  great  apostolic 
commission  —  "  Going,  teach  all  nations, 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  what- 
soever I  have  commanded  you. "     It  is  a 


contradiction  of  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  truth ;  for  it 
sanctions  contradictory  statements,  and 
therefore  necessarily  sanctions  falsehood. 
It  contradicts  the  collective  teaching  put 
forth  by  the  first  apostles  in  council ;  for 
the  apostles  met  in  council  expressly  to 
condemn  error  and  to  stop  the  inroads"  of 
innovation.  It  contradicts  the  teaching  of 
the  apostles  taken  individually ;  for  St. 
Paul  was  only  echoing  the  voice  of  his 
apostolic  brethren,  who  had  been  born 
into  the  apostolate  before  him,  when  he 
said  —  "  But  though  we,  or  an  angel  from 
heaven,  preach  a  gospel  to  you  besides 
that  which  we  have  preached  to  you,  let 
him  be  anathema."  It  is  a  practical,  per- 
manent, persistent  contradiction  of  Chris- 
tianity. Christianity  (I  mean  orthodox 
Christianity)  may  be  said  to  be  Christ 
teaching  religion  to  man.  Indifferentism 
is  man  explaining  away  that  religion, 
minimizing  it,  reducing  it  to  nothing. 
Christianity  is  something  supernatural 
both  as  to  the  lights  it  brings  to  the  mind 
and  as  to'  the  laws  it  imposes  on  the  will. 
The  religion  of  Indifferentism,  when 
analyzed,  is  hardly  anything  but  an  out- 
ward, imperfect,  and  even  unfaithful 
expression  of  the  light  of  reason,  and  a 
repromulgation  of  the  law  of  nature. 

Its  natural  tendency,  therefore  (though 
many  of  those  who  profess  it  as  their  creed 
do  not,  I  believe,  realize  this),  is  to  dis- 
solve all  revealed  religion,  and  consequently 
to  dissolve  Christ.  No  creed  can  stand 
before  so  powerful  a  solvent  as  this.  It  is 
an  engine  of  destruction  before  which  all 


58 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


revealed  doctrine  must  fall  to  pieces.  It 
tends,  as  far  as  in  it  lies,  to  loosen  every 
stone  on  either  side  of  that  great  arch  of 
Christian  truth  which  spans  the  universe  ; 
nay,  it  tends  to  loosen  the  very  keystone  of 
that  arch,  to  bring  the  whole  sacred  struc- 
ture to  the  ground,  to  leave  the  world  with- 
out a  single  trace  of  the  Divinity  or 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  reduce  it 
to  that  state  of  spiritual  chaos  whose  only, 
or  whose  best,  religion  is  the  "  Unknow- 
able." And  to  this  state  of  utter  anarchy 
in  matters  of  faith,  Indifferentism,  or  Lib- 
eralism in  religion,  would  have  brought  the 
world  long  before  now,  had  not  the  edifice 
of  true  Christianity  been  built  upon  a 
foundation  that  could  never  fail,  and  been 
sustained  by  an  omnipotent,  though  invisi- 
ble, hand,  which  made  it  proof  against  all 
the  efforts  of  innovation  and  all  the  assaults 
of  men  and  of  devils. 

Where  that  true  Christianity  is  to  be 
found  is  now  the  question. 

As  many  of  those  who  belong  to  non- 
Catholic  denominations  will  admit  that  it 
Impossible  at  least  that  the  creed  which  they 
now  profess  is  wrong,  I  do  not  think  that 
we  do  any  violence  to  their  feelings  when 


we  ask  them  to  pray  that,  in  case  they 
have  not  the  true  faith  at  present,  the  light 
of  God's  grace  may  guide  them  into  the 
full  and  calm  possession  of  it.  Prayer  is 
the  way  to  the  true  Church.  As  the  star  of 
the  Eastern  kings,  though  its  light  was 
intermittent,  nevertheless  continued  to 
shine  with  sufficient  steadiness  till  it 
brought  them  into  the  cave  of  Bethlehem, 
so  the  star  of  grace,  which  is  formed  by 
humble,  confident,  earnest,  and  preserving 
prayer,  will  infallibly,  sooner  or  later,  guide 
the  sincere  inquirer  into  that  one  true  fold 
in  which  alone  Jesus  Christ  dwells,  and 
in  which  alone  He  speaks  and  teaches. 
It  is  in  the  light  of  this  truth  we  desire 
all  outsiders,  into  whose  hands  these 
pages  may  fall,  to  read  what  we  shall 
now  put  before  them  with  respect  to 
those  signs  or  marks  by  which  that  true 
fold  is  to  be  distinguished  from  every 
other.  We  take  the  liberty  of  advising 
them  to  ask,  in  the  words  of  Pope's  uni- 
versal  prayer  — 

"  If  I  am  right,  Thy  grace  impart 

Still  in  that  right  to  stay ; 
If  I  am  wrong,  then  guide  my  heart 

To  find  that  better  way." 


PART  SECOND. 


•01" 


— UNITV.- 


^ 


HERE  are  many  who  will 
accompany  us  thus  far.  They 
readily  grant  all  that  has  been 
said.  They  admit  that  all 
religions  cannot  be  true  —  that 
one  only  can  be  true  —  that  all 
the  rest  must  be  false.  They  admit  fur- 
ther that  there  is  a  true  religion  in  the 
world  somewhere.  This,  of  course,  they 
are  forced  to  admit  ;  else  the  gates  of  hell 
have  prevailed,  and  Jesus  Christ  made  a 
promise  which  He  either  could  not  or 
would  not  fulfil.  And  to  say  either  would 
be  to  speak  with  great  irreverence  against 
His  omnipotence  or  fidelity.  To  assert 
that  He  promised  to  do  something  which 
He  did  not  mean  to  do,  or  had  not  the 
power  to  do,  would  certainly  be  a  blas- 
phemy. 

When  at  Cesarea  Phillipi  He  spoke  the 
memorable  words^  in  which  He  pro- 
claimed to  the  world  that  His  church  was 
to  be  built   on   a  rock,   fi.rm,   unyielding, 

1  "  Thou  art  Peter  ;  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My 
Chu:ch  ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  — 
Mait.  xvi.  18. 


inmovable,  against  which  no  power  of 
earth  or  hell  could  prevail ;  and  when 
again  He  declared,  just  before  ascending 
to  His  Father,  that  He  would  remain 
with  her  all  days  until  the  consummation 
of  the  world^  —  the  whole  of  her  future 
history  was  present  to  Him,  —  nay,  the 
whole  future  history  of  the  world,  in  all 
its  varied  events,  circumstances,  changes, 
revolutions,  wars,  schemes,  intrigues, 
treasons,  schisms,  heresies,  stood  out  as 
clear  before  Him  as  the  apostles  whom 
He  was  addressing.  For  He  was  God,  to 
whose  infinite  knowledge  all  things,  past, 
present,  and  future,  were  equally  visible. 
Now,  would  He,  or  could  He,  have 
uttered  these  solemn  promises  if  He  had 
foreseen  there  was  ever  to  be  a  time  when 
His  Church  would  do  any  deed,  or  teach 
any  doctrine,  or  commit  any  betrayal  of 
trust,  which  would  force  Him  to  forsake 


1  "  Going,  teach  ye  all  nations  ;  baptizing  them  in  the  naino 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  wrhatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you,  and  behold  I  am  with  you  all  days  even  to  the 
consummation  of  the  wor'  iL"  —  Mait.  xxviii.  19,  30. 


6o 


INDIFFERENTISM, 


hei',  or  force  Him  to  allow  the  powers  of 
error  or  of  evil  to  prevail  over  her  ?•  There 
is  nothing  in  His  words,  nor  is  there  any- 
thing in  the  sacred  circumstances  in 
which  He  spoke  them,  to  justify  any  such 
supposition.  His  promises  are  absolute, 
unconditional,  unqualified  by  any  limita- 
tion, whether  expressed  or  implied.  And 
surely  on  such  promises  we  can  safely  rest 
the  following  statement:  —  The  Church 
existed  once  on  earth ;  and  so  surely  as 
she  existed  once,  so  surely  does  she  exist 
stillf  in  some  part  of  the  world  or  other, 
else  Christ  Himself  is  not  God,  or  if  He 
is  God,  He  has  promised  and  not  fulfilled. 

But  now  comes  the  question.  The  hon- 
est, earnest  inquirer,  who  has  followed  us 
thus  far,  will  ask,  "Which  is  His  Church.^ 
Where  is  she  to  be  found  .-*  Point  her  out. 
Show  me  how  she  is  to  be  distinguished 
amongst  the  numberless  claimants,  all  of 
which  arrogate  to  themselves  the  preroga- 
tive of  Divine  institution.  Here  I  stand," 
he  continues,  "bewildered,  amid  the  din, 
the  clash  and  clamor  of  contending,  antag- 
onistic sects,  each  and  all  of  which  lay 
claim  to  truth.  Though  in  their  teachings 
they  are  as  far  apart  from  each  other  as 
the  poles,  though  they  are  separated  by 
huge  mountains  of  contradiction,  yet  they 
all  and  each  profess  to  be  the  true  Church. 
What,  then,  are  the  marks,  signs,  tokens, 
by  which  I  can  find  out  for  certain,  and 
without  any  lingering  feeling  of  doubt, 
which  amongst  them  all  is  the  one  true 
Church  of  Christ  .> " 

Such  the  question  we  have  to  answer. 
Such  our  search. 


We  do  not  begin  by  saying  which  is  that 
Church.  We  shall  come  to  it  step  by  step. 
And  we  shall  not  seek  to  advance  one  inch 
on  the  way  that  leads  to  our  conclusion, 
except  by  arguments  which  we  think  will 
be  looked  upon  as  honest,  fair,  straight- 
forward, and  solid  by  all  reasonable  men. 

To  determine  which  Church  amongst  all 
is  right,  we  must  summon  the  rival  claim- 
ants before  the  bar  of  plain  common  sense, 
and  examine  which  claimant  has  the  best, 
nay,  the  only^  claim  to  be  believed  the  one 
true  Church  of  Christ. 

It  is  evident  that  if  Christ  established 
His  Church  for  the  salvation  of  the  people 
of  all  time.  He  could  not  have  made  her 
so  obscure,  so  hidden,  so  mysterious,  that 
it  would  take  years  of  historical  research, 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures from  Genesis  to  the  Apocalypse,  to 
find  her  out.  If  so,  she  would  be  for  ever 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  ignorant  and 
uneducated  who  would  be  born  without 
her  pale.  He  must  have  meant  her  to  be 
something  palpable,  tangible,  visible,  strik- 
ingly visible,  easily  discoverable  by  all  who 
had  not  yet  discovered  her ;  and,  also,  easily 
distinguishable  from  the  spurious,  schis- 
matical,  and  heretical  sects  which  he  fore- 
saw would  in  time  rise  up  around  her  and 
strive  to  supplant  her.  His  design  was 
that  she  should  be  like  the  city  built  on  a 
hill,  as  plain  to  the  sight  of  the  unlettered, 
who  would  open  their  eyes  and  look  around 
them,  as  to  the  keen,  penetrating  glance  of 
the  scientist.  For  she  could  never  answer 
to  the  purpose  of  universal  salvation  for 
which  she  was  framed,  unless  her  Divine 


UNITY. 


61 


credentials  were  legible  to  the  poor  and  the 
rich,  the  illiterate  and  the  scholar  alike. 

What  are  those  credentials  or  marks? 

There  are  several ;  but  they  may  be 
reduced  to  two.  At  all  events  two  will  be 
sufficient  for  our  purpose.  Whichever 
Church  is  Christ's  must  have  these  two; 
and  she  alone  ever  can  have  them. 

One  is  the  Mark  of  Unity,  the  other  is 
the  Mark  of  Universality  or  Catholicity. 

AH  who  belong  to  any  Christian  denomi- 
nation will  readily  grant  that  whichever 
Church  is  Christ's  must  necessarily  have 
these  marks.  Several  sectarian  denomina- 
tions recite  as  their  symbol  of  faith  the 
creed  (Niccnc  Creed)  which  enunciates 
them  : — "And  I  believe  in  one,  holy,  Catho- 
lic Church."  But  quite  independently  of 
that  ancient  formula,  reason  enlightened  by 
faith  compels  us  to  the  conclusions  that  it 
must  be  so. 

I.  Unity. — Whichever  Church  is  Christ's 
must  be  one  —  cannot  be  two.  If  she  were 
two,  she  would  not  be  the  one  true  Church 
of  Christ.  This  may  sound  a  truism.  I 
mean,  if  she  taught  contradictory  state- 
ments about  doctrines  of  vital  importance, 
she  could  not  be  the  one  true  Church  of 
Christ.  For,  if  she  taught  contradictory 
dogmas  of  faith,  she  must  needs  teach 
falsehood  ;  and  Christ,  who  is  the  God  of 
Truth,  and  whose  voice  speaks  in  her,  can- 
not teach  falsehood.  Nor  can  He  dwell, 
by  a  perpetual  and  an  abiding  presence,  in 
any  Church  which  teaches  what  is  false  ; 
for  His  abiding  presence  is  an  approving 
presence,  and  He  can  never  set  the  seal  of 
His  approbation,  either  explicitly  or  impli- 


citly, on  any  doctrine  which  is  opposed  to 
truth. 

For  a  similar  reason,  she  (whichever 
Church  is  Christ's)  cannot  sanction,  permit, 
or  tolerate  the  use  of  any  principle  or 
privilege  which,  taking  men  as  they  are, 
necessarily  leads  to  contradictions  in  funda- 
mental matters  of  faith  ;  just  because  she 
cannot  sanction,  permit,  or  tolerate  any 
principle  or  privilege  whose  application 
leads  of  necessity  to  falsehood.  No  reason- 
able man  will  hold  that  she  would  be 
Christ's  Church  if  she  did.  These  state- 
ments will  be  equivalent  to  first  principles, 
in  the  judgment  of  all  who  regard  the 
Church  as  a  work  of   Divine   institution. 

If  we  gainsay  them,  if  we  refuse  to  see 
them  in  that  light,  we  are  unconsciously 
admitting  that  her  teachings,  even  before 
the  end  of  the  first  century,  may  have  been 
a  chaos  of  contradictory  doctrines,  in  which 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  tell 
whether  the  element  of  truth  or  the  ele- 
ment of  falsehood  predominated.  In  fact, 
to  deny  them  is  simply  to  deny  to  be  a 
mark  of  the  true  Church  that  unity  which 
Christ  Himself  expressly  declared  was  to 
be  one  of  her  most  distinguishing  and  most 
striking  marks. 

At  the  Last  Supper,  towards  the  end  of 
His  parting  discourse.  He  raised  His  eyes 
to  his  Eternal  Father,  and  prayed  that 
there  might  be  unity  amongst  His  apos- 
tles, and  unity  amongst  the  faithful,  who 
through  their  preaching  were  to  believe  in 
His  Gospel.  And  He  not  only  prayed  that 
unity  might  bind  them  all  together,  but 
He  proclaimed  in  that   very  same  prayei 


63 


JNDIFFERENTISM. 


that  He  meant  that  unity  to  be  a  proof  to 
the  world  that  they  were  His  own  flock, 
and  that  He  Himself  had  been  divinely 
sent :  "  And  not  for  them  (the  apostles) 
only  do  I  pray,  but  for  them  also  who 
through  their  word  shall  believe  in  Me  — 
that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father, 
in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee  ;  that  they  also  may 
be  one  in  Us  :  that  the  world  may  believe 
that  Thou  hast  sent  me  "  {John  xvii.  20,  21). 
Now,  would  not  that  prayer  have  been 
meaningless  if  He  meant,  while  He  said  it, 
that  the  apostles  or  the  faithful,  the  priests 
or  the  people,  were  to  have  the  free  use  of 
a  privilege  before  which  all  definite  revela- 
tion would  melt  away  —  which  would  leave 
them  free  to  give  opposite  forms  to  every 
doctrine  He  had  made  known,  and  contra- 
dictory interpretations  to  every  word  of 
His  which  was  to  remain  on  record  ?  Or, 
could  He,  the  God  of  unchanging  truth, 
ever  have  put  forth  that  solemn  petition  to 
the  Father,  if  He  intended,  while  He  said 
it,  that  Peter  was  to  be  free  to  preach  one 
doctrine  in  Antioch,  and  John  the  contra- 
dictory in  Ephesus  ? 

Well,  I  think  we  may  say  that  two 
points  have  been  established:  ist,  The 
Church  of  Christ — the  Church  of  the 
everlasting  rock  —  exists  somewhere  on 
earth ;  2d,  That  Church  can  neither 
teach  contradictory  doctrines  of  faith,  nor 
can  she  approve  or  tolerate  a  principle 
the  use  of  which  necessarily  leads  to 
contradictions  in  doctrines  of  fundamental 
importance. 

Now,  apply  this  test  to  the  numberless 
creeds   outside  the   Catholic    communion 


which  proclaim  themselves  orthodox,  and 
see  if  they  can  stand  it. 

The  principle  of  private  judgment, 
free  inquiry,  individual  preference,  as  we 
shall  see  presently,  not  merely  leads,  but, 
taking  men  as  they  are,  leads  of  necessity 
to  contradictions,  and  to  contradictions  in 
even  the  most  important  matters  of  faith  ; 
and,  consequently,  leads  of  necessity  to 
false  conclusions  with  regard  to  the  most 
important  matters  of  faith. 

But  the  Church  of  England,  and  all  the 
branch  Churches  which  have  sprung  from 
her,  enforce,  sanction,  or  tolerate  the  use 
of  private  judgment.  This  statement  may 
sound  too  bold  and  comprehensive,  Ii  is, 
however,  undeniable.  Nearly  all  the 
members  of  the  Anglican  Communion 
will  admit  it  ;  and  the  twentieth  of  those 
Articles  on  which  the  Anglican  creed  is 
founded  plainly  professes  it.  And  even  the 
High  Church  and  Ritualistic  party,  which 
is  loudest  in  disclaiming  it,  uses  it,  and 
uses  it  in  its  most  intense  form ;  while 
those  who  belong  to  the  Low  Church  and 
Broad  Church  party  will  not  pretend  to 
deny  that  the  Scripture  is  their  only  rule 
of  faith,  and  that  private  judgment  is  its 
interpreter.  Besides,  those  Articles,  to 
which  all  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment 
are  bound  to  subscribe,  are  forthcoming  to 
prove  that  it  is  so. 

In  the  sixth  Article  it  is  stated :  "  Holy 
Scripture  containeth  all  things  necessary 
to  salvation ;  so  that  whatever  is  not  read 
therein,  nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is 
not  to  be  required  of  any  man  that  it 
should  be  believed  as  an  article  of  faith, 


UNITY. 


63 


or  be  thought  requisite  or  necessary  to 
salvation."  And  the  twentieth  Article 
runs  thus:  "The  Church  hath  power  to 
ordain  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  authority 
in  controversies  of  faith  ;  and  yet  it  is  not 
lawful  for  the  Church  to  ordain  anything 
contrary  to  God's  Word  written  ;  neither 
may  it  so  expound  any  passage  of  Scripture 
so  as  to  be  repugnant  to  another." 

Dr.  Beveridge,  a  celebrated  Protestant 
divine,  whose  teaching  is  confirmed  by 
other  and  later  writers,  guided  by  these 
Articles,  maintains  that  each  individual 
is  bound  to  look  to  the  proofs  of  what  he 
specifically  believes,  and  obliged  to  be  a 
member  of  his  Church  on  grounds  which 
he  himself  has  verified. 

Further  remarks  on  this  point  are 
unnecessary,  since  the  principal  that  each 
individual  must  judge  for  himself,  and 
make  out  his  own  system  of  faith  from 
the  Scriptures,  is  admitted  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Low  Church  and  Broad  Church 
party. 

But  even  the  members  of  the  High 
Church  and  Ritualistic  party,  who  will 
not  allow  themselves  to  be  reproached 
with  professing  the  principle  of  private 
judgment,  use  it,  and  use  it,  as  I  have 
said,  in  its  most  exaggerated  form. 

I  will  give  here  my  reasons  for  saying 
so.  Their  belief  in  the  past,  their  change 
of  belief,  their  present  anomalous  position, 
the  various  phases  through  which  their 
creed  has  passed,  their  stopping  within 
the  boundary  line  which  they  have  now 
reached,  their  obstinate  unwillingness  to 
move  an  inch  beyond  it,  makes  this  clear 


to  evidence.  Their  gradual  app  oi.ch  to 
that  scries  of  dogmas,  which  they  at  pres- 
ent profess,  has  been  an  exercise  of  pri- 
vate judgment  all  along.  For  if,  when 
the  hour  of  change  came,  they  departed 
from  the  doctrines  of  their  earlier 
years,  and  replaced  them  by  doctrines 
taught  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  i^  not 
free  inquiry,  individual  preference,  and 
private  judgment  pure  and  simple,  that 
led  them  to  take  that  course }  Their 
interpretation  of  their  Anglican  position, 
and  of  the  formularies  and  doctrines  of 
their  Church,  in  a  Catholic  sense,  as  con- 
trary to  the  Protestant  sense,  which 
had  before  so  long  prevailed  —  what  was 
all  that  but  the  result  of  private  judg- 
ment .■* 

And  their  standstill  on  the  line  of  demar- 
cation which  now  separates  them  on  one 
side  from  their  co-religionists,  and  on 
the  other  from  the  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  communion  —  what  is  it  but  a 
constant,  continuous  exercise  of  the  same 
arbitrary  choice  }  If  they  move  neither 
backward  towards  the  creed  of  their  early 
youth,  nor  forward  still  nearer  to  the  Church 
of  Rome,  it  is  nothing  but  private  judg- 
ment that  keeps  them  where  they  are. 
There  is  no  external  power,  no  authorita- 
tive tribunal,  to  keep  them  there.  Their 
own  Church  —  the  Church  to  which  they 
nominally  belong  —  is  quite  passive  in 
their  regard.  She  merely  looks  upon  their 
state  of  oscillation,  transition,  change,  with 
the  eye  of  toleration.  And  they  give 
pretty  clear  proof  that  they  would  not 
listen  to  her  voice,  even  if  she  spoke  in 


64 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


the  tone  of  authoritative  prohibition. 
They  acknowledge  no  living  authority  of 
any  kind  which  can  bind  them  to  keep 
fixedly  to  the  doctrines  which  make  up 
their  present  creed.  The  only  real,  living, 
tangible  authority  they  recognize  is  their 
own  freedom  of  mind,  individual  prefer- 
ence, private  judgment,  which  has  been 
their  guide  throughout,  and  which,  from 
the  day  it  broke  loose  from  the  traditional 
fragments  of  Anglican  belief,  has  never 
submitted  to  any  external  control.  And 
that  private  j  udgment,  being  still  free  to 
roam  unchecked,  bei  ng  at  perfect  lib- 
erty to  change  its  former  decision  in  a 
moment,  may  induce  them  in  the  not  far 
distant  future  to  discard  utterly  all  the 
Catholic  doctrines  which  they  at  present 
profess. 

They  may  tell  us  loudly  that  they  do  not 
use  private  judgment  in  the  interpretation 
of  the  Scripture.  Well,  if  they  do  not 
pretend  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  by 
private  judgment,  they  interpret  the 
Ancient  Fathers  by  private  judgment,  and 
that  comes  pretty  much  to  the  same  thing. 
Perhaps  it  is  more  correct  to  say  that  they 
use  private  judgment  in  their  interpreta- 
tion both  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the 
Fathers.  The  field  in  which  they  exercise 
private  judgment  is  in  reality  broader  and 
wider  than  that  claimed  by  any  other 
sectaries  whatever.  While  others  are 
content  to  confine  the  exercise  of  this 
arbitrary  right  to  the  Bible,  they  let  it 
loose  upon  the  decisions  of  the  early 
Councils  and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers. 
That   is,   they   make   certain   passages  of 


Scripture  give  out  certain  favorite  doctrines 
by  an  appeal  to  the  interpretations  given 
to  those  passages  by  the  early  Fathers  ; 
while,  with  regard  to  other  passages,  they 
reject  entirely  the  interpretations  of  those 
Fathers,  and  follow  their  own  interpreta- 
tion in  preference.  If  this  is  not  private 
judgment,  it  is  hard  to  say  what  is.  They 
take  up  the  history  of  the  early  Councils 
and  the  writings  of  the  Ancient  Fathers, 
and  they  find  that  the  primitive  Church 
must  have  believed  this  doctrine,  and  that 
doctrine,  and  that  other  doctrine.  Guided 
by  these  venerated  records,  they  give  to 
certain  passages  in  Scripture  the  Catholic 
interpretation — an  interpretation  which  the 
other  members  of  their  communion  entirely 
disclaim,  and  emphatically  repudiate. 
They  copy  these  doctrines  into  their  new 
creed  just  because,  in  their  present  temper 
of  mind,  such  doctrines  commend  them- 
selves to  their  private  fancy.  Then,  sud- 
denly, it  is  found  they  are  prepared  to  go 
only  a  certain  length,  and  no  further,  with 
the  early  Fathers  ;  although  there  is  quite 
as  much  reason,  and  more,  for  going  the 
whole  way,  than  there  is  for  stopping  when 
they  have  got  a  certain  distance.  While 
they  gladly  transfer  into  their  new  symbol 
of  faith  the  doctrine  of  Confession  and  of 
the  Eucharist,  because  they  find  these 
doctrines  clearly  enunciated  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Ancient  Fathers,  they  sedu- 
lously keep  out  of  it  other  doctrines  of 
equally  vital  importance,  and  which  are 
expressed  with  equal  clearness  by  the  very 
same  Fathers.  If  they  profess  to  believe 
'.hat  the  priest  has  power  to  forgive  sin. 


UNITY. 


65 


and  that  Christ  is  really  present  in  the 
Eucharist,  on  the  ground  that  the  early 
Fathers  taught  these  dogmas,  why  refuse 
to  believe  those  very  same  Fathers,  when 
they  teach  with  equal  clearness  and  equal 
emphasis,  the  necessity  of  being  in  com- 
munion with  the  See  of  Rome,  and  of  sub- 
mitting to  its  authority,  as  .being  an 
authority  which  all  are  bound  to  obey,  and 
from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  If  they 
agree  with  St.  Irenaeus,  when  he  speaks 
words  which  embody  the  Catholic  doctrine 
of  the  real  presence  of  Christ  in  the 
Eucharist,  why  not  agree  with  the  same 
Irenaeus  when  he  teaches  so  unequivocally 
that  it  is  necessary  that  every  church 
should  be  in  communion  with  the  Church 
of  Rome  ?  No  words  could  be  clearer  than 
those  which  this  Father  of  the  Church 
uses  when  referring  to  this  vital  doc- 
trine : — 

"For  with  this  Church  "  (the  Church  of 
Rome),  "  on  account  of  a  more  powerful 
principality,  it  is  necessary  that  every 
Church,  that  is,  the  faithful  on  every  side, 
should  meet  together,  in  which  Church 
has  ever  been  preserved  that  tradition 
which  is  from  the  Apostles  "  {Adv.  Hcer., 
lib.  iii.,  c.  3). 

What  reason  can  they  give  for  taking  in 
just  so  much  of  the  dogmatic  teaching  of 
the  primitive  Church  as  they  do  take  in, 
and  nothing  more,  and  for  treating  all  the 
rest  as  a  matter  of  comparatively  trivial 
importance  .? 

Is  it  not  evident  that  although  they 
borrow  certain   materials   from  the  early 

I  Church  in  building  up  their  creed,  they  are 
i 


not  following  her  teachings,  but  rather  the 
dictates  of  their  own  private  judgment, 
and  the  promptings  of  their  own  imagina- 
tion } 

While  they  disobey  the  traditions  of  the 
Establishment  by  embracing  a  belief 
rejected  by  most  of  its  Bishops  and  the 
greater  part  of  its  laity,  they  at  the  same 
time  refuse  to  obey  any  other  Church, 
except  that  ideal  one  which  exists  in  their 
own  imagination,  and  can  exist  nowhere 
else.  I  say  it  can  exist  nowhere  else  ;  for 
no  Church  such  as  they  picture  to  them- 
selves ever  came  into  actual  life.  The 
ancient  one,  of  which  they  pretend  theirs 
is  the  modern  realization  or  semi-miraculous 
resurrection,  was  in  communion  with 
Rome.  If,  then,  they  mean  theirs  to  be 
the  identical  ancient  Church,  it  must  have 
the  Roman  Pontiff  for  its  head ;  and  since 
it  has  not  the  Roman  Pontiff  for  its  head, 
but  is  a  body  or  part  of  a  body  without  a 
head  at  all,  it  cannot  be  the  identical  ulJ 
Church. 

Their  Church  is  a  nebula  —  it  is  a  struc- 
ture in  the  air.  It  is  not  God's  work,  it  is 
ihcir  own  work  —  a  thing  struck  out  of 
their  own  head,  created,  framed  in  outline, 
and  decorated  in  detail  by  the  exercise  of 
private  judgment  and  the  caprice  of  indi- 
vidual taste.  Trace  the  process  they  follow 
in  its  formation,  and  you  will  find  this  to 
be  the  case.  They  draw  a  plan  in  their 
mind  of  what  they  imagine  the  ancient 
Church  must  have  been,  then  they  gather 
fragmentary  or  isolated  doctrines  from  the 
early  chronicles  of  the  Church  of  the  East 
and  of  the  West,  from  the  writings  of  the 


66 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


ancient  Latin  Fathers  and  of  the  ancient 
Greek  Fathers ;  they  introduce  a  sprink- 
ling of  the  novelties  of  the  Reformation ; 
they  also  draw  upon  certain  doctrines  of 
their  own  invention ;  and  out  of  these 
heterogeneous  elements  they  rear  their 
phantom  fabric. 

Their  religion,  then,  as  it  exists  in  its 
present  form,  is  entirely  their  own  arbi- 
trary creation.  It  owes  its  whole  being  to 
the  activity  of  private  judgment.  Hence, 
they  are  not  under  its  control ;  it  is  entirely 
under  their  control.  They  made  it  when 
they  chose  ;  they  can  keep  it  for  as  long  or 
as  short  a  time  as  they  choose  ;  they  can 
abolish  it  any  moment  they  deem  it  pru- 
dent or  expedient  to  do  so.  It  was  private 
judgment  that  called  it  into  being;  the 
same  private  judgment  can  annihilate  it  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 

In  other  words,  the  Church  they  profess 
to  belong  to  is  either  dead  or  living.  If  it 
is  dead,  it  cannot  receive  their  submission, 
and  they  cannot  obey  it.  If  it  is  living,  it 
must  be  the  primitive  Church  out  and  out, 
or  it  is  nothing.  Else  they  must  have  us 
believe  that  the  pure,  perfect,  primitive 
Church  died  and  disappeared  altogether 
from  history  for  centuries ;  that  the  very 
rock  moved  away  out  of  sight,  too;  and 
that  that  ancient  rock  and  ancient  Church, 
in  all  its  beauty,  perfectness,  and  complete- 
ness, emerged  from  chaos  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  reappeared 
in  themselves  in  the  form  of  High-Church- 
ism  and  Ritualism.  And  this,  I  think,  is 
rather  an  extravagant  and  unwarrantable 
supposition. 


It  is  hard  indeed  to  conceive  how  the 
mere  fact  of  arbitrarily  taking  up  a  cer- 
tain number  of  doctrines  can  reach  over  a 
dead  past  of  1500  or  at  the  least  1000 
years,  and  connect  them  with  a  Church 
which  lived  only  during  the  first  three  cen- 
turies, or,  at  the  longest,  only  till  the  Pho- 
tian  Schism  in  the  ninth  century,  and 
which  died  and  was  buried  then,  and  has 
lain  buried  ever  since.  What  proof  can 
they  give,  that  the  act  of  reading  a  new 
profession  of  faith,  or  a  mere  volition,  can 
restore  a  dead  Church  to  life } 

By  holding  any  such  theory  they  vir- 
tually claim  the  credit  of  having  worked  a 
greater  miracle  than  the  resurrection  of 
Lazarus.  Lazarus  had  been  only  the 
fourth  day  in  the  tomb,  when,  at  the 
bidding  of  our  Divine  Lord,  he  rose  to 
life. 

Ritualists  would  have  us  believe  that 
their  forming  themselves  into  a  distinct 
religious  body,  of  which  nothing  has  ever 
been  heard  before,  has  produced  the  two- 
fold wonderful  effect  —  of  bringing  back 
to  life  a  Church  that  had  been  dead  for 
centuries,  and  of  making  them,  in  the  very 
same  instant,  members  of  it. 

It  is  in  vain,  however,  they  will  strive  to 
stretch  over  a  gulf  of  1500  or  1000  years 
and  ask  to  shake  hands  with  Augustine, 
Athanasius,  Cyril,  Ambrose,  or  Jerome, 
with  the  hope  they  will  be  recognized  by 
those  early  heroes  of  the  faith  as  members 
of  the  same  communion. 

Were   those    great    doctors    to    return 
again   to   life,    doubtless  they   would   tell  , 
them,  that  while  they  were  willing  enough 


UNITY. 


6r 


to  stretch  out  to  them  the  hand  of  charity, 
yet  they  could  never  look  upon  them  as 
members  of  the  same  Church,  as  long  as 
they  did  not  obey  one  central,  unfailing 
authority,  from  which  there  was  no 
appeal. 

The  members  of  the  Ritualistic  Com- 
munion may  say  that  they  believe  all  the 
Catholic  doctrine,  and  that  entering  into 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  would  not  add 
anything  to  their  creed,  except  the  dogma 
which  teaches  that  the  Pope  has  universal 
spiritual  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  earth. 
I  answer  that  is  an  essential  point. 

"  Never,"  says  Cardinal  Wiseman, 
"were  men  more  slightly  separated  from 
the  acknowledged  truth  than  were  the  Sa- 
maritans in  the  time  of  our  Lord. 

.  .  .  Slight  as  were  the  dissenting 
principles  of  those  sectarians,  amiable  and 
charitable  as  may  have  been  their  charac- 
ters, ripe  as  they  were  for  Christianity, 
affable  and  conciliating  as  the  interview 
(with  the  Samaritan  woman)  had  hitherto 
been,  no  sooner  is  this  important  question 
put,  than  He  makes  no  allowance,  no  com- 
promise, but  answers  clearly  and  solemnly  : 
'  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews'.  .  .  .  Thus 
did  this  benign  and  charitable  Saviour, 
who  came  to  see  and  save  what  was  lost, 
and  whose  first  principle  it  was  :  '  I  will 
have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice' —  thus  did 
He  hesitate  not  a  moment  to  pronounce, 
in  the  clearest  terms,  that  no  devia- 
tion from  the  true  religion,  however  tri- 
vial, can  be  justified  or  excused  in  His 
sight "  {JLecture  on  the  Catholic  Church,  pp. 
326-328). 


The  Church  of  England,  then,  in  all  its 
schools  of  opinion  —  High  Church,  Low 
Church,  Broad  Church  —  with  the  number- 
less subdivisions  of  these  great  parties, 
enforces,  sanctions,  permits,  or  tolerates 
the  use  of  the  privilege  of  private 
judgment  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
Scripture. 

But  the  use  of  private  judgment,  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  Scripture,  leads 
necessarily  (taking  men  as  they  are)  to 
contradictions  in  matters  of  faith,  and  con- 
sequently leads  necessarily  to  falsehood  in 
matters  of  faith. 

The  very  meaning  of  private  judgment 
as  a  privilege  or  principle  makes  this  suffi- 
ciently clear.  What  is  its  meaning.^ 
When  analyzed,  it  plainly  means  that  a 
number  of  men,  say  twenty,  may  open  the 
Bible,  take  any  verse  of  it  they  like,  and 
may,  each  of  them,  give  to  that  verse  the 
interpretation  his  individual  judgment 
dictates  —  the  meaning  which  commends 
itself  most  to  his  particular  judgment  or 
taste.  Now,  men  differ  in  temper  of  mind, 
in  intellect,  in  disposition,  in  character,  in 
education,  in  convictions,  prejudices,  lean- 
ings, inclinations.  A  hundred  contingen- 
cies will  influence  the  meaning  they  give 
to  the.  verse  in  question.  The  inevitable 
result  of  this  exercise  of  liberty  will  be 
that,  in  many  cases,  one  man  will  give  to 
that  verse  one  interpretation,  another  will 
give  it  an  interpretation  absolutely  con- 
tradictory ;  and  each  of  them,  thus  using 
the  privilege  his  Church  so  freely  allows 
him,  maintains  that  his  view  of  the  matter 
i  is  quite  as  likely  to  be  correct  as  that  taken 


68 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


by  his  neighbor,  who  gives  the  inspired 
words  a  meaning  totally  opposite.  And 
really,  looking  at  the  thing  from  his  stand- 
point, it  is  hard  to  blame  him.  For  if 
inspiration,  as  his  church  represents,  is 
abundantly  vouchsafed  to  individuals,  he 
cannot  see  why  he  may  not  claim  as  large 
a  measure  of  it  as  his  friend,  whose  life,  as 
far  as  he  can  perceive,  is  not  more  edifying 
than  his  own.  Enjoying  this  fulness  of 
unrestricted  freedom,  there  is  nothing  to 
prevent  them  from  differing  on  every 
single  verse  from  Genesis  to  the  Apoca- 
lypse. And  what  is  more,  there  is  no 
guarantee  that  they  will  agree  even  in 
their  interpretation  of  those  passages 
which  have  reference  to  the  most  vital 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  There  is  no 
magisterial  authority  to  bring  their  minds 
into  oneness  of  thought.  They  recognize 
no  superior  control  which  can  adjust  their 
differences  ;  nor  does  their  Church  oblige 
them  to  recognize  any.  For,  in  the 
twentieth  Article  in  which  it  is  stated  that 
she  has  authority  in  matters  of  contro- 
versy, in  the  very  same  clause  it  is 
implied  that  she  is  fallible,  and  quite  as 
liable  to  err  as  the  least  individual  who 
belongs  to  her  communion ;  nay,  it  is 
implied  that  the  individual  has  a  right  to 
sit  in  judgment  upon  her,  and  to  decide 
whether  she  ordains  anything  contrary  to 
God's  word  written,  or  whether  she 
expounds  one  verse  of  Scripture  so  as  to 
be  repugnant  to  another.  She  herself 
does  not  claim  to  have  a  definitive  voice  ; 
nor  does  she  point  to  any  higher  or 
supreme  tribunal  from   which  there  is  no 


appeal.  Her  children  are  left  free  to 
believe  that  she  may  go  as  deeply  into 
error,  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  the  most  ignorant  and  least 
instructed  amongst  themselves.  She  may 
refer  them  in  their  controversies  to  the 
Sovereign  as  her  head,  or  to  the  Privy 
Council  as  the  organ  of  her  voice ;  but  in 
doing  so  the  hopes  of  obtaining  certainty 
do  not  become  greater.  It  is  one  fallible 
individual  appealing  to  another  equally 
fallible,  or  to  a  tribunal  consisting  of  fallible 
individuals,  all  of  whom,  collectively, 
admit  that  their  united  decision  may  be  as 
faraway  from  the  truth  as  if  it  was  given 
separately  and  individually  by  each,  when 
a  thousand  miles  away  from  his  fellow- 
councillor. 

It  is  of  no  use  to  say  that  the  highest 
court  of  appeal  in  the  Church  of  England 
never  erects  itself  into  a  standard  with 
regards  to  matters  of  faith,  or  presumes  to 
decide  on  such  matters  —  that  it  itself 
appeals  to  the  received  formularies  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  and  that  the  most  it  does 
is  to  decide  whether  some  disputed  doctrine 
is  opposed  to,  or  is  in  accordance  with,, 
those  formularies. 

Even  so,  it  formally  and  authentically 
interprets  them ;  and,  while  doing  so, 
admits,  at  least  implicitly,  that  the  inter- 
pretation may  be  wrong,  since  it  does  not 
claim  to  be  infallible  —  nay,  admits  that 
the  very  articles  themselves  may  be  full  of 
error,  since  they  were  drawn  up  by  fallible 
men,  men  who  never  claimed,  professed, 
or  pretended  to  be  infallible.  For,  after 
all,  what  are  these  formularies  ?     Which  is 


UNITY. 


69 


this  standard  itself,  to  which  all  in  the 
Anglican  Communion,  High,  Low,  and 
Broad,  must  bow  ?  What  but  the  teach- 
ings and  decisions  of  the  English  Protes- 
tant Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries,  who  can  claim  no  more 
gift  of  inerrancy,  or  an  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  than  the  divines  of  the 
nineteenth  century :  fallible  men  who 
severed  themselves  from  the  traditional 
teaching  of  their  forefathers,  and  from 
communion  with  Rome.  It  is  hard  to 
discover  any  theological  or  solid  reason 
why  the  dicta  of  fallible  men,  who  lived 
three  centuries  ago,  should  continue  to  be 
the  fixed  standard  of  doctrine  for  Anglicans 
in  the  present  century. 

With  such  unlimited  liberty,  then,  as 
the  Church  of  England  allows,  in  sanction- 
ing the  use  of  private  judgment,  there  may 
be  as  many  contradictory  meanings  of 
Scripture  as  there  are  individuals  who  can 
read  its  pages,  and  consequently  as  many 
contradictory  creeds. 

Such  is  private  judgment.  Such  it  is, 
such  it  has  been,  such  it  ever  must  be, 
and  such  the  fatal  consequences  to  which 
it  must  necessarily  lead.  Whether  it  is 
gilded  by  the  softer  and  more  refined 
names  of  free  inquiry,  individual  prefer- 
ence, liberty  of  opinion,  freedom  of 
thought,  the  meaning  is  the  same,  and  the 
same  inevitable  results  follow  from  its 
application. 

The  use,  therefore,  of  private  judgment 
in  the  interpretation  of  the  Scripture 
necessarily  leads  to  contradictions  in 
matters  of  faith,  and  to  contradictions*  in 


matters   of  faith  of  the  most  momentous 
importance. 

Let  us  look  at  the  thing  in  practice. 
See  what  is  going  on  around  us.  The 
High  Churchman  takes  out  of  a  certain 
passage  in  the  New  Testament  the  doc- 
trine that  Christ  is  truly  and  objectively 
present  in  the  Eucharist ;  the  Low  Church- 
man interprets  the  same  passage  to  mean 
nothing  more  than  a  figurative  and  indefi- 
nite presence  of  our  Lord  in  that  mystery, 
through  the  faith  of  the  receiver.  The 
Ritualist  holds  that  the  words  of  our  Lord 
recorded  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  St. 
John's  Gospel,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  &c.,  prove  clearly  the  power  to 
absolve  from  sin;  his  Protestant  co-reli- 
gionist, who  has  not  advanced  so  far  on  the 
road  of  change,  and  who  still  clings  to  the 
vague  doctrines  of  Low  Churchism,  loudly 
asserts  that  our  Lord's  words  do  not  prove 
that  power. 

Now,  surely  if  any  questions  of  doc- 
trine, in  the  sphere  of  religion,  ought  to 
be  regarded  as  supremely  important  in 
the  eyes  of  man,  these  ought.  No  ques- 
tions in  life  can  be  more  closely  con- 
nected with  the  sanctification  and  the 
ultimate  salvation  of  man's  soul  than  the 
true  worship  of  God,  and  the  right  use 
of  Christ's  ordinances.  And  yet,  on  ' 
these  most  vital  points,  men  who  profess 
to  belong  to  the  same  Church,  and  who 
fill  her  highest  offices,  using  their  right 
of  private  judgment,  give  absolutely  con- 
tradictory interpretations  to  the  passages 
of  Scripture  which  have  reference  to 
them. 


70 


INDIFFERENTISM, 


Kenoe  the  almost  measureless  doctrinal 
differences,  which  separate  the  various 
parties  of  which  that  Church  is  now  com- 
posed. Some  with  firm  conviction  believe 
the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Real  Pres- 
ence ;  others  reject  it  as  intolerable  idol- 
atry. Some  proclaim  their  belief  in 
sacramental  absolution,  and  express  their 
astonishment  that  they  could  have  lived  so 
long  and  read  the  Scriptures  so  often 
without  believing  it ;  others  repudiate  it 
with  horror  and  disgust,  and  designate  it 
as  the  pest  of  society. 

Now,  I  ask,  has  the  Church  which  sanc- 
tions a  principle  which  necessarily  leads 
to  such  interminable  contradictions,  and, 
therefore,  to  interminable  error,  any  right 
to  be  considered  the  one  true  Church  of 
Christ.?  Can  any  reasonable  man,  who 
seriously  thinks  on  the  matter,  hold  that 
Christ  meant  to  leave  to  His  Church  the 
free  use  of  a  principle,  prerogative,  privi- 
lege, which  would  reduce  His  religion  to 
a  Babel  of  contradictory  opinions  }  Should 
any  one  hold  this,  he  must  be  prepared  to 
accept  the  necessary  logical  conclusion, 
which  is  this  :  that  when  He  (Christ)  gave 
to  His  apostles  the  great  commission  to 
preach  His  gospel  to  the  nations.  He 
authorized  Peter  to  preach  the  doctrine  of 
the  Real  Presence  in  Antioch,  authorized 
John  to  preach  the  contradictory  in  Ephe- 
sus,  authorized  James  to  preach  both  the 
one  and  the  other  in  Jerusalem  —  nay,  left 
each  apostle  free  to  affirm  that  dogma 
emphatically,  and  to  deny  it  quite  as 
emphatically,  while  preaching  the  very 
same  sermon  to  the  very  same  audience. 


And  these  are  conclusions  from  which 
these  very  advocates  of  private  judgment 
must  shrink  with  horror,  if  they  have  any 
regard  for  consistency  and  truth. 

If,  then,  unity  is  an  essential  mark  of 
the  one  true  Church  of  Christ,  the  Church 
of  England,  in  her  various  sections,  must 
give  up  all  claim  to  Divine  mstitution. 
For  unity  she  has  not,  has  never  had,  and 
never  can  have.  If  unity  of  doctrine  were 
not  something  entirely  beyond  her  con- 
trol, why  should  there  have  been  in  the 
past,  and  why  should  there  be  in  the 
present,  so  many  different  parties  holding 
opposite  opinions  on  the  most  momentous 
matters  of  revelation  ;  all  of  them,  we 
must  remember,  tolerated,  and  mutually 
tolerating  one  another,  as  recognized  par- 
ties in  the  same  communion  ;  each  and  all 
claiming  a  common  right  to  hold  their 
place,  as  representing  the  varied  multiform 
views  of  one  and  the  same  comprehensive 
Anglican  Church  .-*  But  she  does  not  pro- 
fess to  have  it.  So  far  from  having  any 
principle  that  can  be  a  bond,  a  guarantee, 
a  preservative,  a  protection  of  unity,  she 
asserts  a  principle  which  makes  unity  an 
impossibility.  And  the  history  of  her 
variations  in  the  past,  her  present  actual 
state,  the  numberless  divisions  into  which 
she  has  been  torn,  are  striking  illustrations 
of  the  disintegrating  power  of  her  princi- 
ple. All  these  things  furnish  tangible  and 
irresistible  proof  that  identity  of  doctripe 
can  never  live  side  by  side  with  the  unre- 
stricted use  of  the  privilege  of  free  inquiry. 

Let  us  take  some  facts  from  history. 
Protestantism  was  not  seventy  years  old 


UNITY. 


71 


when  it  was  divided  into  two  hundred  and 
seventy  sects. 

Staphylus  and  Cardinal  Hosius  counted 
two  hundred  and  seventy  branches  of  it 
before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Calvin,  secretly  lamenting  the  wreck 
the  Reformation  had  made  of  Christian 
unity,  wrote  to  Melancthon  that  he  was 
anxious  to  hide,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
hideous  spectacle  of  their  interminable 
divisions  from  the  gaze  of  the  world,  and 
particularly  from  the  eyes  of  future  gener- 
ations. "  It  is  of  great  importance,"  he 
says,  "  that  the  divisions  which  subsist 
among  us  should  not  be  known  to  future 
ages ;  for  nothing  can  be  more  ridiculous 
than  that  we,  who  have  been  compelled  to 
make  a  separation  from  the  whole  world, 
should  have  agreed  so  ill  amongst  our- 
selves from  the  very  beginning  of  the 
Reformation  "  {Epist.  141). 

Beza  wrote  to  Dudith  in  the  same  tone  : 
"  Our  people,"  he  says,  "are  carried  away 
by  every  wind  of  doctrine.  If  you  know 
what  their  religion  is  to-day,  you  cannot 
tell  what  it  may  be  to-morrow.  In  what 
single  point  are  those  churches,  which 
declared  war  against  the  Pope,  united 
amongst  themselves  "i  There  is  not  one 
point  which  is  not  held  by  some  of  them 
as  an  article  of  faith,  and  by  others  rejected 
as  an  impiety  "  ( Theod.  Beza,  Epist.  ad 
Aud.  Dudit). 

Melancthon  was  quite  as  loud  in  his 
lamentation  over  the  Babel  of  discordant 
creeds,  generated  by  the  doctrines  of  the 
Reformers,  as  either  of  the  two  wl^ra  I 
have  quoted  :  "  The  Elbe,"  he  says,       'ith 


all  its  waters,  could  not  furnish  tears 
enough  to  weep  over  the  miseries  of  the 
distracted  Reformation "  {Epist.,  lib.  ii., 
ep.  202). 

But  to  come  to  a  later  date  —  to  our 
own  time.  Leslie  acknowledges  that  the 
character,  nature,  and  principle  of  private 
judgment  is  to  produce  variety  and  differ- 
ence of  opinion,  and  even  civil  and  general 
war.  How  great  and  multiform  that  vari- 
ety is ;  how  wide  that  difference,  is 
abundantly  demonstrated  in  Whitakers 
Almanac  of  this  very  year — 1888!  On 
page  248  we  find  that  places  for  religious 
worship  in  England  and  Wales  have  been 
certified  to  the  Registrar-General  on  behalf 
of  over  230  different  sects.  The  list  is 
alphabetical ;  it  begins  with  the  Advent 
Christians  and  ends  with  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  ;  very 
nearly  all  these  sects  have  had  their 
origin  in  the  errors  of  the  Reformation. 

Lord  Macaulay,  in  his  essay  on  Mr. 
Gladstone's  volume,  TJlc  State  in  its  Rela- 
tions with  the  Church,  makes  various  allu- 
sions to  this  matter.  I  wish  to  reproduce 
some  of  them  here,  because  they  reveal  the 
very  noticeable  absence  (if  I  may  so  speak) 
from  the  Church  of  England  of  all  unity  of 
doctrine,  and  of  every  principle  that  tends 
to  secure  or  protect  unity.  His  words  are 
particularly  remarkable  for  various  reasons 
— I  St,  Because  they  show  that  unity  of  faith 
and  private  judgment  are  utterly  irrecon- 
cilable ;  2d,  While  he  points  to  the  end- 
less contradictions  which  private  judg- 
ment generates,  he  at  the  same  time 
asserts  that  there  is  no  visible  body  on  the 


72 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


face  ai  the  earth  to  whose  decrees  men 
are  bound  to  submit  their  judgment  on 
points  of  faith  —  which  is  equivalent  to 
saying  that  no  Church  was  instituted  by 
Christ,  or  that  if  a  Church  was  instituted 
by  Him,  that  Church  does  not  exist  now; 
3d,  Because  he  is  arguing  against  Mr 
Gladstone,  whose  contention  in  the  volume 
alluded  to  is,  that  unity  is  essential  to- 
truth,  and  that  that  unity  is  a  characteris- 
tic mark  of  the  Church  of  England.  That 
unity  is  essential  to  truth  Macaulay  freely 
admits  ;  but  he  denies  loudly  that  unity  is 
a  characteristic  mark  of  the  Church  of 
England. 

Before  adducing  from  his  essay  the  cita- 
tions which  I  wish  to  insert  here,  I  think 
it  advisable  to  observe,  that  my  great 
wonder  has  been  that  a  man  of  such  giant 
intellect  as  Mr.  Gladstone  ^  could  have 
failed  to  see  that  the  Church  of  England, 
so  far  from  having  unity  as  her  distinctive 
mark,  is,  or.  the  contrary,  founded  on  a 
principle  which  places  it  entirely  and  for 
ever  beyond  her  reach  —  that  he  could 
have  failed  to  see  through  the  shallowness 

1 1  could  have  wished  that  the  volume  which  called  forth 
the  essay  in  quistion  had  not  been  written  by  Mr.  Gladstone, 
or  that  if  such  a  book  were  to  be  written  at  all,  it  should  have 
borne  some  other  name.  My  long,  great,  and  ever-growing 
admiration  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  character  makes  me  unwilling 
to  speak  of  his  arguments  and  conclusions  in  reference  to  a 
subject  in  which  both  arguments  and  conclusions  are  evidently 
aiogical,  and  must  therefore  be  unhesitatingly  condemned. 
All  who  know  me,  however,  are  well  aware  that  my  admiration 
ef,  and  respect  for,  his  character  are  not  of  recent  growth  ; 
that  I  have  frequently  stood  up  in  defence  of  his  pre-eminent 
statesmanship  ;  that  I  consider  him  the  ablest,  the  most  accom- 
plished, the  most  philanthropic  statesman  this  century  has 
produced,  whether  in  England  or  elsewhere;  that  I  have 
always  felt  (and  I  still  feel  the  same)  that  his  benevolent  inten- 
tions and  desires  have  been  far  in  advance  of  even  the  greatest 
and  the  best  of  the  many  great  and  good  works  he  has  already 
«chi«ved  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men. 


bolstered  up,  so  as  to  make  her  position 
plausible,  reasonable,  tolerable,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  public  —  and  that  he  could  persist 
in  claiming  for  her  an  exemption  from  error, 
which  she  has  never  had  the  boldness  to 
attempt  to  claim  for  herself.  There  are 
others  who  share  this  feeling  of  wonder. 
Macaulay  himself,  who,  I  venture  to  say, 
was  at  all  times  of  his  life  much  more 
widely  separated  from  Catholic  truth  than 
Mr.  Gladstone,  expresses  more  than  once 
his  unqualified  surprise  that  so  clever  and 
clear-sighted  a  man  could  claim  unity  for  a 
Church  which  is  notorious  for  discords, 
disagreements,  differences ;  within  whose 
pale  "  multitudes  of  sects  are  battling,"  or 
of  the  sophistry  with  which  she  must  be 
could  think  it  possible  that  the  use  of 
private  judgment  or  free  inquiry  could 
produce  or  lead  to  unity  of  doctrine.  He 
analyzes  Mr.  Gladstone's  reasoning  on  the 
relations  between  identity  of  faith  and  the 
use  of  private  judgment.  And  we  think 
the  candid,  unprejudiced  reader  must 
admit  that  he  does  so  justly  and  fairly. 

"  Mr.  Gladstone,"  he  says,  "  dwells  much 
on  the  importance  of  unity  in  doctrine. 
'  Unity,'  he  says,  *  is  essential  to  truth.' 
And  this  is  most  unquestionable.  But 
when  he  goes  on  to  tell  us  that  this  unity 
is  the  characteristic  of  the  Church  of 
England,  that  she  is  one  in  body  and  one 
in  spirit,  we  are  compelled  to  differ  from 
him  widely.  The  apostolical  succession 
she  may  have  or  may  not  have  ;  but  unity 
she  most  certainly  has  not,  and  never  has 
had.  It  is  a  matter  of  perfect  notoriety 
that  her  formularies  are   framed  in  such  a 


UNITY. 


73 


manner  as  to  admit  to  her  highest  offices 
men  who  differ  from  each  other  more 
widely  than  a  very  High-Churchman 
differs  from  a  Roman  Catholic,  or  a  very 
Low-Churchman  from  a  Presbyterian  ;  and 
that  the  general  leaning  of  the  Church, 
with  respect  to  some  important  questions, 
has  been  sometimes  one  way  and  some- 
times another.  Take,  for  example,  the 
questions  agitated  between  the  Calvinists 
and  the  Armenians.  Do  we  find  in  the 
Church  of  England  that  unity  which  is 
essential  to  truth  ?  Was  it  ever  found  in 
the  Church  ?  Is  it  not  certain  that  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  rulers  of 
the  Church  held  doctrines  as  Calvanistic 
as  were  ever  held  by  any  Cameronian,  and 
not  only  held  them,  but  persecuted  every- 
body who  did  not  hold  them  ?  And  is  it 
not  equally  certain  that  the  rulers  of  the 
Church  have,  in  very  recent  times,  con- 
sidered Calvinism  as  a  disqualification  for 
high  preferment,  if  not  for  holy  orders  ? 
...  It  is  notorious  that  some  of  her  most 
distinguished  rulers  think  this  latitude  a 
good  thing  and  would  be  sorry  to  see  it 
restricted  in  favor  of  either  opinion.  And 
herein  we  most  cordially  agree  with  them. 
But  what  becomes  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church,  and  of  that  truth  to  which  unity 
is  essential  .^  .  .  . 

"  What  differences  of  opinion  respecting 
the  operation  of  the  sacraments  are  held 
by  bishops,  doctors,  presbyters  of  the 
Church  of  England,  all  men  who  have 
conscientiously  declared  their  assent  to 
the  Articles  .  ,  .  Here  again  the 
Church  has  not  unity,  and  as   unity  is  the 


essential  condition  of  truth,  the  Church 
has  not  truth.  .  .  .  Nay,  take  the  very 
question  we  are  discussing  with  Mr, 
Gladstone  —  To  what  extent  does  the 
Church  of  England  allow  of  the  right  of 
private  judgment  }  What  degree  of 
authority  does  she  claim  for  herself  in 
virtue  of  the  apostolical  successiort  of  her 
hiinisters  }  Mr.  Gladstone,  a  very  able  and 
a  very  honest  man,  takes  a  view  of  this 
matter  widely  differing  from  the  view 
taken  by  others  whom  he  will  admit  to  be 
quite  as  honest  and  as  able  as  himself. 
People  who  altogether  dissent  from  him 
on  this  subject  eat  the  bread  of  the 
Church,  preach  in  her  pulpits,  dispense 
her  sacraments,  confer  her  orders,  and 
carry  on  the  apostolical  succession,  the 
nature  and  importance  of  which  they  do 
not  comprehend.  Is  this  unity }  Is  this 
truth  > 

"  It  will  be  observed  that  .  .  .  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Church  of  England  is  so  far 
from  exhibiting  that  unity  of  doctrine 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  represents  as  her 
distinguishing  glory,  that  it  is,  in  fact,  a 
bundle  of  religious  systems  without  num- 
ber. It  comprises  the  religious  system  of 
Bishop  Tomline,  and  the  religious  system 
of  John  Newton,  and  all  the  religious  sys- 
tems which  lie  between  them.  It  com- 
prises the  religious  system  of  Mr.  New- 
man, and  the  religious  system  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  all  the  religious 
systems  which  lie  between  them.  All 
these  different  opinions  are  held,  avowed, 
preached,  printed,  within  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  by  men  of  unquestionable  integ- 


74 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


rity  and  understanding.  Do  we  make  this 
diversity  a  topic  of  reproach  to  the  Church 
of  England?  Far  from  it.  We  would 
oppose  with  all  our  power  every  attempt 
to  narrow  her  basis.  .  .  .  But  what  be- 
comes of  all  Mr,  Gladstone's  exhortations 
to  unity?  Is  it  not  a  mere  mockery  to 
attach  so  much  importance  to  unity  in 
form  and  name,  when  there  is  so  little  in 
substance  —  to  shudder  at  the  thought  of 
two  Churches  in  alliance  with  one  State, 
and  to  endure  with  patience  the  spectacle 
of  a  hundred  sects  battling  within  one 
Church  ?  And  is  it  not  clear  that  Mr. 
Gladstone  is  bound  on  all  his  own  princi- 
ples to  abandon  the  defence  of  a  Church 
in  which  unity  is  not  found  ? " 

The  eloquent  essayist  discusses  also  the 
peculiar  views  held  by  Mr.  Gladstone  with 
respect  to  private  judgment :  — 

"  Mr.  Gladstone  pronounces  the  right  of 
private  judgment,  as  it  is  generally  under- 
stood throughout  Europe,  to  be  a  mon- 
strous abuse.  He  declares  himself  favor- 
able, indeed,  to  the  exercise  of  private 
judgment,  after  a  fashion  of  his  own.  We 
have,  according  to  him,  a  right  to  judge  all 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England  to 
be  sound,  but  not  to  judge  any  of  them  to 
be  unsound.  He  has  no  objection,  he 
assures  us,  to  active  inquiry  into  religious 
questions.  On  the  contrary,  he  thinks 
such  inquiry  highly  desirable,  as  long  as 
it  does  not  lead  to  diversity  of  opinion ; 
which  is  much  the  same  thing  as  if  he 
were  to  recommend  the  use  of  fire  that 
will  not  burn  down  houses,  or  of  brandy 
that  will  not  make  men  drunk.     He  con- 


ceives it  to  be  perfectly  possible  for  man- 
kind to  exercise  their  intellects  vigorously 
and  freely,  and  yet  to  Come  to  the  same 
conclusion  with  each  other  and  with  the 
Church  of  England.  And  for  this  opinion 
he  gives,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to 
discover,  no  reason  whatever,  except  that 
everybody  who  vigorously  and  freely  exer- 
cises his  understanding  on  Euclid's  theo- 
rems assents  to  them.  Everybody,  he 
says,  who  freely  inquires  agrees  with 
Euclid ;  but  the  Church  is  as  much  in 
the  right  as  Euclid ;  why,  then,  should 
not  every  free  inquirer  agree  with  the 
Church  ? " 

This  reasoning  is  evidently  sophistical. 
For,  from  the  very  fact  that  free  inquiry 
has  been  allowed,  there  are  opposite  creeds 
in  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  free 
inquirer  does  not  know  which  creed  is 
right,  or  which  represents  most  faithfully 
the  teaching  of  that  Church  ;  2d,  because, 
having  the  privilege  of  free  inquiry,  he 
may  judge  that  the  Church  ordains  some- 
thing contrary  to  God's  written  word  and 
expounds  some  passage  of  Scripture  so  as 
be  repugnant  to  another ;  3d,  because,  in 
the  exercise  of  searching  and  energetic 
inquiry,  he  is  free  to  arrive  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  Church  is  not  in  the  right  at 
all,  but  is  entirely  in  the  wrong.  That  is, 
while  still  remaining  a  Protestant,  he  is 
free  to  deny  entirely  or  to  doubt  seriously 
the  minor  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  syllogisms— 
i.  e.,  "  The  Church  is  as  much  in  the  right 
as. Euclid."  Quite  consistently  with  the 
principle  of  Protestantism,  he  may  accept 
all  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church, 


UNITY. 


75 


even  the  Pope's  universal  spiritual  juris- 
diction included. 

Macaulay,  after  using  some  illustrations, 
proceeds :  "  Our  way  of  ascertaining  the 
tendency  of  free  inquiry  is  simply  to  open 
our  ey(is  and  look  at  the  world  in  which 
we  live;  and  there  we  see  that  free  inquiry 
on  mathematical  subjects  produces  unity, 
and  that  free  inquiry  on  moral  sub- 
jects produces  discrepancy.  There  would 
undoubtedly  be  less  discrepancy  if  inquir- 
ers were  more  diligent  and  more  candid. 
But  discrepancy  there  will  be  amongst  the 
most  diligent  and  candid  as  long  as  the 
condition  of  the  human  mind  and  the 
nature  of  moral  evidence  continue 
unchanged.  That  we  have  not  freedom 
and  unity  together  is  a  very  sad  thing  ; 
and  so  is  it  that  we  have  not  wings.  But 
we  are  j  ust  as  likely  to  see  the  one  defect 
removed  as  the  other.  .  .  .  There  are 
two  intelligent  and  consistent  courses 
which  may  be  followed  with  respect  to 
private  judgment :  the  course  of  the 
Romanist,  who  interdicts  private  judgment 
because  of  its  inevitable  consequences,  and 
the  course  of  the  Protestant,  who  permits 
private  judgment,  in  spite  of  its  inevitable 
inconveniences.  Both  are  more  reason- 
able than  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  would  have 
private  judgment  without  its  inevitable 
inconveniences, 

.  .  .  When  Mr.  Gladstone  says  that  we 
actually  require  discrepancy  of  opinion  — 
require,  demand  error,  falsehood,  blindness, 
and  plume  ourselves  on  such  discrepancy, 
as  attesting  a  freedom  which  is  only  valu- 
able when    used  for  unity  in  the  truth,  he 


expresses  himself  with  more  energy  than 
precision.  .  .  .  Mr.  Gladstone  seems 
to  imagine  that  most  Protestants  think  it 
possible  for  the  same  doctrine  to  be  at  once 
true  or  false ;  or  that  they  think  it 
immaterial  whether,  on  a  given  religious 
question,  a  man  comes  to  a  true  or  false 
conclusion.  If  there  be  any  Protestants 
who  hold  notions  so  absurd,  we  abandon 
them  to  his  censure." 

However  absurd  these  notions  may 
appear  in  the  eyes  of  Lord  Macaulay,  the 
Church  of  England  herself  holds  them  at 
least  implicitly  —  at  all  events,  by  allowing 
the  right  of  private  judgment,  she  tolerates 
them  in  her  members  ;  for,  on  his  own 
showing,  she  not  only  keeps  within  her 
pale,  but  she  admits  to  her  highest  offices, 
men  who  contradict  each  other  on  the 
most  vital  questions  of  Christianity. 

We  share,  however,  the  feeling  of  won- 
der expressed  by  Lord  Macaulay  that  a 
man  of  Mr,  Gladstone's  powers  can  hold 
that  unity  is  essential  to  truth,  and  hold 
at  the  same  time  that  unity  is  the  charac- 
teristic mark  of  the  Church  of  England, 
while  that  Church  permits  a  principle 
which  necessarily  and  in  point  of  fact  leads 
to  contradictions  in  the  most  fundamental 
doctrines  of  revelation.  Nothing  can 
account  for  this  anomaly  except  that  great 
natural  ability,  amounting  to  genius  of 
even  the  highest  order,  is  one  thing,  and 
supernatural  faith  is  quite  another. 

We  agree  with  Lord  Macaulay  again  in 
the  inference  he  draws  from  his  analysis  of 
Mr.  Gladstone's  theory  —  namely,  "Is  it 
not  clear  thac  Mr.  Gladstone  is  bound  on 


76 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


all  his  own  principles,  to  abandon  the 
defence  of  a  Church  in  which  unity  is  not 
found  ? " 

These  quotations  strengthen  more  and 
more  our  thesis,  that  nowhere  in  the 
Church  of  England  is  found  the  mark  of 
unity  ;  and  that  consequently  neither  the 
Church  of  England,  nor  any  school  of  opin- 
ion in  her,  can  represent  the  one  true 
Church  of  Christ.  And  what  we  say  of 
the  Church  of  England,  with  respect  to 
this  point,  applies  equally  to  all  dissenting 
Churches. 

But  why  use  further  arguments  in 
■words  f  Is  not  the  logic  of  facts  sufficient 
to  prove  the  point  ?  Look  at  the  Church 
of  England  in  her  present  actual  state. 
Some  of  those  who  subscribe  to  her  Arti- 
cles profess  all  the  doctrines  taught  by  the 
Catholic  Church,  except  the  supreme  uni- 
versal spiritual  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope 
over  the  world.  They  profess  to  hold  the 
real  presence,  transubstantiation,  sacra- 
mental confession,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass,  Purgatory,  the  invocation  of  Mary 
and  of  the  saints,  and  nearly  all  the  other 
doctrines  that  are  contained  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  creed.  Others  reject  all  these 
doctrines  as  damnable  superstition.  Now, 
by  what  effort  of  the  mind  can  these  two 
parties  be  said  to  be  one  }  By  what  pro- 
cess of  reasoning  can  it  be  established  that 
the  Church  which  allows  such  contradic- 
tions to  be  professed  within  her  pale  is 
one.?  On  what  principle  can  it  be  said 
that  she  has  that  unity  which  is  essential 
to  truth }  What  idea  can  we  have  of  false- 
hood if  we  hold  that  the  Church  of   Eng- 


land is  true  —  is  the  one  true  Church  of 
Christ  > 

But  this  want  of  unity  is  common  not 
merely  to  all  branches  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ;  it  is  common  to  all  religious  bodies 
outside  the  Church  of  Rome.  As  unity 
cannot  be  found  in  any  heretical  Church, 
so  neither  can  it  be  found  in  anyschismat- 
ical  Church.  The  Oriental  schismatical 
Churches  cannot  pretend  to  possess  it. 
They  have  always  been  willing  to  sacrifice 
unity  of  creed  to  "  State "  expediency. 
They  do  not  aim,  and  cannot  aim,  at  any- 
thing higher  than  material  or  political 
unity.  On  the  same  principle  that  Photius 
and  Michal  Cerularius  broke  with  Rome, 
and  denied  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  so  the  bishops  of  those  schismat- 
ical Churches  may,  either  individually  or 
collectively,  sever  their  connection  with 
their  respective  patriarchates,  deny  entirely 
the  authority  of  their  respective  patriarchs, 
and  form  themselves  into  distinct  and  sep- 
arate religious  bodies.^ 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  schism  has  already 
produced  its  inevitable  consequences  in 
those  regions  of  the  East  which  are  still 
under  its  sway.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Russian  Church  is  undermined  throughout 
her  length  and  breadth  by  sects  which,  at 
the  present  moment,  number  the  greater 
part  of  the  population  — sects,  too,  which 

lit  may  be  said  that  the  Greek  Church  is  very  tenacious  of 
the  Catholic  doctrines  and  Catholic  traditions.  I  answer: — 
The  Greek  Church  cannot  continue  to  have  unity  of  faith, 
for  as  all-important  controversies  on  questions  of  faith  have 
arisen  in  every  age  in  the  past,  so  all-important  questions  of 
a  siniilar  kind  will  arise  again  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  she 
has  no  infallible  "judex  controversiarum  "  —  i.  e.,  no  infallibl* 
judge  of  controversies,  either  in  Pope  or  in  General  Council  — « 
to  appeal  to,  who  could  settle  such  matters  definitely. 


UNITY. 


77 


are  filled  with  the  most  desperate  hatred 
towards  both  imperial  and  patriarchal 
jurisdiction.  There  are  few  who  have  not 
heard  that  the  late  Czar  Nicholas  often 
predicted  that  Russia  would  perish  by  her 
religious  divisions.  Now,  a  Church  which 
is  torn  by  increasing  and  incurable  schisms 
can  hardly  have  the  boldness  to  pretend 
that  a  necessary,  unfailing  bond  .of  unity 
is  one  of  her  essential  characteristics. 

But  now,  which  alone  amongst  all  the 
Churches  has  this  mark  of  unity  .'  Cardi- 
nal Wiseman  gives  the  answer.  He  says 
there  is  one  simple  way  of  demonstrating 
which  Church  has  the  right  to  claim  it  — 
i.  e.,  by  showing  which  is  the  Church  which 
alone  actually  c\2ams  it.  He  adds,  that  if 
we  find  that  all  other  Churches  give  up 
their  right  and  title  to  it,  it  follows  that 
they  can  have  no  pretension  to  it  ;  and  if 
only  one  Church  assumes  it  as  one  of  its 
characteristics,  assuredly  we  have  enough 
to  prove  that  it  alone  possesses  it.  "With 
regard  to  unity,"  he  observes,  "  all  say 
that  they  believe  in  one  Church,  and 
profess  that  the  true  Church  can  be  only 
one.  But  the  Catholic  Church  is  the  only 
one  which  requires  absolute  unity  of  faith 
among  all  its  members ;  not  only  so,  but 
—  as  by  principles  alone  I  wish  to  try  the 
question  —  the  Catholic  Church  is  the 
only  one  that  holds  a  principle  of  faith 
essentially  supposing  unity  as  the  most 
necessary  quality  of  the  Church.  The 
Catholic  Church  lays  down,  as  its  principle 
and  ground  of  faith,  that  all  mankind  must 
believe  whatever  she  decides  and  sanc- 
tions,  with   the   as.si stance  of    the    Holy 


Ghost ;  and  this  is  a  principle  necessarily 
directed  to  bring  all  men's  minds  into 
oneness  of  thought.  Its  essence,  there- 
fore —  its  very  soul  —  that  which  gives  it 
individuality — is  the  principle  of  unity. 
The  principle  of  the  others  is,  that  each 
individual  must  judge  for  himself  and 
make  out  his  own  system  of  faith  :  now 
dispersion,  dissension,  and  variety  are 
necessarily  the  very  essence  of  a  Church 
which  adopts  that  principle.  And  this,  in 
fact,  is  practically  demonstrated.  For 
Leslie  acknowledges  that  the  character, 
nature,  and  principle  of  private  judgment 
is  to  produce  variety  and  difference  of 
opinion,  and  even  civil  and  general  war, 
Thus  clearly  in  the  Catholic  Church  alone 
does  the  principle  of  unity  exist"  {Lec- 
tures on  the  Catholic  Church,  Lect.  ix.,  pp. 
317,  318,  third  edit). 

Yes,  the  Catholic  Church,  and  the 
Catholic  Church  alone,  can  claim  this 
essential  mark  of  truth,  for  she  alone 
actually  possesses  it.  Her  mode  of  teach- 
ing excludes  absolutely  every  principle, 
prerogative,  or  privilege  that  could  lead  to 
contradiction  in  the  domain  of  doctrine. 
She  interdicts  the  use  of  private  judgment 
in  matters  of  faith  now  —  she  has  ever 
interdicted  it  —  and  she  will  continue  to 
interdict  it  to  the  end  of  time.  Free 
inquiry,  individual  preference,  liberty  of 
mind,  freedom  of  thought,  private  judg- 
ment, in  the  domain  of  faith,  are  words 
which  she  has  no  ears  to  hear.  She  will 
not,  she  cannot,  listen  to  them.  They 
would  rend  the  rock  on  which  she  rests. 
She  takes   her  stand  on  the   unchanging 


/8 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


truths  of  Him  who  built  her  ;  and  she  will 
tolerate  no  human  pretensions  which 
would  tend  to  split  them  asunder.  Nor 
will  she  suffer  any  sophistry,  however 
plausible,  that  would  generate  the  least 
deviation  from  them.  Her  teaching  is  one, 
absolute,  clear,  unerring,  emphatic,  defin- 
itive. No  creeds  of  human  origin  can 
rear  their  heads  within  her  pale,  except  to 
be  branded  with  her  loud  and  withering 
anathemas.  She  will  never  recognize  any 
appeal  from  her  tribunal.  She  will  suffer 
none  of  her  children  to  sit  in  judgment 
upon  her  decrees.  In  all  places,  at  all 
times,  in  all  circumstances,  her  voice  is 
unchanging.  High  position,  boundless 
wealth,  literary  attainments,  vast  erudition, 
transcendent  ability,  genius  even  of  the 
highest  order,  make  no  difference.  With 
the  king  and  the  subject,  the  philosopher 
and  the  savage,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
young  and  the  old,  her  method  of  teaching 
is  the  same.  To  the  youth  of  fifteen  and 
the  old  man  of  fourscore  she  speaks  in  the 
same  tone.  To  each  generation  of  her 
children,  as  they  grow  up  to  an  age  to 
understand  her  symbol  of  faith,  she  says 
with  the  authoritative  voice  of  her  founder  : 
—  "  You  are  but  of  yesterday ;  you  are 
but   fifteen,  twenty,  thirty,  fifty,  eighty,  at 


most  a  hundred  years  of  age:  You  did 
not  live  in  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ  to  hear 
the  doctrines  He  commanded  to  be 
believed,  and  the  precepts  He  commanded 
to  be  fulfilled.  But /lived  in  His  time 
for  /am  His  Church,  His  spouse.  And  I 
have  brought  down  in  my  bosom  through 
the  centuries  that  have  since  rolled  away 
the  doctrines  He  revealed  to  the  world,  and 
the  sense  in  which  He  meant  them  to  be 
received — the  precepts  He  imposed,  and 
the  manner  in  which  He  meant  them  to 
be  fulfilled.  It  is  mine  to  teach  you.  It 
is  yours  to  listen  and  to  believe.  But  it 
is  not  yours,  and  it  never  can  be  yours, 
to  build  up  a  creed  out  of  your  own 
head." 

This  mode  of  teaching  bears  upon  it  the 
impress  of  Divine  institution.  Here  is  a 
bond  of  unity.  Here  is  a  bulwark  of 
unity.  Here  is  unity  in  principle  and 
unity  in  practice  —  unity  in  word  and 
unity  in  meaning.  Neither  practical  error 
nor  speculative  error;  neither  Rational- 
ism, nor  Indifferentism,  nor  Liberalism, 
nor  Latitudinarianism,  nor  Agnosticism, 
nor  any  other  religious  system  of  human 
invention,  can  ever  find  a  shelter  in  this 
impregnable  citadel  of  God's  one,  perfect,, 
unchanging,  everlasting  truth. 


-^^>i^->^^H^ 


^^^^^^r^k^' 


CHAPTER   II. 


•••.•  •••;  •*•;  ■••«  'Ji:  •.?•  ".?.'  w  w 


•••    \»;   ••; 


I  Universality  or  Catholicity.  % 

."••  ••;   •'•'•    •*•;   ••*•   •'•'•  •*•"•   •*•"•   •'••   •"•*•   •••  ••;   {•'•   •*•*•   .*•'•    •'•"•  ; J*.    .*4*.   .*#*• 


SECTION  I. 


HAT  Church  which  Christ 
founded  must  have  universal- 
ity or  catholicity  as  one  of  her 
essential  marks. 

What  is  meant  by  universal- 
ity as  an  essential  mark  of  the 
one  true  Church  of  Christ  >  It  is  well  to 
define  our  meaning,  for  wrong  impressions 
may  easily  be  fprmed. 

Universality  or  catholicity,^  in  the  sense 
in  which  it  is  an  essential  mark  of  the  one 
true  Church,  is  nothing  else  but  such 
extension  as  to  time,  territorial  space, 
number  of  members,  as  will  make  it  clear 
to  all  who  choose  to  inquire  that  she  is 
the  only  Church  amongst  all  religious 
bodies  in  which  is  found  permanent  unity 
of  faith,  springing  from  a  necessary, 
unfailing  principle  of  faith,  and  therefore 
the  only  one  which  can  justly  claim  to  be 
the  Church  instituted  by  Christ. 

Hence,  when  we  hold  that  she  must 
have  universality  as  an  essential  note  of  her 

1  Or,  as  in  words  of  Catechism — "  The  Church  is  catholic 
or  unirersal,  because  she  has  subsisted  in  everj  age,  is  spread 
through  all  nations,  and  shall  last  to  the  end  of  time  "  {.May. 
nooth  Caiechum). 

T» 


truth,we  do  not  mean  that  she  must  necessa- 
rily exist  in  every  country  of  the  globe, 
from  pole  to  pole,  simultaneously.  Neither 
do  we  mean  that  she  must  have  at  all  times, 
or  at  any  time,  the  greater  part  of  the 
human  race  enrolled  as  members  of  her 
fold.  Neither  do  we  mean  that  in  every 
period  of  her  history,  or  in  any  period  of 
it,  it  must  be  clear  that  in  point  of 
numbers  she  is  far  ahead  of  the  various 
heretical  and  schismatical  sects  taken 
collectively.  Nor  do  we  mean  even  that 
her  members  must  necessarily  be  more 
numerous  than  some  individual  heresy  or 
schism,  which,  for  the  hour,  has  become 
particularly  rampant  and  particularly  pop- 
ular. No.  Numbers  however  great,  space 
however  wide,  duration  however  long  — 
none  of  these  things  singly,  nor  all  of 
them  collectively,  can  constitute  universal- 
ity in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  a  necessary 
note  of  the  one  true  Church.  Universal- 
ity is  rather  the  transparent  medium 
through  which  her  unity  becomes  strik- 
ingly visible.  For  it  is,  we  may  say,  the 
unity  of  the  Church  illustrated  and  mani- 


8o 


INDIFFERENTISM, 


fested  in  a  sufficiently  large  and  wide 
sphere  to  make  that  unity  a  visible,  strik- 
ing, unmistakable  proof  of  truth ;  since 
such  unity,  producing  oneness  of  thought 
on  so  large  a  scale,  holding  permanently 
so  many  people  of  different  times,  of  differ- 
ent climes,  different  tongues,  different 
character,  in  one  and  the  same  faith,  is 
something  which  cannot  be  accounted  for 
on  merely  natural  grounds,  and  conse- 
quently presupposes  the  Divine  institution 
of  the  thing  to  which  it  belongs. 

Hence,  that  the  Church  of  Christ  be 
universal,  in  the  sense  in  which  universal- 
ity is  a  mark  of  her  truth,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  she  should  be  simultaneously 
and  mathematically  universal.  Her  action 
on  the  nations  of  the  world  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  .  mathematical  dimensions  ; 
majority  of  numbers  and  vastness  of  terri- 
tory do  not  constitute  this  mark. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  God,  whose 
wise  providence  rules  all  things,  might 
allow  one  nation  after  another  to  lose  the 
faith,  in  punishment  of  the  abuse  of 
grace ;  might  permit  persecution  so  to 
cripple  her  power  and  thin  her  children 
that  her  sphere  would  be  narrowed  within 
a  very  much  smaller  space  than  that  which 
she  now  occupies.  He  might  allow  Liber- 
alism, Agnosticism,  Atheism,  to  wrench 
from  her  bosom  as  many  members  as  she 
lost  in  the  great  apostacy  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  without  her  acquiring  any  New 
World,  where  millions  of  conversions 
would  compensate  her  for  her  loss.  Such 
diminution  of  her  numbers,  however  — 
such  narrowing  of  her  sphere,  would  not 


deprive  her  of  that  universality  which  is] 
an   essential    mark   of    truth.       However 
small  the  numbers  to  which  apostacy  raightj 
reduce   her — however  narrow  the  limits 
within   which   persecution    might   confine 
her,  there  would  still  shine  on  her  bro\ 
the  star  that  would  make  it  clear  that  she 
was  the  Church  of  all   times  and  of  all 
nations  —  her  identity  with  the  Church  ojj 
the  centuries  and  generations  of  the  past 
would   be    clearly    discernible ;    and    she 
would  continue  ever  to  be  the  Church,  of^ 
which  alone  it  could  be  said,  that  she,  and 
she  only,  had  the  potentiality  of  universal- 
ity— that  is,  a  power  that  would  make  her 
even  absolutely  universal,  if  the  passions, 
prejudices,  and  obstinacy  of  men  did  not 
prevent  her  from  doing  so. 

Now  it  is  on  this  potentiality,  power,  or 
capacity  of  universality,  that  I  wish  chiefly 
to  ground  my  argument.  Although  the 
members  of  the  church  in  communion 
with  Rome  reach  a  higher  figure  than  is 
reached  by  the  members  of  all  other 
Christian  bodies  taken  collectively,  yet  I 
will  not  take  advantage  of  this  majority  of 
numbers.  Numbers  ebb  and  flow.  The 
crops  of  the  earth  in  some  particular  year 
may  be  fourfold  what  they  were  the  year 
before,  and  tenfold  what  they  are  the  year 
following.  Universal  war  and  widespread 
epidemic  may  reduce  the  population  of 
the  earth  by  many  millions  in  a  decade. 

No  ;  I  will  take  ground  which  cannot 
be  disputed ;  for  it  is  my  settled  purpose 
not  to  draw  my  inference  except  from 
premises  which  will  be  easily  granted,  or 
which  at  least  can  admit  of  being  proved. 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


8i 


I  will  argue  from  that  inborn  property  or 
power  of  universality  which  is  essential  to 
the  very  existence  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  of  which  visible  universality  is  nothing 
but  the  external  manifestation.  This  is 
the  point  on  which  I  wish  to  insist  most. 

Whichever  church  is  Christ's  was  His 
Church  before  she  became  actually  univer- 
sal in  any  sense.  She  could  and  did  exist 
before  she  was  widely  spread.  She  was 
as  truly  His  Church  while  she  was  still 
confined  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  as 
when  some  centuries  later  she  had  re- 
duced the  East  and  the  West  under  her 
sway,  and  counted  her  members  in  mil- 
lions. But  she  never  was  His  Church, 
and  she  never  could  be  His  Church,  with- 
out having  the  innate  potentiality  of 
universality.  This  inherent  power  of 
making  herself  universal,  as  far  as  people 
will  allow  her  to  become  universal,  is 
essential  to  her  being.  It  was  implanted 
in  her  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  she 
stepped  forth  in  all  her  completeness 
from  the  hands  of  her  Founder,  and  when 
His  Divine  Spirit  descended  into  her  to 
dwell  in  her  forever.  And  the  vast  space 
she  was  afterwards  to  cover,  and  the  mil- 
lions of  members  she  was  afterwards  to 
count  in  the  course  of  her  long  and  glo- 
rious history,  were  to  be  but  the  visible 
results  of  that  power  in  action. 

I  have  said :  Whichever  church  is 
Christ's  must  be  one  which  has  the 
potentiality  of  universality.  This  state- 
ment is  easily  proved. 

As  Christ  died  for  all,  He  instituted 
His  Church  for  the  salvation  of  all,  sinc« 


He  meant  His  Church  to  be  instrumental 
in  saving  all  whom  He  died  to  redeem. 
The  salvation  of  the  whole  human  race 
was  the  sole  object  he  had  in  view  when 
He  founded  her  on  the  everlasting  rock, 
and  when  He  gave  His  apostles  the  great 
commission  to  bear  her  message  of  faith 
to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  And  it 
was  that  she  might  be  instrumental  in 
saving  the  human  race,  not  merely  in  one 
stage  of  its  career,  but  in  all  its  genera- 
tions to  the  end  of  time,  that  He  promised 
to  remain  with  her  all  days  down  to  the 
consummation.  In  other  words,  He  did 
not  bring  her  into  life  that  she  might  save 
the  people  of  Asia  only,  or  of  Africa  only, 
or  of  Europe  only,  or  of  Ireland,  England, 
or  Scotland  only,  but  that  she  might  save 
the  people  of  all  countries  and  of  all  cen- 
turies. His  intention  and  desire,  in  found- 
ing her,  covered  exactly  the  same  space 
and  the  same  duration  as  was  covered  by 
His  intention  and  desire  in  working  out 
Redemption.  As  His  Redemption  was  to 
take  in  the  people  of  all  places  and  of  all 
ages,  so  did  He  mean  His  Church  to 
embrace,  within  her  bosom,  mankind  of 
every  place  and  of  every  time.  If  He 
redeemed  all,  it  was  that  all  might  be 
saved ;  if  He  instituted  His  Church,  it 
was  that  all  might  be  saved  by  her,  for 
through  her  He  meant  the  fruits  of  His 
copious  and  universal  Redemption  to  be. 
communicated  to  all  for  whom  He  shed 
His  blood  and  gave  His  life. 

No  one  can  deny  that  such  were  His 
intentions.  That  some,  that  many,  men 
in  every  age  were  to  refuse  to  listen  to 


82 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


her  voice,  to  shut  their  eyes  to  her  signs, 
to  persecute,  to  imprison,  to  murder  those 
who  sought  to  bring  to  them  her  saving 
message,  does  not  interfere  with  His 
merciful  and  loving  designs.  As  His 
blood  was  to  be  shed  for  many  in  vain, 
so  His  Church  would  be  founded  for 
many  in  vain — both  for  many  within  her 
and  for  many  without  her,  who  would  per- 
sistently refuse  her  proffered  graces. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  as  yet  I  am 
not  saying  which  Church  has  this  essential 
mark  of  truth.  My  contention  at  present 
is  that  Christ  meant  His  Church  for  the 
salvation  of  the  people  of  all  nations  and 
of  ALL  times. 

But  if  He  meant  her  to  save  all  He  must 
iiave  meant  her  to  reach  all,  as  far  at 
least  as  people  would  allow  themselves  to 
be  reached  by  her.  In  other  words,  He 
must  have  so  constructed  her  that  she 
should  have  the  potentiality  or  power  of 
making  herself  even  absolutely  universal, 
unless  the  malice,  blindness,  obstinacy, 
passions,  or  prejudices  of  men  prevented 
her  from  doing  so.  More  than  this,  He 
must  have  meant  her  to  be  continually 
striving  throughout  all  time  to  enlarge  her 
sphere — to  make  her  light  shine  more  and 
more  widely — to  bring  her  gospel  of  truth 
to  those  who  had  it  not.  All  reasonable 
Christians  will  admit  that  any  Church 
which  does  not  fit  in  this  frame  can  have 
no  claim  to  be  considered  the  one  true 
Church  of  Christ. 

Now  here,  quite  independently  of  any 
argument  taken  from  comparison  of  num- 
bers—  quite   independently   of  any  argu- 


ment taken  from  the  relative  success  of 
the  efforts  made  by  the  various  Christian 
denominations  to  convert  the  heathen  — 
quite  independently,  too,  of  any  argument 
taken  from  the  names  of  those  Churches 
or  sects,  whose  names  indicate  their  geo- 
graphical boundaries,  and  mark  them  out 
as  national  or  local  institutions  ; —  quite 
independently  of  all  this,  we  have  ground 
enough  to  show  that  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land has  not  this  essential  mark  of  th( 
one  true  Church  of  Christ.  Not  only  hai 
she  not  it,  she  cannot  by  possibility  evet 
have  it. 

SECTION  II. 

No  Church  which  has  not  unity  of  faith, 
springing  from  a  necessary,  unfailing  prin- 
ciple conservative  of  that  unity,  can  ever 
possibly  have  the  potentiality  of  univer- 
sality, and,  therefore,  can  never  possibly 
have  the  mark  of  universality,  since  the 
mark  is  but  the  outgrowth  of  the  innate 
power.  As  long  as  it  has  not  a  bond  to 
keep  it  united  as  one  and  the  same  thing, 
it  can  never  have  in  itself  the  germ  of 
universal  growth.  Its  inherent  elements 
of  discord  will  prevent  it  from  multiplying 
in  its  original  form. 

An  army,  in  point  of  overwhelming 
numbers,  perfect  discipline,  complete  equip- 
ment, skill  of  commander,  invincible  cour- 
age on  the  part  of  its  officers  and  of  its 
rank  and  file,  may  be,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  most  competent  judges,  more  than 
strong  enough  to  subdue  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth. 


UNIVERSALITY'  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


83 


It  has  hardly  begun,  however,  its  work 
of  universal  conquest,  when  discord  be- 
comes visible  in  its  ranks.  It  is  split  into 
two  opposite  camps,  which  fight  against 
each  other,  and  continue  to  fight  against 
each  other.  Reconciliation  is  hopeless. 
The  elements  of  division  spread  and  break 
up  the  two  great  sections  into  minor  oppos- 
ing bands,  until  every  trace  of  union  has 
disappeared. 

It  is  clear  such  an  army,  however  nu- 
merous, however  brave,  however  well- 
armed  and  well-officered,  can  never  reduce 
the  world  under  one  sceptre ;  actual  divi- 
sion makes  that  impossible.  In  like  man- 
ner, some  new  religion  appears.  It  pan- 
ders to  men's  prejudices,  flatters  men's 
passions,  professes  to  impose  some  sem- 
blance of  restraint,  while  it  leaves  them 
comparatively  free  both  as  to  faith  and  to 
morals.  It  is  easily  made  plausible  through 
the  ingenious  rhetoric  of  its  propagandists  ; 
it  quickly  becomes  popular  with  the  multi- 
tude ;  it  may  make  proselytes  in  thousands 
in  the  hour  of  wild,  unreasoning  excite- 
ment ;  it  may  even  bring  some  nations 
under  its  sway  for  the  time ;  but  having 
within  itself  the  elements  of  division,  being 
devoid  of  that  union  which  constitutes  at 
once  strength  and  individuality,  having  no 
bond  of  cohesion  to  keep  it  together  as 
one  united  whole,  it  will  be  rent  inevitably 
into  different  sects  before  it  gets  half 
across  the  world,  and  so  will  fail  utterly  to 
reduce  mankind  under  one  symbol  of  faith. 
Hence,  no  Church  which  has  not  an  unfail- 
ing, necessary  principle  of  unity  can  ever 
possibly  have  the  potentiality  or  mark  of 


universality.  Even  granting  it  facilities 
which  can  never  be  realized  in  practice,  its 
teaching  can  never,  by  any  possibility, 
spread  universally.  Remove  all  impedi- 
ments, put  away  all  opposition  springing 
from  the  blindness,  obstinacy,  malice,  pas- 
sions, or  prejudices  of  men,  let  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  cheerfully  willing 
to  listen  to  and  to  embrace  its  teaching, 
let  every  circumstance  of  time  and  place 
favor  its  apostolate ;  and  withal,  it  cannot 
possibly  ever  have  the  mark  of  universal- 
ity, since  it  does  not  possess  the  inborn 
power  from  which  universality  springs.  It 
will  teach  one  nation  one  set  of  doctrines, 
and  another  nation  their  corresponding 
contradictories ;  or  perhaps  it  will  teach 
one  and  the  same  nation  a  hundred  dis- 
tinctly different  doctrines. 

We  have  not  far  to  go  to  find  a  practical 
illustration  of  this.  Look  at  the  Church 
of  England,  within  the  very  shores  from 
which  she  takes  her  name.  Can  she  be 
said  to  have  kept  her  members  in  the 
same  belief  even  in  that  very  territory 
within  which  she  is  dominant  "i  Certainly 
not.  In  the  very  realm  where  the  religion 
she  teaches  is  the  established  one,  where 
she  is  helped,  subsidized,  encouraged, 
stimulated  by  the  machinery  of  the 
greatest  civil  power  the  sun  ever  shone 
upon,  she  has  not  succeeded  in  keep- 
ing her.  members  in  the  same  creed, 
except  in  the  broad  sense  of  a  widespread, 
universal,  multiform  antagonism  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  She  may  indeed  have 
the  mark  of  universality  in  that  sense. 
But  to  say  that  England  ever  did  profess. 


84 


INDIFFERENTJSM. 


or  is  professing  now,  Protestantism  as 
one  united,  uniform  creed,  would  be  as 
great  an  error  as  to  assert  that  England, 
France,  Germany,  Austria,  Russia,  Tur- 
key, China,  North  and  South  America, 
were  united  under  one  and  the  same 
crowned  head. 

Those  who  profess  her  religion  at  the 
present  moment  are  not  under  her  control, 
either  as  to  doctrines  of  faith  or  precepts 
of  morality.  She  is  entirely  under  their 
control.  They  circumscribe  her  boun- 
daries, define  her  sphere,  mark  out  her 
work,  sit  in  judgment  upon  her,  frequently 
take  the  punishment  of  clergymen  into 
their  own  hands,  make  decrees  for  the 
regulation  of  her  worship,  and  change 
them  at  their  pleasure.  And  as  to  foreign 
operations  for  the  propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  it  is  only  when  they  furnish  her 
with  ample  means,  and  promise  to  hold 
over  her  the  strong  arm  of  civil  pro- 
tection, that  she  will  make  any  move 
to  preach  her  divided  creed  to  the  hea- 
then. And  then,  just  because  her  creed  is 
a  divided  one,  her  effort  is  an  absolute 
failure. 

To  this  fact  —  the  fact  that  in  her  are 
found  the  elements  of  inevitable  discord, 
interminable  contradiction,  endless  divi- 
sion —  her  notorious  want  of  success  in 
her  attempts  to  evangelize  the  people  of 
pagan  lands  is  to  be  ascribed.  The 
average  pagan,  though  not  deeply  read, 
though  not  skilled  in  close  reasoning,  has 
nevertheless  sense  enough  to  perceive 
that  there  cannot  be  much  truth  in  a 
religion    in    which    there     are    so    many 


opposite  opinions.  Some  of  them,  after 
hearing  contradictory  expositions  of  faith 
from  the  lips  of  those  sectarian  mission- 
aries who  sought  to  Christianize  them, 
have  been  heard  to  say  that  Christians 
seemed  to  have  as  many  different  religions 
as  paganism  had  gods.  "  There  is  no 
greater  barrier,"  says  Mr.  Colledge,  a 
Protestant  British  official  in  China,  "to 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel  of  our  Saviour 
among  the  heathen  than  the  division 
and  splitting  which  have  taken  place 
among  the  various  orders  of  Christians 
themselves.  Let  us  ask  any  intelligent 
Chinese  what  he  thinks  of  this,  and 
he  will  tell  us  that  these  persons  can- 
not be  influenced  by  the  same  great 
principle,  but  that  Europe  and  America 
must  have  as  many  Christs  as  China  has 
gods." 

A  Church  which  has  not  a  bond  of 
unity  proceeding  from  an  unfailing  princi- 
ple of  unity  can  never  become  universal. 
A  thing  which  has  not  permanent  identity 
can  never  possess  the  power  or  quality  of 
universal  assimilation. 

The  Church  of  England  has  no  bond  of 
unity,  and  therefore  can  never  possibly 
have  that  mark  or  capacity  of  universality 
which  is  essential  to  the  one  true  Church 
of  Christ. 

The  Church  of  Rome,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  the  only  one  which  possesses  such  a 
bond  of  unity,  and  hence  she  alone  can 
ever  possibly  realize  universality  in  prac- 
tice. And  as  a  matter  of  fact,  as  we  shall 
see  later,  she  alone  has  ever  practically 
realized  it. 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


85 


SECTION  III. 

This  potentiality  of  universality  must  be 
one  that  slumbers  not :  it  must  be  ever 
active  and  energizing. 

Whichever  Church  is  Christ's  must  be 
one  of  which  impartial  history  can  testify, 
that  she  has  been  striving  actively  and 
energetically  ever  from  her  first  beginnings 
and  throughout  her  whole  career  to  prop- 
agate her  faith  more  and  more  widely 
through  pagan  lands.  Any  Church  which 
has  not  exhibited  at  all  times,  when  there 
was  any  opportunity  of  doing  so,  this  char- 
acteristic of  active  zeal  for  the  conversion  of 
the  heathen,  cannot  have  any  claim  to  be 
considered  the  one  true  Church  of  Christ. 
If  there  ba  any  persons  who  have  any 
difficulty  in  granting  this,  a  few  words  will 
make  the  matter  clear. 

The  sun  cannot  be  in  the  heavens  above 
us  without  sending  forth  rays  of  light. 
There  may  be  an  eclipse,  there  may  be  a 
mist  black  as  night,  still,  from  the  very 
fact  that  he  is  in  the  sky,  he  must  send 
forth  his  beams,  and  those  beams  must 
reach  us,  unless  some  accidental  cause 
darkens  the  medium  through  which  they 
are  meant  to  be  conveyed  to  us. 

The  Church  was  designed  by  Christ,  her 
Founder,  to  be  the  light  of  the  world,  and 
to  be  the  light  of  the  world  of  every  cen- 
tury and  of  every  generation. 

He  Himself  who  is  the  Eternal  Sun  of 
Justice,  and  who  styled  Himself  the  Light 
of  the  World,  promised  to  be  in  her  all 
days,  that  she  might  be  such.  He  meant 
her  light  to  shine  upon  the   people   of  all 


times  and  of  all  places.  Consequently,  His 
desire  to  dispel  the  darkness  of  paganism 
did  not  end  with  the  death  of  His  first 
apostles.  When  He  gave  them  the  com- 
mission to  teach  all  nations.  He  foresaw 
that  the  martyr's  death  would  overtake 
them  before  they  had  succeeded  in  making 
His  Gospel  known  to  all  nations.  He 
could  not  mean  that  as  soon  as  the  grave 
had  closed  over  their  remains,  His  Church 
was  to  cease  entirely  the  work  of  propagat- 
ing the  faith,  and  was  thenceforward  to 
make  no  further  effort  to  make  her  light 
shine  in  those  regions  which  were  still  in 
the  darkness  of  idolatry  and  in  the  shadow 
of  death.  We  cannot  hold  that  such  was 
His  design  without  being  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that,  while  He  had  at  heart  the  sal- 
vation of  those  who  lived  in  the  days  of 
His  first  apostles,  He  had  no  concern  as 
to  what  became  of  the  pagan  nations  of  the 
second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries,  and  of 
every  century  to  the  end  of  time. 

It  is  clear  He  meant  her  to  continue 
throughout  all  ages  her  efforts  to  evan- 
gelize the  nations  —  to  spread  her  light 
farther  and  farther  over  the  earth ;  else 
she  would  fail  to  fulfil  the  end  for  which 
He  founded  her. 

It  is  clear  also  that  if  He  promised  to 
be  with  His  first  apostles  by  a  special 
presence  of  His  power  and  guidance,  in 
order  to  stimulate  and  help  them  to  do 
the  work  of  propagating  His  faith  every- 
where, He  meant  that  promised  presence 
to  extend  to  their  successors  throughout 
all  generations ;  for  the  simple  reason, 
that   the   dissipation   of  the   darkness  of 


S6 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


idolatry,  and  the  replacing  it  by  the  light 
of  His  Gospel,  were  works  which  would 
be  as  dear  to  His  Sacred  Heart  through- 
out all  time  as  they  were  on  the  memorable 
day  when  He  spoke  the  words  —  "  Going, 
teach  all  nations." 

Since,  then,  Christ  dwells  permanently 
in  His  Church  —  since  He  is  the  light  of 
the  world,  since  He  must  have  at  all 
times  a  constant,  active,  efficacious  desire 
that  His  light  should  illuminate  the  whole 
earth,  it  follows  that  His  church  must  be 
one  of  which  the  unprejudiced  historian 
can  relate  that,  during  her  whole  career, 
she,  above  all  others,  has  manifested  a 
strong  impulse  —  a  necessarily  active 
desire  to  bring  heathen  nations  within  her 
communion. 

But  which  amongst  all  the  churches 
now  existing  can  honestly  claim  from  the 
impartial  records  of  the  past  this  glorious 
testimony  ? 

Can  the  Anglican  Church,  the  Lutheran 
Church,  or  the  Calvinistic  Church  lay  any 
claim  thereto }  No.  They  did  not  begin 
to  exist  till  towards  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  consequently  could 
not  have  evangelized  the  peoples  of  the 
long  centuries  that  had  passed  away 
before  they  were  born.  And  even  for  the 
few  years  of  their  comparatively  short 
career,  they  cannot  stand  the  application 
of  this  test.  For  they  had  been  a  consid- 
erable period  in  existence  before  they 
showed  any  inclination  at  all  to  make  the 
light  of  their  creed  shine  on  the  idolater. 

Besides,  this  was  not  their  scope. 
Their   sphere   was    meant    to   be    purely 


local.  Their  original  framing  excluded  all 
idea  of  organization  for  wide  foreign 
missionary  enterprise  —  in  fact,  for  mis- 
sionary enterprise  of  any  kind.  They 
were  to  be  but  a  phase  of  the  state  in 
which  they  were  to  subsist.  They  were 
to  be  under  State  control,  and  conse- 
quently were  to  partake  of  the  nature  of 
the  constitution  whose  established  reli- 
gion they  were  to  be.  And  a  religion 
formed  to  suit  the  taste  of  some  particular 
nation  is  not  likely  ever  to  become  a  reli- 
gion of  universal  adoption.  A  religion 
that  suits  the  government  of  one  country 
may  not  suit  the  government  of  another 
country,  and  is  certain  not  to  suit  the 
government  of  every  country.  At  all 
events,  being  created  and  kept  in  life  by 
an  act  of  Parliament,  they  could  not  make 
any  move  to  convert  the  heathen,  unless 
directed,  encouraged,  helped,  subsidized 
by  the  State  whose  dominant  religion  they 
represented.  And  surely  we  cannot  say 
that  Christ  ever  meant  His  Church,, 
which  He  founded  to  evangelize  all  the  na-^ 
tions  of  the  earth,  to  be  directed  in  the 
measure  and  exercise  of  her  zeal  for  the 
salvation  of  souls  by  the  laws  of  any  par- 
ticular country,  and  to  be  guided  in  her 
efforts  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith  in 
pagan  lands  according  to  the  dictates  of 
any  particular  civil  power. 

That  I  am  not  making  groundless 
statements,  or  putting  the  thing  in  a 
false  light,  will  be  evident  from  the  fol- 
lowing testimonies,  which  undoubtedly 
cannot  be  said  to  be  taken  from  prejudiced 
sources. 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


87 


Lord  Macaulay,  whose  opposition  to  the 
Catholic  Church  is  sufficiently  known  to 
make  it  certain  that  he  does  not  say 
anything  in  her  praise  except  what  he 
believes  to  be  true,  draws  a  contrast 
between  her  action  and  that  of  the 
Reformed  Churches  in  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries.  In  any  case, 
the  truth  of  his  statement  is  patent  to  all. 

He  says :  "  As  the  Catholics  in  zeal  and 
union  had  a  great  advantage  over  the 
Protestants,  so  had  they  an  infinitely 
superior  organization.  In  truth.  Protes- 
tantism, for  aggressive  purposes,  had  no 
organization  at  all.  The  Reformed 
Churches  were  mere  national  Churches. 
The  Church  of  England  existed  for  Eng- 
land alone.  It  was  an  institution  as  purely 
local  as  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and 
was  utterly  without  machinery  for  foreign 
operations.  The  Church  of  Scotland,  in 
like  manner,  existed  for  Scotland  alone. 
The  operations  of  the  Catholic  Church 
took  in  the  whole  world "  (Essay  on 
Ranke's  History  of  Popery). 

A  prominent  Presbyterian  clergyman 
speaks  in  a  similar  tone  in  his  review  of 
Marshall's  well-known  volumes  entitled 
Christian  Missions.  He  even  philoso- 
phizes on  the  matter.  "  During  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,"  he 
says,  "  the  Romish  Church  girdled  the 
globe  with  her  missions,  planting  the  cross 
from  beyond  the  wall  of  China  to  the 
Peruvian  Cordilleras.  Nor  is  it  to  be 
denied  that  her  missionaries,  in  those 
years,  were  men  abounding  in  Christian 
heroism    and    sacrifices.       Of    monetary 


means  she  had  not  so  much  as  any  one  of 
our  Protestant  societies.  But  she  had 
what,  alas  !  we  so  often  fail  to  get  —  abun- 
dance of  large-hearted  men,  ready  to  do 
and  suffer  everything  for  the  faith."  He 
continues:  "This  interesting  inquiry" 
(he  means  the  singular  success  of  Catholic 
missions  as  contrasted  with  the  evident 
failure  of  Protestant  missions)  ."  is  one 
which  calls  for  deeper  thought  and  greater 
fairness  than  polemical  divines  have  yet 
allowed  it  ;  for  the  student  of  history  will 
not  be  satisfied  without  some  theory  or 
law  adequate  to  account  for  the  undeniable 
fact,  that  hitherto  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity among  the  heathen  has  been  carried 
on  chiefly  by  Romanism,  and  only  in  a 
slight  manner  as  yet  by  a  consistent  and 
scriptural  Protestantism  "  {North  British 
Review,  May,  1864). 

In  a  very  slight  manner,  indeed,  if  we 
look  to  the  results ;  on  a  gigantic  scale, 
however,  if  we  consider  the  enormous 
sums  of  money  that  have  been  expended 
by  Protestant  missionary  societies,  and  the 
millions  of  Bibles  that  have  been  exported 
from  England  and  America. 

The  feeble  and  fruitless  efforts  (though 
numerous)  which  the  Protestant  Church 
of  late  years  has  made  do  not  tend  to 
strengthen  her  claim  to  the  note  of 
universality. 

However,  during  the  last  sixty  or 
seventy  years,  that  Church,  particularly  in 
England  and  America,  has  had  an  organ- 
ization for  carrying  on  missions  in  pagan 
lands ;  and  if  we  are  to  look  to  the  number 
of  its  agents  and   the   magnitude   of  its 


88 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


resources,  a  great  organization  it  has 
been. 

Its  emissaries,  says  Marshall  in  his 
Christian  Missions,  are  reckoned  by 
thousands  and  its  revenues  by  millions. 
"A  single  English  society,"  we  are  told, 
"  consumes,  in  its  home  expenditure  alone, 
about  forty  thousand  pounds  annually, 
before  one  native  is  converted,  or  even 
sees  a  missionary.  That  is  to  say,  nearly 
one-fourth  of  the  whole  income  of  a 
society,  maintained  for  the  purpose  of 
spreading  the  light  of  the  Gospel  in 
heathen  countries,  is  spent  in  England 
before  one  preacher  has  embarked  on  his 
mission  "  (vol.  i.,  p.  3).  It  is  stated  that 
during  the  present  century  England  and 
America  alone,  omitting  Germany, 
Switzerland,  and  all  Protestant  States  of 
modern  Europe,  had  before  the  year  1862 
expended  in  the  work  of  missions,  includ- 
ing the  distribution  of  Bibles  and  tracts, 
at  least  forty  millions  sterling. 

Do  these  facts  give  to  Protestantism  any 
claim  to  that  universality  which  is  a  mark 
of  the  true  Church }  Do  they  go  any 
way  towards  proving  that  the  Protestant 
Church  is  identical  with  the  one  in  which 
there  must  be  an  ever-active  impulse,  an 
ever  efficacious  zeal  to  evangelize  heathen 
nations  .-*  We  shall  show,  and  show  it  on 
Protestant  testimony,  that  they  prove 
exactly  the  contrary. 

It  is  unfortunate  for  the  claims  of  the 
Protestant  Church  that  she  ever  attempted 
to  give  missions  at  all  in  pagan  coun- 
tries. It  is  a  kind  of  work  for  which 
she  was  never  intended,  and  which,  from 


her  very  structure,   was  quite   unnaturaK 
to  her. 

Although  the  enormous  sums  of  money, 
contributed  to  swell  her  foreign  missionary 
funds,  bespeak  the  generous  liberality  of 
many  of  her  religious-minded  children,  yet 
the  spirit  of  the  missionaries  she  has  sent 
out,  the  way  in  which  they  have  done  their 
work,  and  the  slender  results  which  that 
work  has  produced,  can  only  tend,  in  the 
mind  of  all  impartial  observers,  to  remove 
from  her  farther  and  farther  all  resem- 
blance to  the  Church  which  was  destined 
to  teach  all  nations  through  all  time,  and 
to  be  forever  the  light  of  the  world. 

The  signal  failure  of  her  missionary 
efforts  in  all  parts  of  the  world  (a  failure 
confessed  to  by  members  of  her  own 
denomination)  makes  it  clear  to  evidence 
that  she  cannot  be  that  Divine  everlasting 
institution  to  which  was  addressed  the 
world-wide  commission :  "  Going,  teach 
all  nations."  With  all  her  unlimited 
resources  and  all  her  vast  expenditure, 
she  has  made  but  few  converts ;  and  those 
few,  say  the  same  Protestant  witnesses, 
have  in  most  cases  been  distinguished  by 
becoming  worse  after  their  conversion  than 
they  were  before,  and  much  worse  than 
their  heathen  compatriots. 

While  another  Church,  with  hardly  any 
earthly  resources  —  without  help  from  the 
hand  of  any  civil  power  —  without  human 
appliances  of  any  kind  —  with  nothing 
except  fearless  apostolic  courage  and 
burning  zeal,  has,  during  the  same  years 
and  in  the  very  same  spheres  of  labor, 
made  converts  in  multitudes,  and  has  lifted 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


89 


tnem  up  from  the  lowest  depths  of  pagan 
degradation  to  a  life  of  practical  virtue 
which  has  made  them  an  object  of  wonder 
to  all  who  have  witnessed  the  change. 

That  I  am  not  going  out  of  the  region 
of  facts,  or  making  unwarrantable  state- 
ments, will  be  evident  from  testimonies  I 
now  adduce,  all  of  which  are  given  by 
Protestants  or  by  members  of  various 
non-Catholic  denominations.  They  are 
found  in  Marshall's  book  on  Christian 
Missions,  vol.  i.,  from  page  9  to  15,  with 
abundant  references. 


GKi 


ir\a. 


"The  attempts  of  Protestant  bodies  to 
evangelize  China,"  says  Mr.  Antony  Grant, 
author  of  the  Bampton  Lectures  for  1843, 
"have  signally  failed." 

"Whoever  asserts,"  added  Mr.  Win- 
grove  Cooke  in  1858,  "that  the  Protestant 
missionaries  are  making  sincere  Chinese 
Christians,  must  be  either  governed  by 
delusion  or  guilty  of  fraud." 

Ir\clia. 

Sir  James  Brooke,  in  1858,  speaking 
before  a  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  said :  "  You 
have  made  no  progress  at  all  either  with 
the  Hindoo  or  the  Mahometan ;  you  are 
just  where  you  were  the  very  first  day  that 
you  went  to  India." 

Mr.  Clarkson,  himself  a  missionary, 
speaks  in  the  same  tone.    "Every  gate," 


he  says,  "  seems  to  have  been  shut,  every 
channel  dammed  up,  by  which  Gospel 
streams  might  force  their  way." 

Mr.  Irving  goes  further  still,  when  speak- 
ing of  the  nominal  converts.  He  says, 
and  says  it  in  accord  with  a  hundred 
Anglo-Indian  witnesses,  that  "their  lax 
morality  shocks  the  feelings  of  even  theii 
heathen  fellow-countrymen." 


Geylorv. 


The  Rev,  W.  Haward,  a  Wesleyan  mis- 
sionary, says:  "The  greater  part  of  the 
Singhalese,  whom  I  designate  nominal 
Christians  of  the  Reformed  Religion,  are 
little  more  than  Christians  by  baptism." 

"Disappointment  was  felt  in  nearly 
every  department  of  the  mission,"  says 
Dr.  Brown  in   1854. 

"  All  accounts  agree  in  reporting  unfa- 
vorably," adds  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tupper  in 
1856. 

Mr.  Pridham  goes  further.  He  deplores, 
in  energetic  language,  that  Christianity 
has  made  but  "leeway." 


Ar\tipodes. 


Of  Australia,  Dr.  Lang  reported  in  1852: 
"There  is  no  well-authenticated  case  of 
the  conversion  of  a  black  native  to  Chris- 
tianity." 

Mr.  Minturn  added  in  1858:  "All  mis- 
sionary efforts  among  them  failed." 


90 


INDTFFERENTISM. 


JJeW  Zealand. 

Mr.  Fox  declared  in  1851  :  "With 
most  of  the  natives  Christianity  is  a  mere 
name,  entirely  inoperative  in  practice." 

In  1859  Dr.  Thomson  still  repeats  that 
it  is  only  a  rude  mixture  of  paganism  and 
the  cross. 

Mr.  Wakefield,  who  is  confirmed  by  a 
multitude  of  witnesses,  adds  the  gloomy 
statement  that  the  converted  natives  are 
distinctly  inferior  in  point  of  moral  char- 
acter to  the  unconverted  heathen. 

Another  Protestant  authority  attests  the 
Colonial  verdict,  that  they  are,  generally 
speaking,  distinguished  from  the  uncon- 
verted as  rogues,  thieves,  and  liars. 

Ocear\ica. 

Of  the  Society  Islands,  a  writer  in  the 
Asiatic  Journal  reported  as  long  ago  as 
1832  that  "the  presence  of  the  mission- 
aries has  been  productive  of  more  mis- 
chief than  good." 

Mr.  Pridham  announced,  seventeen  years 
later,  that  they  had  only  added  a  new 
plague  to  the  evils  which  they  had  come 
to  cure. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Hines,  Mr.  Herman 
Melville,  Commodore  Wilkes,  Chaplain 
Laplace,  all  speak  in  the  same  tone. 

Africa. 

In  Western  Africa,  Mr.  Tracy  reckons 
eighteen    Protestant  missionary  attempts. 


without  counting  Sierra  Leone  and  Goree, 
all  of  which  failed. 

Mr.  Duncan  candidly  declares  of  those 
in  Dahomey,  that  the  education  given  by 
the  missionaries  is  only  the  means  of 
enabling  them  to  become  more  perfect  in 
villainy. 

Of  the  KaflSrs  in  South  Africa,  Major 
Dundas  reported  in  1835  to  the  House  of 
Commons  :  "  I  believe  the  missionaries 
have  hardly  Christianized  a  single  individ- 
ual." 

Twenty-three  years  later,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Calderwood  declared  once  more  :  "  The 
Kaffirs  may  be  said  to  have  refused  the 
Gospel." 

In  North  and  East  Africa  it  is  not 
even  alleged  that  any  converts  have  been 
made. 


The     Lev^ar\t,     Syria,     arvd 
/Irrrvenia. 

Of  the  missionaries  in  the  Levant,  Sir 
Adolphus  Slade  says  in  1854,  after  many 
years  of  personal  observation  :  "  Their 
utter  unprofitableness  cannot  be  suffi- 
ciently pointed  out." 

Of  those  in  Greece,  Dr.  Hawes  reports, 
they  "have  felt  themselves  obliged  for 
the  present  to  withdraw,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, from  the  field,"  —  which  means,  as 
we  shall  see,  that  they  were  expelled  by 
the  people. 

Of  Jerusalem,  Lord  Castlereagh  tells 
us  :     "  The  Bishop  has  scarcely  a  congre- 


UNIVERSALITY  OR   CATHOLICITY. 


91 


gation  besides  his  chaplains,  his  doctor, 
and  their  families." 

Dr.  Southgate,  an  American  Protestant 
bishop,  candidly  admits  that  the  only 
Protestant  converts,  throughout  Turkey 
and  the  Levant,  "  are  infidels  and  radicals 
who  deserve  no  sympathy  from  the  Chris- 
tian public." 

And  Dr.  Wagner  declares,  after  careful 
examination,  that  the  expensive  establish- 
ments in  Armenia  have  made  no  con- 
verts. 


A 


merica. 


Finally,  the  learned  author  of  The  Nat- 
ural History  of  Man  warns  his  readers  not 
to  venture  upon  any  comparison  between 
the  success  of  missions  to  the  aboriginal 
races  of  North  and  South  America, 
because  their  history  reveals  a  contrast  so 
portentous  that,  as  he  frankly  admits,  it 
must  be  allowed  to  cast  a  deep  shade  upon 
the  history  of  Protestantism. 

If,  then,  it  is  clear  that  the  Protestant 
Church,  before  she  began  to  give  missions 
to  the  heathen,  could  not  possibly  have 
either  the  mark  or  the  capacity  of  univer- 
sality, that  fact  has  become  clearer  now 
that  she  has  made  the  attempt.  Indeed, 
we  might  say  that  if  there  was  nothing 
else  to  prove  that  she  is  not  the  Church  of 
Christ,  her  uniform  want  of  success  in  her 
foreign  missionary  efforts  would  be  quite 
enough  to  prove  it.  The  heathen  nations, 
even  on  Protestant  testimony,  have  every- 
where rejected  her  teaching  ;  and  the  few 
individuals,  who  pretended  to  become  her 


disciples,  have,  on  the  same  testimony,  been 
lower  in  the  scale  of  morality  than  they 
were  before  their  apparent  conversion. 

Such,  then,  is  her  history.  For  about 
two  centuries  and  a  half — that  is,  from  her 
institution  till  the  beginning  of  this  cen- 
tury— she  confined  her  zeal  within  those 
dominions  to  which  she  owes  her  creation, 
and  to  which  she  owes  the  continuance  of 
her  life.  During  the  whole  of  that  long 
period  she  manifested  no  compassion  — 
no  consideration  for  the  poor  idolater. 
She  let  him  go  his  way,  and  left  him  to 
perish  helplessly  in  his  darkness,  without 
making  any  attempt  to  stretch  out  to  him 
the  hand  of  relief,  although  the  constantly 
increasing  commerce  of  the  great  empire 
which  she  represented  gave  her  every  facil- 
ity for  doing  so.  She  remained  satisfied 
with  her  work  at  home,  enjoyed  her  repose 
with  dignity,  and  went  on  sleeping  the  sleep 
of  undisturbed  peace.  Then,  suddenly,  in 
the  beginning,  of  this  century  (about  the 
year  1805),  she  awoke  from  her  slumber, 
shook  off  her  drowsiness,  became  alive  to 
a  sense  of  her  culpable  apathy,  and  seemed 
anxious  to  make  a  great,  a  vigorous,  a  stu- 
pendous effort  for  the  propagation  of  the 
faith  —  such  an  effort  as  would  make 
amends  for  long  and  grave  neglect.  Enor^ 
mous  sums  of  money  for  evangelizing  pur 
poses  were  produced  ;  missionaries  were 
sent  out  in  thousands  to  pagan  lands ; 
millions  of  Bibles  and  numberless  tracts 
were  distributed  in  pagan  towns  —  Ihat  is, 
in  pagan  ports  and  all  along  the  coasts. 
Those  publications  were  sown  broadcast, 
as  the  farmer  sows  his  grain.     They  never 


92 


INDIFFERENTISM, 


took  root  however.  The  soil  proved  most 
ungrateful.  And  what  has  been  the 
result }  To-day  her  hands  are  as  empty  of 
fru't  as  if  she  had  never  advanced  a  step 
in  the  direction  of  foreign  missionary 
enterprise,  or  as  if  the  idolater  had  never 
seen  a  single  leaf  of  a  Bible  or  tract  in  his 
life. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  neither  past  nor 
contemporary  history  can  bear  testimony 
that  she  has  been  throughout  her  career 
the  evangelizing  Church  of  the  nations. 

But  now  comes  the  question  :  Can  the 
Greek  schismatical  churches  claim  this 
testimony }  No.  They  have  never  pre- 
tended or  professed  to  be  missionary 
churches  at  all.  They  are  mere  national 
churches  —  purely  local  institutions  like 
the  Church  of  England ;  but,  unlike  the 
Church  of  England,  they  have  made  no 
attempt  even  in  this  nineteenth  century  to 
convert  the  heathen. 

As  to  the  Greek-Russian  Church,  Mar- 
shall, speaking  of  it,  says  :  "  It  not  only 
fails  to  convert  the  heathen  tribes  subject 
to  the  empire,  but  does  not  always  even 
wish  to  do  so,  •  It  suits,"  they  say,  "  the 
secular  policy  of  the  Czar  to  leave  them  to 
their  idols."  "The  clergy  of  Russia,  as 
Tourgeneff,  Haxthausen,  and  others  relate, 
have  no  disposition  for  such  labors:  the 
State,  as  Theiner,  Dr.  Moritz  Wagner, 
and  many  more  have  shown,  forbids  others 
to  supply  the  defect.  Every  Catholic 
priest,  says  Dr.  Wagner,  who  attempts  to 
convert  an  idolater  is  threatened  with 
transportation  to  Siberia "  ( Christian 
Missions,  vol.  i.,  p.  i.). 


Hence  the  Greek  schismatical  Churches 
do  not  and  cannot  ask  to  claim  from  his- 
tory the  testimony  that  they  have  been 
striving  assiduously  throughout  their 
course,  to  make  the  light  of  Christianity 
shine  in  heathen  lands. 

One  Church,  and  one  Church  alone,  can 
claim  this  glorious  testimony. 

Need  I  say  it  is  the  Church  of  Rome }  a 

Ske  has  been  the  great  evangelist  of  the 
nations  throughout  all  time  since  the  days 
of  the  apostles  :  and,  as  we  shall  see 
presently,  she  is  the  only  successful  evan- 
gelizing church  of  the  present  generation. 

As  to  the  past,  we  need  not  dwell  long 
in  claiming  for  her  a  glory  which  even  her 
bitterest  enemies  do  not  attempt  to  with- 
hold from  her.  If  it  be  asked,  who  gave 
to  England  that  Christianity  whose  form 
was  changed  and  mutilated  at  the  Refor- 
mation, Venerable  Bede  answers  the  ques- 
tion to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  Speaking 
of  England's  conversion,  he  says  :  "  And 
whereas  he  (Pope  Gregory)  bore  the  pon- 
tifical power  all  over  the  world,  and  was 
placed  over  the  churches  already  reduced 
to  the  faith,  he  made  our  nation,  till  then 
given  up  to  idols,  the  Church  of  Christ." 

Who  gave  to  Germany  the  religion 
which  she  abolished  in  the  revolt  of  Luther.^ 
Do  not  all  impartial  records  show  it  came 
from  missionaries  who  had  with  them 
the  approval,  the  credentials,  and  the 
blessing  of  the  Roman  Pontiff }       ' 

Dr.  Milman,  some  years  ago  Dean  of  St. 
Paul's,  in  his  History  of  Latin  Christianity ^ 
after  showing  that  one  nation  after  another 
received  the  gospel  through  the  voice  of  the 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


93 


Church  or  Rome,  adds  :  "All  these  con- 
quests of  Christianity  were  in  a  certain 
sense  the  conquests  of  the  Roman  See. 
.  .  .  ,  Reverence  for  Rome  penetra- 
ted with  the  Gospel  to  the  remotest  parts. 
Germany  was  converted  to  Latin  Chris- 
tianity Rome  was  the  source,  the  centre, 
the  regulating  authority  recognized  by 
the  English  apostles  to  the  Teutons.  The 
clergy  were  constantly  visiting  Rome  as 
the  religious  capital  of  the  world  .  .  . 
and  bishops  from  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
empire,  and  of  regions  never  penetrated 
by  the  Roman  arms,  looked  to  Rome  as 
the  parent  of  their  faith  —  if  not  to  an 
infallible  authority,  at  least  to  the  highest 
authority  in  Christendom." 

Colonel  Mitchell,  in  his  Life  of  Wallen- 
stein,  says:  "Deep  and  indelible  is  the 
debt  which  religion  and  civilization  owe  to 
the  early  Roman  Pontiffs  and  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  They  strove  long  and 
nobly  to  forward  the  cause  of  human 
improvement,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  what 
other  poaer  could  have  exercised  so  bene- 
ficial an  influence  over  the  fierce  and  fiery 
nations  which  established  themselves  on 
the  ruins  of  the  Roman  empire,  after  root- 
ing out  all  that  remained  of  ancient  art 
and  ancient  knowledge.  Nor  were  their 
efforts  confined  within  those  territorial 
limits  Monks  and  missionaries,  disre- 
garding personal  danger,  penetrated  into 
the  forests  of  Germany  and  into  the 
distant  regions  of  the  North,  and,  unap- 
palled  by  the  deaths  of  torture  to  which  so 
many  holy  men  had  fallen  victims,  preached 
to   the  heathe»'    and   barbarian   the   mild 


doctrines  of  Christianity,  which  only 
sprung  up  in  Europe  watered  by  the  blood 
of  saints  and  martyrs.  Even  the  efforts 
of  the  Church  to  interpose  its  spiritual 
power  in  the  direction  of  temporal  matters, 
and  to  control  the  conduct  of  kings  and 
princes,  were  beneficial  in  an  age  when  the 
clergy  alone  possessed  whatever  learning 
was  extant ;  and  the  uniformity  of  belief 
which  rendered  all  the  Western  Churches 
dependent  on  the  Pope,  an  authority  so 
greatly  enlightened,  when  contrasted  with 
the  general  darkness  of  times,  became  a 
principal  cause  of  the  progress  and  pros- 
perity of  the  Catholic  world." 

Such  the  testimonies  of  Protestant 
writers. 

Who  brought  the  light  of  the  faith  to 
France  and  made  her  a  Catholic  nation  ? 
— Missionaries  who  came  in  the  name, 
and  with  the  authority  and  benediction,  of 
the  See  of  Rome. 

Who  evangelized  Spain  ^  Who  brought 
to  Austria  and  her  tributaries  the  faith 
she  now  possesses }  Who  led  Ireland  and 
Scotland  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
Gospel  .••  Who  gave  to  the  various  nations 
of  the  East  that  religion  (I  mean  orthodox 
religion)  which  they  professed  ?r  all  its 
completeness  and  integrity,  till  schism 
rent  them  from  the  parent  stock  .?  — Either 
the  first  apostles  who  recognized  Peter  as 
their  head,  or  their  successors  who  recog- 
nized Peter's  See — the  See  of  Rome  —as 
the  head  of  all  the  Churches,  and  pro- 
claimed union  with  that  See  to  be  a  n^^ces- 
sary  qualification  for  membership  ii»  the 
one  true  fold  of  Christ. 


94 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


Go  through  all  the  countries  of  Europe, 
of  Asia,  of  Africa  that  ever  professed  the 
Christian  religion  in  its  completeness  and 
perfectness,  trace  their  Christianity  to  its 
source,  and  you  will  find  that  source  to  be 
none  other  than  the  energizing  power — 
the  necessary  active,  unfailing  impulse  to 
evangelize — which  is  ever  found  in  the 
Church  of  which  Peter's  successor  is  the 
visible  head. 

All  impartial  records  of  the  past 
agree  in  stating  the  undeniable  fact,  that, 
from  the  days  of  the  apostles  down  to  the 
present  time,  the  Church  of  Rome  has 
been  constantly,  untiringly  exerting  her 
power  to  bring  idolatrous  nations  under 
the  sway  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  There 
is  no  other  Church  of  which  this  can  be 
said.  She  alone,  amongst  all  the  religious 
bodies  which  now  exist,  has  manifested 
throughout  her  career  that  sacred  energy 
—  that  holy,  earnest,  necessarily  active 
zeal  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  and 
the  heretic  which  must  ever  characterize 
the  Church  in  which  dwells  the  Saviour  of 
souls,  who  founded  her  as  much  for  the 
salvation  of  the  people  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  of  every  century  to  the  day 
of  doom,  as  for  the  salvation  of  the  people 
who  lived  in  the  age  which  witnessed  her 
institution. 

Now  let  us  place  her  side  by  side  with 
those  sects,  which  have  in  this  century 
affected  to  surpass  her  in  zeal  for  the 
propagation  of  the  faith,  and  have  tried  to 
wrench  from  her  her  title  of  Universal 
Teacher.  Have  they  succeeded  .?  —  No. 
They  cannot  dispute  her   exclusive  claim 


to  that  title  for  the  pre-Reformation 
period ;  nor  can  they  dispute  that  she 
alone  was  the  apostle  of  pagan  countries 
during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries.  During  those  two  centuries, 
while  Protestantism  in  England  and  on 
the  Continent  was  being  divided  into 
endless  sects,  which  were  battling  with 
one  another  continually  — 'while  their 
respective  leaders  were  excommunicating 
each  other  with  implacable  acrimony,  the 
Church  of  Rome,  as  Dr.  Hanna  observes, 
was  girdling  the  globe  with  her  missions. 
While  no  schismatical  or  heretical  herald 
of  the  Gospel  had,  as  yet,  set  out  from 
Europe  for  any  barbarous  land,  her  apostles 
were  already  preaching  "  in  labor  and 
painfulness,  in  many  watchings,  in  hunger 
and  thirst,  in  many  fastings,"  and  were 
reaping  an  abundant  harvest  in  China, 
Japan,  India,  Africa,  Paraguay  —  every- 
where.    This  our  opponents  cannot  deny. 

Till  the  eighteenth  century,  then,  she 
continued  to  be  the  sole  Teacher  of  hea- 
thendom. Has  she  lost  her  claim  to  that 
title  in  this  the  nineteenth  century  } 
Have  her  rivals  uncrowned  her.'  Have 
the  sects  supplanted  her  }  Have  they  done 
any  work  of  zeal  in  heathen  lands  which 
she  has  not  done  on  a  larger  scale  and 
immeasurably  better  .-'  Has  the  character 
of  their  zeal  transcended  hers  ?  Have 
they  gone  far  away  from  the  large  centres 
of  population,  penetrated  into  the  outlying 
and  remote  districts  of  the  savages,  and 
shown  themselves  unselfish  in  enduring 
hunger,  thirst,  and  cold  and  heat ;  while 
hers   have  enjoyed   a  dignified   repose   in 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


95 


some  comfortable  dwelling  situated  in  an 
eligible  quarter  of  the  large  city  ?  Have 
they,  in  times  of  persecution,  shed  their 
blood  profusely,  and  given  up  their  lives 
generously  and  courageously  ;  while  hers, 
lil<e  cowards,  ran  away  at  the  first  appear- 
ance of  danger?  Have  they  done  more 
for  the  education  of  the  savage  hordes 
than  she  has  done  ?  Have  they  produced 
more  abundant  fruits  ?  Have  they  made 
more  converts  ?  And  have  their  converts 
been  remarkable  for  practical  faith,  firm- 
ness in  trial,  intense  fervor,  earnest 
devotion,  heroic  constancy ;  while  hers 
have  been  distinguished  by  their  coldness, 
carelessness,  apathy,  fickleness,  gross 
immorality  ? 

Impartial  witnesses  shall  give  the 
answer,  and  their  answer  will  show  that, 
while  for  eighteen  hundred  years  the 
Church  of  Rome  alone  possessed,  and 
alone  could  claim,  the  title  of  Church  of 
the  Universe  —  yet  never  has  that  title 
shone  out  so  conspicuously,  appeared  in 
such  striking  light,  as  in  the  present 
century,  in  which  the  sects  have  worked 
by  her  side  in  the  same  fields  of  labor, 
and,  in  spite  of  all  the  help  human 
resources  could  give,  have  failed  utterly 
everywhere ;  whereas  she  has  prospered 
to  a  degree  which  can  only  be  explained 
by  help  from  on  high,  by  special  aid  from 
the  hand  of  Him  whose  blessing  is  with 
those  whom  He  Himself  has  chosen,  and 
not  with  those  who  have  tried  to  intrude 
themselves  into  His  fold. 

It  is  a  common  saying  that  things  look 
brighter  by   contrast.      Never   has   there 


been  a  contrast  more  striking  than  that 
presented  by  the  marvellous  fruits  which 
have  followed  the  efforts  made  by  the 
missionaries  of  the  Catholic  Church  when 
compared  with  the  uniform  barrenness 
which  has  ever  attended  the  labors  of  her 
antagonists.  It  looks,  says  Mr.  Marshall, 
as  if  Almighty  God,  in  His  wise  provi- 
dence, meant  to  take  all  controversy 
between  the  Church  and  the  sects  entirely 
out  of  human  hands  into  His  ozvn,  and  to 
decide  the  matter  Himself  by  applying 
His  own  Supreme  test — "By  their  fi-uits 
you  shall  know  them." 

Here  are  accounts  from  Protestant 
sources  —  at  all  events,  non-Catholic 
sources : — 

China.  —  "The  number  of  conversions 
effected  by  Protestants,"  says  Mr.  Haus- 
mann,  who  dedicates  his  book  to  Mr. 
Guizot,  and  seems  to  profess  an  equal 
indifference  to  all  sorts  of  religion,  "is 
perfectly  insignificant  when  compared  with 
those  effected  by  Catholics." 

"  The  religion  of  Catholics,"  says  Baron 
Von  Haxthausen,  "extends  itself  more 
and  more  in  the  north  of  the  empire ;  and 
even  in  Pekin  itself  their  number  is  said 
to  exceed  forty  thousand." 

Mr.  Montgomery  Martin,  a  warm- 
hearted opponent  of  the  Catholic  religion, 
observes  —  "  Perhaps  there  are  not  more 
than  twenty  or  thirty  Christian  Chinese, 
while  Catholicism  numbers  its  tens  and 
hundreds  of  thousands." 

"  It  is  superfluous,"  writes  Mr.  Osmund 
Tiffany,  with  reference  to  his  Protestant 
companions,  "to  say  aught  of  nxissionary 


96 


INDIFFERENTIi^M. 


labors,  simply  because  these  have  little  or 
no  importance." 

"  Great  progress  has  been  silently  made," 
says  Sir  Oscar  Oliphant,  in  1857  (though  he 
does  not  so  much  as  allude  to  the  Protestant 
attempts),  "  and  continues  to  be  made." 

"  There  is  something  inexplicable,"  says 
the  Rev.  Howard  Malcolm,  **  in  the  steril- 
ity of  the  Protestant  missions ;  for  the 
Catholic  missionaries,  with  very  limited 
resources,  have  made  a  great  many  prose- 
lytes, their  worship  has  become  popular,  and 
everywhere  excites  the  attention  of  the 
public." 

"  Little  has  been  done,"  says  another, 
"  by  missionaries  in  China  except  printing 
books." 

"The  Protestants,"  observes  Mr.  Leitch 
Ritchie,  "  have  as  yet  confined  their  efforts 
to  the  distribution  of  books  along  the  sea- 
coast  ;  the  result  not  being  in  the  mean- 
time of  any  obvious  importance." 

"  We  have  no  proof,"  adds  a  candid 
American  missionary,  "  that  the  thousands 
of  books  thrown  among  the  people  have 
converted  a  single  individual." 

"  The  activity  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
Romish  Church  in  China,"  says  Sir  John 
Davis,  "has  no  rival  as  to  numbers  or 
enterprise." 

"  For  many  a  long,  toilsome  year,"  says 
the  Secretary  of  a  London  Missionary 
Society,  in  1855,  "has  the  Christian 
missionary  been  laboring  for  this  people, 
.  .  .  unblessed  with  the  knowledge  of 
any  successful  issues  of  his  labor" 
(Marshall,  Christian  Missions,  vol.  i.,  chap. 
U.,  pp.  286-8). 


Mr.  Marshall,  alluding  to  the  praisel 
given  by  Protestant  testimony  to  the  zeal] 
of  Catholic  missions,  says :  "  Dur 
half  a  century  Protestant  writers,  filled] 
with  the  same  involuntary  admiration] 
which  the  pagans  had  often  manifested] 
with  greater  energy,  have  not  ceased 
celebrate  the  courage,  devotion,  anc 
charity  of  the  Catholic  missionaries  in] 
China.  From  Ricci  to  the  latest  martyr 
who  gained  his  crown  only  yesterday,  theyj 
have  recognized,  without  understanding,] 
the  same  tokens  of  a  supernatural  calling.) 
Even  Morrison  was  constantly  c  >mpariugi 
them  with  himself,  though  apparently! 
without  deriving  instruction  from  the! 
contrast." 

Speaking  of  the  Catholic  missionatyJ 
Morrison  says  :  "  He  is  willing  to  sacrifice! 
himself  :  he  offers  himself  up  to  God." 

"  They  will  be  equalled  by  few  andj 
rarely  excelled  by  any/'  is  the  joint  con- 
fession of  Mr,  Milne  and  Mr.  MedhurstJ 
"  for  they  spared  not  their  lives  untol 
death,  but  overcame  by  the  blood  of  the| 
Lamb." 

"  That  they  were  holy  and  devoted| 
men,"  says  Mr,  Malcolm,  "  is  proved  by| 
their  pure   lives  and  serene  martyrdom. 

"  They    appear   to   me,"   observes   Mr.] 
Power,  "  to  surpass  any  men  I   ever  met 
with,  they  were  so  forgetful  of  self,  so  full] 
of  pity  and  compassion  for  others." 

"  Their  self-denying  hard  labor  is  truly| 
wonderful,"  says  Mr.  D'Ewes. 

"  It  is  a  pity  that  all  missionaries  are| 
not  equally  self-sacrificing,"  adds  Mr; 
Scarth. 


UNIVERSALITY  OR   CATHOLICITY. 


97 


*  We  cannot  refuse  them  our  respect," 
say  Colonel  Mountain. 

"  They  regard  neither  difficulties  nor 
discouragemenls,"  writes  Mr.  Sirr. 

"  I  cannot  refrain,"  exclaims  Mr, 
Robertson,  "from  admiring  the  heroism, 
the  devotedness,  and  superiority  of  the 
Catholic  missionaries." 

"On  the  other  hand,"  continues  Mr, 
Marshall,  "the  same  impartial  witnesses 
who  had  seen  them  at  their  work,  speak 
only  with  sorrow  and  disgust  of  the 
Protestant  missionaries  in  China,  in  spite 
of  active  sympathy  with  their  religious 
opinions.^  Morrison,  they  tell  us,  never 
ventured  out  of  his  house,  preached  only 
with  the  doors  securely  locked,  gave 
books  with  such  precaution  that  it  could 
not  be  traced  to  him,  and  only  ventured 
on  operations  which  were  not  of  a  dazzling 
or  heroic  order.  Milne  found  preaching 
the  Gospel  in  China  difficult  and  ran 
away.  Gulzlaff  made  his  fortune,  and 
then  ceased  to  call  himself  a  missionary. 
Medhurst  could  only  repeat  :  '  Why  are 
we  not  successful  in  conversions  ? ' 
Tomlin  abandoned  the  work  to  the  Pope, 
Mahomet,  and  Brahm ..  Smith  was 
content  to  revile  the  men  whom  he  dared 
not  imitate,  to  fling  Bibles  on  dry  banks, 
and  to  provoke  the  scornful  rebukes  of  his 
own  flock.  The  rest  listened  to  far-off 
tidings  of  what  was  happening  in  the 
interior  ;  or  drank  wine  and  played  cards 

^  I  am  aware  that  some  unselfish    and  generous-hearted 

clergyman   of    non-Catholic  denominations   have  gone  on   a 

mission  of  zeal  to  foreign  lands  to  try  to  convert  the  heathen. 

The    testimonies,   however,    which   I  have  cited,  and  cited 

^entirely  from  non-Catholic  sources,  refer  to  the  great 

ulk  uf  sectarian  missionaries. 


on  Sunday  ;  or  refused  to  visit  the  sick  in 
the  hospitals  ;  or  accepted  a  skulking  and 
precarious  sojourn  in  obscurity  and 
disguise." 

Such  is  the  Protestant  account  of  them. 

"  They  surround  themselves  with  com- 
forts," says  Mr.  Power,  "  squabble  for  the 
best  house,  higgle  for  wares,  and  provoke 
contempt  by  a  lazy  life." 

"  We  are  grieved  to  the  heart's  core," 
writes  Mr.  Sirr,  "  to  see  so  many  of  the 
Protestant  missionaries  occupy  their  time 
in  secular  pursuits,  trading  and  traffick- 
ing." 

Mr.  Marshall  continues  :  "The  converts, 
as  we  have  seen,  of  whom  a  million 
belong  to  the  church,  and  five,  by  a  san- 
guine estimate,  to  the  sects,  display  the 
same  difference  of  character  as  their 
teachers.  What  the  Catholic  Chinese 
were,  from  the  i6th  to  the  19th  century, 
we  know ;  wliat  they  have  been  since 
1805,  hostile  witnesses  have  told  us.  In 
spite  of  torments,  never  exceeded  in  dura- 
tion and  intensity,  more  than  half  a  mil- 
lion have  been  added  to  the  church  since 
Timkowski  visited  Pekin  and  found  that 
many  thousand  persons  had  embraced 
Christianity,  even  among  the  members  of 
the  Imperial  family ;  and  that  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Criminal  Tribunal  in  that  city 
was  obliged  to  relax  his  severity,  because 
nearly  all  his  relations  and  servants  were 
Christians.  And  so  exactly  have  these 
Chinese  neophytes,  in  every  province  of 
the  empire,  resembled  the  primitive 
disciples,  that  even  the  Mandarins  have 
been   forced   to   confess  from  their  judg- 


93 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


ment-seats,  in  presence  of  so  much  virtue 
and  heroism  :  '  Truly,  this  Christian  reli- 
gion is  a  good  religion.'  " 

Mr.  Marshall  proceeds :  "  The  rare 
Protestant  converts,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  scum  of  a  Chinese  seaport,  dishonest 
pensioners  of  an  immoral  bounty,  who  at 
one  time  run  off  with  the  communion 
plate,  at  another  with  cases  of  type  or 
whatever  else  they  can  lay  their  hands 
upon,  have  been  everywhere  of  such  a 
class,  that,  in  the  words  of  a  candid  wit- 
ness, anxiety  to  obtain  them  has  been 
converted  into  anxiety  about  those  who 
were  obtained.  And  even  the  teachers 
and  catechists  employed  by  English  or 
American  missionaries,  brutalized  by 
opium,  and  quite  as  willing,  as  Dr.  Bern- 
castle  says,  to  teach  Buddhism  as 
Anglicanism  or  Methodism,  for  the  same 
wages,  only  accept  Protestant  baptism  as 
a  condition  of  their  employment,  and 
appreciate  it  so  warmly  that  their  whole 
care  thenceforth  is  to  prevent  others  from 
sharing  the  baptism  with  them,  lest  they 
should  share  the  wages  also  "  ( Marshall, 
Christian  Missions,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  409-14). 

Let  the  impartial  Christian  look  these 
facts  in  the  face  :  let  him  view  them  in  the 
light  of  faith  :  let  him  ponder  on  them 
with  unbiassed  mind,  and  he  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  deciding  which  class  of  mis- 
sionaries has  the  stronger  claim  to  be 
considered  the  apostles  of  the  Church, 
which  was  destined  in  the  designs  of  the 
Most  High  to  be  the  Teacher  of  the 
nations.  If  he  looks  at  the  Catholic  mis- 
sionary and    the   sectarian   missionary   in 


the  field  of  labor,  if  he  observes  the  char- 
acter of  their  zeal,  their  daily  life,  their 
domestic  relations,  their  method  of  work, 
their  surroundings,  the  difference  of  their 
condition  as  to  human  help  and  national 
patronage,  their  different  attitude  in  the 
face  of  danger ;  if  he  will  only  weigh  all 
this  seriously,  then,  quite  independently  of 
the  relative  results  of  their  labors  alluded 
to  above,  he  will  find  it  easy  to  answer  to 
himself  the  following  questions  :  — 

Which  church  is  making  those  efforts  to 
convert  the  heathen,  which  an  unprejudiced 
conscience  will  say  look  most  like  the  efforts 
that  ought  to  be  made  by  a  church  in  which 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world  is  ever  dwelling  ? 

Whose  work  in  spreading  the  faith  has 
most  appearance  of  the  impress  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  upon  it .? 

Which  church  can,  with  most  show  of 
reason,  claim  to  be  the  one  which  is  still 
fulfilling  the  great  commission  —  "Teach 
all  nations "  }  Is  it  the  one  which,  not 
merely  throughout  all  the  past,  but  even 
in  the  present  generation,  can  count  num- 
bers of  heroic  men  who  have  shed  their 
blood  and  given  away  their  life  in  their 
glorious  efforts  to  evangelize  the  pagan 
world .''  Or,  is  it  one  which  neither  at 
the  present  time  nor  at  any  time  in  a 
history  of  three  hundred  years  can  hardly 
point  to  an  individual  who  died  the  mar- 
tyr's death  or  risked  life  in  the  most 
distant  way,  in  proof  of  the  earnestness  of 
a  desire  to  bring  the  blessings  of  Chris^ 
tianity  to  the  home  of  the  idolater .? 

Which  of  the  two  missionaries  is  the 
more  likely  to  win  to  Christ  the  idolaters 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


99 


©f  China  or  the  Indians  of  America  ?  Is 
it  the  man  who,  at  the  expense  of  all 
earthly  comforts,  at  the  risk  of  health,  and 
even  of  life,  searches  them  out  in  their 
native  forests  and  mountains,  who  lives  on 
the  same  fare,  lodges  in  their  cabins, 
observes  their  manners  and  customs,  who 
trains  them  in  the  habits  of  industry, 
cleanliness,  self-respect,  who  instructs  and 
preaches  to  them,  in  their  remotest  wil- 
dernesses, who  prays  with  them,  sympa 
thizes  with  them,  shares  their  joys  and 
sorrows,  uses  every  available  means  to 
humanize,  civilize,  and  Christianize  them  ? 
Or  is  it  the  man  who  seldom,  if  ever,  goes 
beyond  the  walls  of  the  city  where  waves 
the  flag  of  the  nation  whose  national 
Church  he  represents,  and  who,  if  he  does 
make  an  advance  into  some  outlying  dis- 
trict, will  not  move  an  inch  except  as  far 
as  there  are  guns  and  bayonets  to  protect 
him  ? 

Which  of  the  two  missionaries  reflects 
more  perfectly  the  apostle  of  Christ  ?  Is 
it  the  missionary  who,  having  vowed  per- 
petual chastity,  free  from  all  domestic  ties, 
untrammelled  by  earthly  obligations  of  any 
kind,  detached  from  all  the  goods  of  life, 
leaving  behind  him  the  friends  nearest  and 
dearest  to  his  heart,  sets  out  gaily  and  joy- 
fully to  bear  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen  ?  Or  is  it  the  married  missionary 
whose  slow  movements  are  made  slower 
still  by  the  encumbrance  of  a  wife  and  fam- 
ily ?  Is  it  likely  that  the  man  who  is  thus 
hampered  by  matrimonial  and  family  ties 
will  have  any  inclination  to  risk  his  life  in 
propagating  the  Gospel,  while  he  shrinks 


from  making  his  wife  a  widow  and  his  chil- 
dren orphans  ?  Will  he  care  to  leave  his 
comfortable  home  in  the  large  city  and  to 
spend  months  and  years  catechizing  and 
instructing  the  heathens  of  the  interior  in 
their  remote  and  savage  solitudes  ?  No. 
Such  sacrifices  need  not  be  expected.  His 
desire  to  multiply  the  members  of  Christ's 
fold,  and  to  bring  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
to  the  savage  tribes  of  heathendom,  is  sure 
to  yield  to  his  attachment  to  domestic  hap- 
piness, to  wife,  to  children,  aid  above  all, 
to  anxiety  for  the  safety  of  his  own  life. 

The  efforts  of  missionaries  of  this  kind 
are  not  likely  to  prove  successful  in 
extending  the  sway  of  the  Gospel  in  those 
regions  which  are  outside  the  pale  of 
Christianity.  Heathen  populations  will 
never  be  converted  by  the  mere  distribu- 
tion of  Bibles  and  tracts.  The  thing  has 
been  tried,  and  tried  on  a  gigantic  scale,  for 
over  seventy  years,  and  has  resulted  not 
merely  in  hopeless  failure,  but  in  having 
the  Scriptures  profaned  wherever  this  indis- 
criminate scattering  has  taken  place.  It  is 
well  known  that  those  huge  piles  of  Bibles 
which  are  exported  from  England  and 
America  scarcely  ever  get  beyond  the  city 
to  whose  harbor  they  are  shipped.  It  is 
well  known,  too,  that  in  the  city  itself 
which  has  the  privilege  of  receiving  such 
cargo,  the  profane  uses  to  which  they  are 
applied  by  the  pagans,  for  whose  conver- 
sion they  were  intended,  have  shocked  the 
men  who  had  to  perform  the  ungrateful 
task  of  superintending  their  distribution. 
Wadding  for  guns,  parcel-paper  for  tea, 
sugar,  and  other  groceries,  are  some  of  the 


to 


IC» 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


many  disrespectful  purposes  to  which 
these  publications  are  devoted  by  the  very 
people  for  whose  enlightenment  they  were 
translated,  printed,  exported,  and  scattered 
through  the  large  towns  and  along  the  sea- 
coast.  Besides,  the  great  bulk  of  the  popu- 
lation for  which  they  are  meant  never  see 
them.  The  savages  in  the  mountains  and 
forests,  and  in  the  villages  far  away  in  the 
interior,  are  not  aware  of  the  liberal  dis- 
tribution which  takes  place  in  the  large 
cities  and  along  the  seaboard.  And  even 
if  they  were  aware  of  it,  it  is  not  probable 
they  would  travel  so  far  to  get  a  book  of 
which  they  have  never  heard  a  word  and 
cannot  know  the  value.  And  the  zeal  of 
those  whose  ostensible  duty  it  is  to 
enlighten  the  savage  hordes  never  leads 
them  to  encounter  danger  by  travelling  a 
thousand  miles  into  the  remote  districts, 
for  the  purpose  of  distributing  those  copies 
of  the  Written  Word  personally. 

More  than  this,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  persons  who  are  fortunate  enough  to 
receive  a  copy  of  the  Bible  cannot  read, 
and  of  those  who  can  read,  not  one  in  a 
thousand  can  understand  the  meaning. 
There  is  no  preaching  accompaniment  to 
supply  explanation.  The  preaching  is 
often  carried  on  in  the  presence  of  a  few 
individuals,  and  with  locked  doors.  The 
tracts,  which  are  meant  to  be  a  key  to  the 
Inspired  Word,  are  applied  to  ignominious 
purposes  similar  to  those  to  which  the 
Bible  itself  is  devoted.  But  even  if  they 
were  applied  to  the  uses  for  which  they  are 
designed  by  their  distributors,  they  would 
not  produce  the  desired  effect,   since   in 


most   cases   they  are   more  obscure  than 
the  thing  they  propose  to  elucidate. 

Now,  if  the  faith  is  to  come  by  hearing, 
pagan  populations  will  never  have  it 
through  teaching  of  this  kind.  When 
Bibles  and  tracts  are  thrown  upon  them  in 
showers,  and  left  to  be  picked  up  or  to 
remain  on  the  ground  at  random,  what 
can  be  expected  }  Is  the  speedy  conver- 
sion of  multitudes  of  savages  likely  to  be 
the  result }  Can  we  picture  to  ourselves 
Peter,  John,  Paul,  and  the  other  apostles, 
striving  to  convert  the  Gentiles  by  any 
such  process .'  We  do  not  read  that  the 
apostles  distributed  any  writings  at  all. 
Ana  if  these  first  heralds  of  the  faith 
appeared  on  earth  now,  could  we  imagine 
them  living  a  life  of  ease  and  indolence  in 
a  comfortable,  well-furnished  residence  in 
the  large  city,  and  contenting  themselves 
with  sowing  broadcast  copies  of  the 
Scriptures  and  explanatory  tracts,  and 
with  doing  this  only  in  places  where  they 
could  afford  to  do  it  without  any  risk  of 
health  or  of  life  "i 

Had  they  or  their  successors  followed 
such  a  method,  no  pagan  nation  would 
ever  have  been  converted  to  the  faith. 
And,  what  is  more,  had  Christ  meant  this 
to  be  the  way  in  which  heathen  tribes 
were  to  be  won  to  His  Gospel,  He  surely 
would  have  arranged  in  His  wise  provi- 
dence that  the  art  of  printing  should  be 
discovered  thirteen  hundred  years  earlier ; 
or,  at  all  events,  that  at  least  half  of  those 
who  became  members  of  His  Church 
should  have  hardly  any  occupation 
throughout  life  except  that  of  transcribing 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


lOI 


Bibles  And  tracts  for  the  conversion  of 
these  who  were  still  in  the  darkness  of 
idolatry. 

Hence,  I  repeat,  that  if  there  were 
nothing  else  to  prove  that  the  sects  have 
nothing  in  common,  either  singly,  or  col- 
lectively, with  the  Universal  Church  of 
Christ,  their  method  of  propagating  the 
Gospel  among  the  heathen  and  their  total 
failure  everywhere  would  be  abundantly 
sufficient.  To  be  convinced  that  such  a 
method  was  inadequate  to  the  end  to  be 
attained,  it  was  not  necessary  to  know  the 
consequent  universal  failure.  Any  ob- 
server, of  even  ordinary  penetration, 
would  have  pronounced  such  failure  a 
foregone  conclusion.  The  effort,  however, 
which  they  have  made  —  and  made  on 
such  a  gigantic  scale,  and  under  such  favor- 
able circumstances,  with  millions  of  money 
at  their  command,  and  all  the  resources  of 
human  influence,  and  all  the  help  great 
civil  power  could  give  —  has  only  served 
to  bring  out  into  stronger  relief  the  truth 
that  the  mere  "  wide  "  circulation  of  Bibles 
and  tracts  can  never  bring  the  heathen 
population  under  the  sway  of  Christianity. 

But  apart  from  this,  even  if  the  sects 
had  found  the  pagans  cheerfully  willing  to 
accept  their  Bibles  and  to  accept  their 
creed,  and  had  converted  them  and 
received  them  into  their  respective  folds, 
they  would  not  have  advanced  one  iota 
towards  establishing  a  claim  to  the  mark 
of  universality.  For,  in  such  a  supposition, 
they  would  have  formed  them,  not  into  one 
universal,  undivided  church,  but  into  as 
many  churches  as  equalled  the  number  of 


opposite  religions  which  they  themselves 
represented, —  and  that  number  was 
legion. 

Sectarian  missionaries  may  preach  to 
the  heathen,  and  may  distribute  Bibles  in 
millions  to  them  "  every  year,"  to  the  day 
of  doom,  and  withal,  their  divided  creed 
can  never  possibly  become  Universal, — > 
for  the  simple  reason  that  //  is  a  divided 
creed.  A  Church  which  has  no  bond  of 
unity  can  never  multiply  in  its  original 
form,  and  therefore  can  never  have  the 
note  of  universality.  A  thing  which  has 
no  permanent  identity  can  never  possess 
the  quality  of  universal  assimilation. 

SECTION   IV. 

I  have  said  that  never  did  the  claim  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  to  be  the  sole  author 
ized  evangelist  of  the  nations,  appear  in 
clearer  light  than  in  this  century,  which 
has  seen  the  contrast  in  heathen  lands 
between  her  missions  and  those  given  by 
her  rivals.  The  thousands,  and  tens  of  thou 
ands,  of  conversions  which  she  has  wrought 
in  China,  in  North  and  South  America, 
in  Africa,  and  elsewhere,  have  proclaimed 
her  to  -be  the  Mother  of  unfailing  fruit- 
fulness  ;  while  the  sects  have  been  stricken  , 
everywhere  with  perpetual  sterility. 

But  the  title  of  "  Catholic,"  or  "  Church 
of  the  World,"  has  been  vindicated  nearer 
home,  and  not  long  ago.  It  has  been  the 
privilege  of  this  generation  to  witness  the 
most  striking  manifestation  of  her  univer- 
sality that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Noth- 
ing else  could  have  shown  so  clearly  that 


lOl 


JNDIFFERENTISM. 


only  the  limits  of  the  world  can  bound  her 
zeal ;  that  nothing  but  the  confines  of  the 
earth  can  limit  her  power  of  expansion ; 
that  she  alone  has  the  right  to  be  styled 
the  Church  of  the  Universe.  I  allude  to 
the  late  CEcumenical  Council  of  the  Vat- 
ican. It  would  look  as  if  God,  in  His  wise 
Providence,  had  reserved  this  world-wide 
vindication  of  her  claim  for  this  particular 
epoch,  when  the  sects  have  affected  to 
despoil  her  of  it,  or  to  share  it  with  her. 
We  shall  not  undertake  to  describe  this 
magnificent  scene  ourselves ;  we  shall 
leave  the  description  of  it  to  those  outside 
the  fold,  who  cannot  help  expressing 
their  involuntary  admiration  of  it. 

The  hall  of  assemblage,  the  number  of 
prelates,  the  mitred  heads,  the  distant 
climes  from  which  many  of  them  came, 
the  different  tongues  they  spoke,  the 
antiquity  of  the  heritage  they  represented, 
the  power  of  the  unbroken  unity  that  had 
brought  them  together,  their  submissive 
attitude  in  the  presence  of  the  Common 
Father — the  Supreme  Pontiff,  their  unani- 
mous submission  to  his  decree ;  all  this 
was  sketched  in  eloquent  and  graphic 
language  by  the  correspondents  of  several 
of  the  great  daily  papers  of  London  who 
were  in  Rome  at  the  time. 

The  Standard^  alluding  to  it,  says : 
"  In  historic  importance,  in  traditional  dig- 
nity, in  the  splendor  of  associations  that 
gather  round  its  name,  no  assembly  in  the 
world,  past  or  present,  can  pretend  to  com- 
pare with  the  great  parliament  of  the  Latin 
Church.  The  unbroken  continuity  of  the 
history  of  that  Church,  its  undeniable  and 


uninterrupted  descent  from  the  Church 
founded  by  the  apostles,  renders  this  Coun- 
cil ..  .  the  immediate  successor  and 
representative,  in  a  sense  in  which  no  other 
council  can  rival  its  claims,  of  the  Council 
of  Nicea,  if  not  of  the  Council  of  Jerusalem. 
Nor  is  its  actual  power  and  consequence 
unworthy  of  its  traditional  heritage.  It  is 
the  representative  assembly,  the  omnipo- 
tent legislature,  of  a  compact,  coherent 
body  of  Christians,  whose  number  ap 
proaches  more  nearly  to  two  than  to  one 
hundred  millions."  After  referring  to  the 
attempts  made  to  hinder  the  Council,  the 
correspondent  adds  :  "  Nevertheless,  all 
has  been  in  vain,  and  the  dispassionate 
observer  is  compelled  to  confess  that  the 
spectacle  of  so  many  hundreds  of  bishops, 
coming  from  the  farthest  quarters  of  the 
globe  at  the  beck  of  an  old  man,  powerless 
in  all  but  spiritual  thunderbolts,  is  one 
that,  occurring  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  especially  at  this  period  of  it,  is  cal- 
culated to  strike  the  believing  with  pious 
admiration,  and  even  the  incredulous,  like 
ourselves,  with  irrepressible  astonishment." 
The  Daily  News  says :  "  It  must  be 
admitted  that,  weak  as  is  the  temporal 
power  of  the  Pope,  no  other  prince  could 
have  assembled  such  a  body  as  met  to-day 
in  the  council  hall  of  St.  Peter,  and  no 
other  could  have  provided  them  with  such 
a  magnificent  temple.  From  the  remotest 
quarters  of  the  globe,  from  a  land  that 
was  just  heard  of  when  the  Council  of 
Trent  sat,  from  a  land  that  was  then 
wholly  unknown,  from  Palestine  and  Syria, 
the   cradles   of  Christianity,  from   Persia, 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


103 


from  China,  from  India,  from  Africa,  from 
the  Western  Isles,  as  well  as  from  the 
countries  washed  by  the  Mediterranean, 
men  of  various  tongues,  of  diverse  origin, 
men  of  great  learning  and  great  age,  have 
come  together  to  this  famous  city  in  obe- 
dience, voluntary  and  spiritual  obedience, 
to  the  pastor  who  claims  to  be  the  succes- 
sor of  St.  Peter,  and  the  vicegerent  of 
God  upon  earth." 

Such   is   the   testimony  even  of   those 
who  were  not  of  her  fold.     Well,  indeed, 
might  it  be  said  that  that  scene  was  one 
which  was  calculated  to  inspire  the  believ- 
ing with  "pious  admiration, 'and  even  the 
incredulous    with    irrepressible    astonish- 
ment."    For  what  other  Christian  denomi- 
nation in  the  world   could   reveal   to   the 
eyes  of  man  a  representation  of  universal- 
ity, or  rather  a  representation  of  universal 
unity,  to  compare  with  that  which  forced 
these  words  of  glowing  eulogium  from  the 
pen   of    hostile   writers.'      The   extension 
and  duration  of  even  the  oldest  and  most 
widely-spread  of  other  Churches  dwindle 
into  absolute   insignificance  when  viewed 
side  by  side  with  the  prestige,  the  venera- 
ble antiquity,  universal  diffusion,  limitless 
dominion,  of   the  Church  of    Rome.     No 
sectarian  Church  within  the  British  Isles  or 
beyond  them  can  lay  any  claim  to  uniform 
universality  in  the  face  of  this  overpower- 
ing, unanswerable  fact — a  fact  which  no 
amount  of   sophistry  can  explain  away  — 
the   fact   of   a   world-wide   diffusion   of  a 
Church,   which    is   the  same    everywhere 
from  sunrise  to  sunset,  and  whose  identity 
with  the  Church  of  the  apostles  is  clearly 


traceable  through  all  the  ctnturies  that 
have  intervened  between  their  day  and  our 
own.  This  fact  alone,  in  the  judgment  of 
all  calm,  impartial,  reasonable,  sincere 
inquirers,  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  show 
that  in  her  alone  has  been  realized  that 
undivided  luminous  universality  which 
must  ever  distinguish  the  true  Church  of 
Christ  —  a  universality  which  does  not 
require  that  she  should  be  found  in  every 
part  of  the  globe  simultaneously,  but 
which  does  require  that  in  every  spot 
where  she  is  found  she  should  be  one  and 
the  same. 

I  will  close  my  remarks  on  this  note  of 
her  truth  by  a  brief  allusion  to  her  superi- 
ority of  numbers,  and  to  her  perpetual, 
exclusive,  inalienable  possession  of  the 
title  Catholic.  The  investigation  of  both 
points  can  only  tend  to  give  additional 
strength  to  her  claims,  and  to  mark  her  out 
as  the  one  great  religious  body  in  the 
world  which  is  beyond  the  reach  of 
rivalry. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Catholic  Church, 
in  point  of  numbers,  is  far  ahead,  not 
merely  of  the  most  numerous  of  all  the 
sectarian  Churches  throughout  the  world, 
but  of  all  the  sectarian  Churches  through' 
out  the  world  collectively.  All  other 
Churches  are  confined  within  their  own 
state  and  tributaries.  The  Church  of  Eng- 
land, which  is  the  largest  and  the  most 
influential  of  them  all,  both  in  a  social  and 
political  point  of  view,  is  merely  co-exten- 
sive with  the  British  Empire,  and  contrives 
to  subsist  only  under  the  protection  of  the 
British  flag.     The  Catholic  Church,  on  the 


104 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


Other  hand,  is  the  Church  of  Europe,  of 
Asia,  of  Africa,  of  America,  of  Australia, 
of  the  world.  Lord  Macaulay,  in  his  essay 
on  Ranke's  History  of  the  Popes,  states 
that  all  Christian  denominations  outside 
the  Catholic  Church  hardly  reach  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  millions.  According  to 
some  writers,  all  the  Protestant  denomina- 
tions, even  taken  collectively,  are  estimated 
at  sixty-five  millions,  or  less  than  one  fifth 
of  those  who  bear  the  Christian  name. 
Considered  as  separate  communions,  they 
are  merely  a  handful.  The  members  of 
the  Greek  Schismatical  Churches  are  sup- 
posed to  number  a  little  over  seventy  mil- 
lions. 

According  to  others,  who  are  anxious  to 
make  their  numbers  look  as  large  as  possi- 
ble, the  aggregate  of  those  professing  non- 
Catholic  Christian  creeds,  including  the 
Oriental  Churches,  Protestantism,  and  all 
the  other  sectarianisms,  reaches  a  little 
beyond  a  hundred  and  thirty-one  millions  ; 
but  even  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  —  those  who  are  most  inter- 
ested in  depreciating  her  numbers  and  in 
swelling  their  own — freely  admit  that  her 
members  outnumber  by  many  millions  the 
members  of  all  other  Christian  denomina- 
tions put  together.  The  Tablet,  in  its 
issue  of  October  17,  1885,  gives  the  latest 
estimate  of  her  numbers  in  the  following 
words :  "  The  question  of  the  number  of 
Catholics  throughout  the  world  has  been 
frequently  discussed  both  in  these  columns 
and  elsewhere.  We  now  have  it  on  the 
authority  of  the  Osservatore  Romano,  that 
it  results  from  the  estimates  made  by  the 


various  missionaries  that  the  total  number 
of  the  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  is 
actually  between  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  and  three  hundred  millions." 

But,  as  I  have  said  already,  on  this 
majority  of  numbers  I  do  not  wish  to 
insist.  We  have  enough  and  more  than 
enough  to  vindicate  for  her  the  mark  of 
exclusive  universality  without  it,  as  I  have 
shown  above. 

Then,  she  alone  possesses  the  title 
"  Catholic,"  or  "  Universal  "  ;  and  posses- 
sion is  nine-tenths  of  the  law.  How  came 
she  to  have  sole  possession  of  that  title,  if 
any  other  Church  deserved  it  better,  if  any 
other  deserved  it  equally  well,  if  any  other 
deserved  it  at  all  ?  That  she  has  verified 
the  title  —  that  is,  that  she  has  been  the 
teacher  of  the  nations  throughout  all  time, 
since  the  days  of  the  apostles  —  we  have  «9 
already  shown;  that  she  alone  has  pos-  ^ 
sessed  the  title  itself  from  the  beginning 
is  evident  from  history. 

I  will  only  give  two  or  three  citations  ^|j 
from   the  early    Fathers.     Such   citatioryi 
can  be  easily  found  in  abundance ;  but  to  ,| 
introduce  them  at  any  length  would  swell 
this  book  beyond  the  contemplated  limits. 

In  the  first  century,  it  is  said  of  St. 
Polycarp,  that  he  used  constantly  to  offer 
up  prayers  for  the  members  "  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  diffused  throughout  the  world" 
(Euseb.,  Hist,  ec,  lib.  iv.,  c.  xv). 

Three  centuries  later  St.  Cyril,  one  of 
the  greatest  Doctors  of  the  Greek  Church, 
and  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  instructed  the 
faithful  thus :  "  Should  you  come  into  a 
city,  do  not  inquire  merely  for  the  house 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


J  05 


of  God,  for  so  heretics  call  their  places  of 
meeting;  nor  yet  ask  merely  for  the 
church  ;  but  say,  the  Catholic  church  —  for 
this  is  the  proper  name  "  (Catech.^  xviii., 
n.  26,  p.  729). 

In  the  same  century,  St.  Pacianus,  one 
of  the  lights  of  the  Latin  Church,  speaks 
in  exactly  the  same  tone  :  "  In  the  time  of 
the  apostles,  you  will  say,  no  one  was  called 
Catholic.  Be  it  so ;  but  when  heresies 
afterwards  began,  and  under  different 
names,  attempts  were  made  to  disfigure 
and  divide  our  holy  religion,  did  not  the 
apostolic  people  require  a  name,  whereby  to 
mark  their  unity,  a  proper  appellation  to 
distinguish  their  head  ?  Accidentally  enter- 
ing a  populous  city,  where  are  Marcionites, 
(  Novatians,  and  others  who  call  themselves 
Christians,  how  shall  I  discover  where  my 
own  people  meet,  unless  they  be  called 
Catholics  ?  I  may  not  know  the  origin  of 
the  name  ;  but  what  has  not  failed  through 
so  long  a  time  came  not  surely  from  any 
individual  man.  It  has  nothing  to  say  to 
Marcion,  nor  Appelles,  nor  Montanus. 
No  heretic  is  its  author.  Is  the  authority 
of  apostolic  men,  of  the  blessed  Cyprian, 
of  so  many  aged  bishops,  so  many  martyrs 
and  confessors,  of  little  weight?  Were 
not  they  of  sufficient  consequence  to 
establish  an  appellation  which  they  always 
used.  Be  not  angry,  my  brother :  Chris- 
tian is  my  name,  Catholic  is  my  surname  " 
(Ep.  I,  ad- Sympronian  Bib.  PP.  Max.,  t. 
iv.,  p.  729). 

St.  Epiphanius,  a  writer  of  the  Greek 
Church,  relates  that,  at  Alexandria,  those 
schismatics    who     adhered     to     Meletius 


? 


styled  their  Church  "  the  Church  of  the 
Martyrs,"  while  the  rest  retained  for  theirs 
the  name  of  "  the  Catholic  Church " 
{H(sres.,  torn,  i.,  p.  719). 

But  no  one  has  spoken  more  clearly  01 
more  emphatically  on  the  point  than  St. 
Augustine.  Here  are  his  words  :  "  It  is 
our  duty,"  he  says,  "  to  hold  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  the  communion  of  that 
Church  which  is  called  Catholic,  and  is  so 
called,  not  by  us  only,  but  by  all  its  adver- 
saries. For  whether  they  be  so  disposed 
or  not,  in  conversing  with  others,  they 
must  use  the  word  Catholic,  or  they  will 
not  be  understood  "  {De  vera  Religione, 
c.  vii.,  t.  i.,  p.  752).  He  adds:  "Among 
the  many  considerations  that  bind  me  to 
the  Church  is  the  name  of  Catholic,  which, 
not  without  reason,  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  heresies,  this  Church  alone  lias  so 
retained,  that  although  all  heretics  wish  to 
acquire  the  name,  should  a  stranger  ask 
where  the  Catholics  assemble,  the  heretics 
will  not  dare  to  point  out  any  of  their  own 
places  of  meeting"  {Contra Ep.  Fundam, 
c.  iv.,  torn,  viii,  153). 

So  was  it  in  the  days  of  St.  Augustine  ; 
so  is  it  now.  The  test  which  was  used  in 
his  time,  and  which  had  been  used  for  long 
years  before  it,  holds  good  even  at  the 
present  day.  Go  through  the  streets  of 
London,  Liverpool,  Dublin,  Belfast,  Glas- 
gow, Edinburg  —  of  any  city  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Christendom  —  ask 
your  way  to  the  nearest  Catholic  church, 
and  he  whom  you  ask,  whether  he  be 
Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Protestant,  or 
even   the   most   advanced   "  Romanistic  " 


io6 


INDIFFERENTJSM. 


Ritualist,  will  never  think  of  directing  you 
to  one  of  his  own  conventicles,  however 
stately  and  magnificent  the  building  may 
be ;  he  will  direct  you  to  some  church 
which  is  known  to  be  in  communion  with 
the  See  of  Rome.  If  he  directs  you 
otherwise,  he  feels  that  he  is  going  against 
his  conscience,  and  that  he  is  leading  you 
astray. 

Every  effort  on  the  part  of  the  sects, 
both  in  the  past  and  in  the  present,  to 
wrest  this  title  from  the  Church  of  Rome, 
to  appropriate  it,  or  share  it  with  her, 
has  failed  ignominiously.  Those  Rit- 
ualists and  High-Churchmen  who  desig- 
nate themselves,  and  seek  to  be  called, 
Catholics,  often  draw  upon  themselves  the 
ridicule  of  other  members  of  the  Estab- 
lishment 

However,  what  I  have  said  of  superiority 
of  numbers,  I  say  also  with  regard  to  the 
possession  of  the  title  Catholic  ;  i.  e.,  I  will 
not  take  advantage  of  it.  I  do  not  desire 
to  insist  at  any  length  upon  it.  But  what 
I  do  wish  to  insist  upon  chiefly  and  em- 
phatically, above  all  and  beyond  all,  is 
this :  The  Church  of  Christ  exists  some- 
where on  earth.  Wherever  she  is  and 
whatever  she  is,  she  must  have  the  capacity 
of  universal  extension.  No  Church  which 
has  not  the  power  of  universal  extension 
can  be  the  Church  of  Christ.  No  Churdi 
can  ever  have  the  power  of  universal 
extension,  except  a  Church  which  has  a 
bond  of  unity  springing  from  a  necessary, 
unfailing  principle  of  unity.  And  no 
Church  on  earth  has,  or  claims  to  have, 
that   necessary,   unfailing  bond   of    unity 


except  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  There- 
fore she  alone  can  be  the  one  true  Church 
of  Christ. 

In  her  alone  we  find  fulfilled  these  words 
of  prophecy,  which,  in  the  belief  not  merely 
of  those  who  profess  her  creed,  but  in  the 
belief  of  almost  all  who  belong  to  any 
denomination  calling  itself  Christian,  point 
to  the  Kingdom  or  Church  of  Christ : 
"  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember,, 
and  shall  be  converted  to  the  Lord,  and  all 
the  kindred  of  the  Gentiles  shall  adore  in 
His  sight  ;  for  the  kingdom  is  the  Lord's, 
and  He  shall  have  dominion  over  the 
nations  "  {Psalm  xxi.  28).  "  Ask  of  Me, 
and  I  will  give  thee  the  Gentiles  for  thy 
inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  thy  possession  "  {Psalm  ii.).  "  Of 
the  increase  of  His  government  and  peace 
there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of 
David,  and  upon  His  kingdom,  to  order  it 
and  to  establish  it  with  judgment  and  with 
justice,  from  henceforth  even  and  for  ever  " 
(Protestant  Translation,  Isa.  ix.  7).  "  Upon 
thy  walls,  O  Jerusalem,  I  have  appointed 
watchmen  all  the  day  and  all  the  night ; 
they  shall  never  hold  their  peace.  You 
that  are  mindful  of  the  Lord,  hold  not 
your  peace"  {Isa.  Ixii.  6).  "Thy  gates 
shall  be  open  continually :  they  shall  not 
be  shut  day  nor  night,  that  the  strength  ol 
the  Gentiles  may  be  brought  unto  thee, 
and  their  kings  may  be  brought "  {Isa.  Ix. 
11).  "  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the 
going  down  thereof.  My  name  is  great 
among  the  Gentiles :  and  in  every  placel 
there  is  sacrifice,  and  there  is  offered  to 
My  name  a  clean  oblation ;  for  My  name 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


107 


is   great  among   the   Gentiles,   saith    the 
Lord  of  Hosts"  {Mai.  i.  11). 

Eliminate  the  Church  in  communion 
with  Rome  from  history  and  from  the 
world,  and  these  prophetic  utterances  never 
have  had,  and  never  can  have,  a  fulfilment 

SECTION  V. 

Of  course,  when  I  say  that  the  Chris- 
tianity of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
which  have  ever  professed  Christianity,  is 
traceable  to  the  first  apostles  and  their 
disciples,  or  to  the  See  of  Peter,  as  its 
source,  I  am  to  be  understood  as  speaking 
of  full  and  perfect  Christianity :  not  of 
mutilated  and  corrupted  Christianity. 

From  the  beginning  there  have  been 
corruptions  of  the  gospel.  As  there  were 
heretics  in  the  first  century,  so  there  have 
been  heretics  in  every  century  since.  And 
as  heresiarchs  had  a  certain  following  even 
in  the  days  of  the  first  apostles,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  heresiarchs  who  came 
later  should  have  a  certain  following  too. 
If  there  were  a  few  teachers  of  error  in 
the  early  Church,  while  her  numbers  were 
still  so  small,  how  can  we  wonder  there 
were  more  as  her  dominion  extended,  and 
as  her  members  multiplied  }  When  some 
went  out  of  her  and  remained  out  of  her, 
because  they  were  not  of  her,  even  in  her 
infancy,  when  she  was  still  confined  within 
comparatively  narrow  limits,  and  while  the 
first  heralds  of  her  faith  were  living  to 
guide,  and  guard,  and  defend  her,  and  to 
confirm  the  truth  of  her  teaching  by  their 
miracles,  we  are  not  to  be  astonished  that 


others  should  go  out  of  her  in  succeeding 
ages,  when  the  sound  of  her  voice  had 
gone  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  her 
children  had  become  countless  as  the  sands 
of  the  seashore. 

On  the  contrary,  we  should  rather  be 
astonished  if  such  had  not  been  the  case. 
For  had  no  schisms  and  heresies  arisen 
within  her,  as  time  went  on,  her  history 
would  have  been  entirely  different  from 
what  the  apostles  foretold  it  was  to  be. 
Those  apostles,  so  far  from  holding  out 
assurances  that  the  whole  people  of  every 
nation,  without  exception,  would  receive 
her  Gospel,  and  come  within,  and  remain 
within,  her  fold,  and  that  she  was  never 
to  have  any  enemies  or  any  rivals,  and 
that  her  course  throughout  was  to  be 
calm,  smooth,  prosperous,  and  free  from 
all  opposition,  predicted  things  far  differ- 
ent. They  predicted,  in  fact,  that  condi- 
tion of  things  which  has  been  realized 
throughout  her  whole  history.  "  I  know," 
says  St.  Paul,  "  that  after  my  departure 
ravenous  wolves  will  enter  in  among  you, 
not  sparing  the  flock.  And  of  your  own 
selves  will  arise  men  speaking  perverse 
things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them  " 
{Acts  XX.  29,  30).  And  describing  the 
character  of  heretics  of  distant  times,  he 
says :  "  Know  also  this,  that  in  the  last 
days  shall  come  dangerous  times  ;  men 
shall  be  lovers  of  themselves,  stubborn, 
puffed  up,  having  the  appearance  indeed 
of  godliness  " —  that  is,  of  genuine  faith  — 
"  but  denying  the  power  thereof.  .  .  . 
But  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  grow 
worse  and  worse,  erring  and  driving  into 


io3 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


error.  .  .  .  There  shall  be  a  time 
when  they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine  ; 
but  according  to  their  desires  they  will 
heap  to  themselves  teachers  having  itching 
ears  "  ( 2  Tim.  ii.  and  iii.).  To  the  same 
Timothy  he  writes :  "  Now  the  spirit 
manifestly  saith  that  in  the  last  times 
some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving 
heed  to  spirits  of  error  and  doctrines  of 
devils,  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  and 
having  their  consciences  seared  "  ( i  Tim. 
iv.  I,  2 ).  And  to  the  Corinthians  he 
writes :  "  For  there  must  be  also  here- 
sies, that  they  also,  who  are  approved, 
may  be  manifest  among  you  "  ( i  Cor.  ii. 
19). 

The  apostles  felt  that  the  aggressive, 
laborious,  unyielding  life  of  the  Church  in 
their  own  day  was  an  index  to  her  history 
to  the  end  of  time.  They  preached  the 
faith,  used  all  their  powers  to  spread  it. 
They  were  opposed  by  Simonians,  Cerin- 
thians,  Ebionites,  heretics  of  various 
kinds,  who  rose  up  around  them  on  all 
sides.  They  condemned  those  teachers 
of  error  in  their  separate  individual  warn- 
ings to  the  faithful.  They  called  a  council 
and  condemned  error  again  with  united 
voice.  They  strove  to  fix  the  eyes  of  the 
Church's  children  everywhere  on  these 
decrees  of  condemnation.  And  having 
done  this,  they  continued  to  preach  and 
to  work  in  spreading  the  faith  farther  and 
farther,  with  as  much  zeal  and  vigor  as  if 
nothing  had  been  done,  or  were  being 
done,  to  thwart  them  in  their  efforts.  In 
their  mind  this  state  of  things  indicated, 
symbolized  what  was   to  be  the   state  of 


things  in  the  Church  down  to  the  consum- 
mation.     They   knew  that  heresies  must 
come  ;  they  knew  also  that  those  heresies 
could    not     prevent     the     Church     from 
spreading ;    and    they    knew,     moreover,  I 
v«?hether   those   heresies  were   to   assume] 
large  proportions  or  small,  were  to  cover 
half  the  earth   or   to  be   confined  within 
some  corner  of  it ;  whether  they  were  to 
last  for  centuries  or  to  form,  break,  andJ 
disappear  like  a  bubble  —  that  all  this  wasi 
quite  accidental,  that  they  could  never  in 
any    case    be    an   argument   against   her 
Catholicity,   no   more    than    the   heresies 
which  appeared  in  their  own  day  were  an 
argument  against  it. 

Looking  at  things  from  this  apostolic 
standpoint,  we  see  clearly  the  truth  of  the 
following  statements : 

1.  The  fact  that  the  influence  of  the 
Novatian  heresy  in  the  third  century 
extended  from  Rome  to  Scythia,  to  Asia 
Minor,  to  Africa,  to  Spain,  proves  nothing 
against  the  Catholicity  of  the  Church. 

2.  The  fact  that  the  Donatists  in  the 
fourth  century  increased  so  rapidly  in 
numbers  and  importance  that  in  a  short 
time  they  had  got  possession  of  four  hun- 
dred Episcopal  Sees,  and  that  all  Africa 
for  a  period  seemed  to  groan  under  the 
weight  of  Donatism,  proves  nothing  against 
the  Catholicity  of  the  Church. 

3.  The  fact  that  the  followers  of  Arius 
converted  the  Gothic  race  to  Arian  Chris- 
tianity ;  that  they  succeeded  in  inocula- 
ting Maesogoths,  Visigoths,  Ostrogoths, 
Alani,  Suevi,  Vandals,  Burgundians,  with 
their  errors ;  that  they  succeeded,  too,  in 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


109 


spreading  those  errors  through  parts  of 
France,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy,  and 
that  those  errors  continued  to  be  pro- 
fessed by  numerous  disciples  in  some  of 
those  countries  for  nearly  a  hundred  years, 
and  in  others  for  nearly  two  hundred 
vears,  proves  nothing  against  the  Catho- 
licity of  the  Church. 

4.  The  fact  that  Nestorius,  in  the  fifth 
century,  went  out  of  the  Church,  and 
induced  many  others  to  go  out  of  her  and 
to  remain  out  of  her  ;  that  his  heresy  was 
embraced  and  supported  by  some  of  the 
oldest  churches  in  Christendom  ;  that  it 
secured  the  protection  of  Persia ;  that  it 
spread  from  Cyprus  to  China ;  that'  it  was 
taken  up  by  Indians,  Medes,  Huns,  Bac- 
trians ;  that  it  enlarged  its  dominion,  and 
increased  in  numbers  and  importance  till 
it  possessed  twenty-five  archbishoprics ; 
that  it  had  a  large  portion  of  Asia  all  to 
itself ;  that,  according  to  the  opinion  of 
some,  its  members,  united  to  those  of  the 
Monophysite  heresy,  at  one  time  outnum- 
bered the  whole  Catholic  Church,  both  in 
the  East  and  the  West ;  that  from  its 
principal  seat  in  Chaldea  it  sent  out  mis- 
sionaries who  worked  with  an  activity  and 
success  that  brought  not  merely  many 
illustrious  personages,  but  even  some 
nations  under  its  sway;  that  it  held  its 
ground  in  its  varying  forms  for  more  than 
eight  hundred  years,  and  that  during 
that  long  period  it  succeeded  in  preventing 
Catholic  missioners  from  interfering  much 
with  the  countries  of  which  it  had  taken 
possession  —  even  all  this  proves  nothing 
against  the  Catholicity  of  the  Church. 


For,  in  the  first  place,  all  this  was  but  a 
recurrence  in  later  times,  and  on  a  wider 
scale  when  the  Church  was  larger,  of  what 
had  taken  place  even  in  the  first  century, 
when  she  was  smaller,  and  when  her  first 
apostles  were  still  living.  Nay,  it  was  but 
a  fulfilment  of  the  apostles'  own  predic- 
tions. 

Secondly,  our  opponents  as  well  as 
ourselves  regard  Novatians,  Donatists, 
Arians,  Nestorians,  as  heretics  ;  and  hence 
the  imposing  numbers  and  the  wide  diffu- 
sion of  these  rebellious  bodies  over  the 
earth  could  be  no  proof  of  the  truth  of  the 
doctrines  which  they  taught. 

But,  apart  from  this,  we  must  look  at 
the  matter  from  another  point  of  view. 
The  fact  that  Novatians,  Donatists,  Arians, 
Nestorians,  and  other  heretics  worked 
hard  in  spreading  their  errors  does  not 
prove  that  the  Church  in  communion  with 
Rome  did  not  work  equally  hard  in  spread 
ing  the  truth.  Their  activity  is  no  proof 
of  her  inactivity.  And  in  order  that  their 
labors  and  successes  should  be  an  argu- 
ment against  her  claim  to  Catholicity,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  show  that  while 
tJiey,  during  several  centuries,  were  so 
energetic,  she,  during  the  same  centuries, 
was  idle  and  apathetic  —  looked  on  with 
folded  arms,  and  made  no  effort  either  to 
dissipate  their  errors  or  to  propagate  her 
own  doctrines  more  widely. 

Well,  then,  open  history,  and  it  will 
reveal  to  you  that  while  those  world-wide 
heresies  rose  up  and  'arrayed  themselves 
against  her,  and  strove  like  antichrists  to 
supplant  her,  she  was  constantly  at  work 


no 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


in  pulling  down  and  raising  up,  in  breaking 
heresy  to  pieces  and  in  building  up  the 
citaCel  of  truth,  in  calling  her  bishops 
from  the  remotest  parts  to  sit  in  council, 
to  judge  error  and  to  condemn  it,  in  noti- 
fying her  decrees  to  the  faithful  through 
out  the  world,  in  exerting  her  power  to 
the  utmost  to  have  those  decrees  observed, 
and  in  sending  her  light  to  the  most  dis- 
tant regions  of  the  earth ;  and  that  light 
shone  everywhere  except  in  those  lands 
which  shut  their  eyes  against  it,  or  through 
the  intrigues  of  heresy,  refused  to  accept  it. 
Such  had  been  her  constant  and  untir- 
ing activity,  that  in  spite  of  the  ceaseless 
war  heresy  had  waged  against  her,  and  in 
spite  of  the  pagan  persecutions  which  had 
sought  to  stamp  her  out,  she  had  by  the 
end  of  the  third  and  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century,  propagated  the  faith  —  that 
is,  orthodox  Christianity  —  in  the  West,  in 
Italy,  in  Proconsular  Africa,  in  Numidia, 
in  Mauritania,  and  even  among  the  primi- 
tive Africans,  i.  e.,  the  Getuli  and  the 
Moors,  who  inhabited  the  interior  of  the 
country  in  the  gorges  and  valleys  of  the 
Atlas.  In  Spain,  in  Gaul,  in  upper  and 
lower  Germany,  along  the  borders  of  the 
Danube,  in  Norica  (the  modern  Austria), 
in  Vindelicia  (the  modern  Bavaria),  in 
Rhetia  (at  present  the  Tyrol).  That  faith 
had  reached  Britain  also  through  Roman 
colonies  which  had  gone  there  in  the  reign 
of  Claudius.  On  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, in  Thrace,  Heminontis,  Rho- 
dope,  Scythia,  and  lower  Moesia,  flourishing 
churches  had  been  established.  In  Mace- 
donia, Thessalonica,    Philippi,  Beraea,  the 


churches  which  had  been  founded  by  the 
apostles  and  their  disciples,  through  their 
unbroken  communion  with  Rome,  still 
maintained  their  first  fervor.  In  Athens, 
the  capital  of  Greece,  and  in  Byzantium, 
which  was  soon  to  be  the  capital  of  the 
New  Empire,  the  faith  had  long  been  propa- 
gated. 

In  the  East,  that  faith  already  spread 
from  Jerusalem  (still  true  to  say,  from  St. 
Peter  as  from  its  source)  over  all  the 
cities  of  Palestine,  Phoenicia,  and  Syria. 
Ceserea,  Palestine,  Tyre,  Sidon,  Ptolemais, 
Berytus,  Tripoli,  Biblos,  Seleucia,  Apamea, 
Hieropolis,  Samosata,  Antioch,  all  had 
their  churches.  At  an  early  date  Bozra  in 
Roman  Arabia,  and  Edessa  in  the  Os- 
rhoene,  had  received  the  Gospel.  In  Meso- 
potamia and  Chaldea  the  churches  of 
Amida,  Nisibis,  Seleucia,  and  Ctesiphon 
were  celebrated.  Asia  Minor,  which  had 
been  evangelized  by  St.  Paul,  had  its  illus- 
trious Sees  of  Ephesus,  Laodicea,  Per- 
gamos,  Philadelphia,  Thyatira,  Tarsus, 
Mopsuesta,  Smyrna,  Iconium,  Myra,  Mil- 
etus, Antioch  of  Pisidia,  Corinth,  Nice, 
Chalcedon.  Christians  too  were  found  in 
multitudes  in  the  isles  of  Crete,  Cyprus, 
and  the  Archipelago.  Numerous  and 
flourishing  churches  had  been  established 
in  Armenia,  and  even  in  Persia.  Egypt, 
in  which  the  faith  had  been  propagated  b}' 
St.  Mark,  who  founded  the  Patriarchate  of 
Alexandria,  had  so  advanced  that  it  was 
able  to  send  to  the  Council  of  Nice  the 
Bishops  of  Naucrates,  Phtinontis,  Pelusium, 
Panephysus,  Memphis  and  Heraclea.  The 
Thebais,  which  was  soon  to  produce  »uch 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


Ill 


examples  of  heroic  sanctity,  had  in  the 
third  century  several  Episcopal  Sees, 
among  them  Antince,  Hermopolis,  and 
Lycopolis.  In  the  Pentapolis,  of  which 
Ptolemais  was  the  Metropolitan  See,  many 
bishoprics  had  been  founded. 

In  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  she 
continued  her  work  of  evangelizing.  While 
Donatism,  Arianism,  Pelagianism,  Nesto- 
rianism,  Eutychianism,  were  drawing  away 
multitudes  from  her  ranks,  and  marshalling 
them  under  their  respective  standards 
against  her,  she  was  actively  engaged  not 
merely  in  striving  to  stay  the  progress  of 
their  errors,  in  holding  Provincial  Councils, 
National  Councils,  General  Councils,  to 
condemn  them,  and  in  promulgating  her 
anathemas  through  all  parts  of  the  earth  ; 
she  was  also  vigorously  engaged  in  spread- 
ing her  light  in  those  regions  where  it  had 
not  yet  shone,  or  was  shining  but  faintly. 

Her  conquests  now  (and  they  were  con- 
quests of  great  magnitude)  extended  far 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  She  spread  her  faith  still  more 
widely  in  Persia,  although  that  kingdom 
was  soon  to  become  one  of  the  strongholds 
of  Nestorianism,  and  a  little  later  was  to 
become  the  prey  of  Mahometanism.  She 
brought  within  her  fold  the  Iberians,  who 
inhabited  a  territory  between  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  Caspian,  and  which  is  now 
known  as  Georgia,  The  Abyssinians,  whose 
faith  was  destined  to  be,  at  least  for  a 
time,  firm  and  durable,  and  whose  Metro- 
politan was  to  be  the  Bishop  of  Ethiopia, 
were  added  to  her  triumphs.  She  suc- 
ceeded, too,  in  Christianizing  vast  districts 


of  India  —  I  mean  districts  of  it  w^here 
her  Gospel  had  not  yet  reached.  Nay, 
while  her  General  Councils  were  q..\  amin- 
ing,  discussing,  and  condemning  the  here- 
sies of  the  East,  she  was  at  the  same  time 
making  numberless  conversions  in  some  of 
the  most  distant  isles  of  the  West.  It  was 
during  that  period  that,  through  the  zeal 
and  labors  of  St.  Patrick  and  his  compan- 
ions, she  levelled  the  altars  of  the  Druids 
in  Ireland,  cleared  that  country  of  every 
trace  of  paganism,  and  placed  its  people 
from  shore  to  shore  in  possession  of  that 
full  and  perfect  and  uncorrupted  Chris- 
tianity which  they  have  never  lost.  And 
not  long  after  she  sent,  under  the  guidance 
of  Augustin,  to  Britain,  the  band  of  heroic 
missionaries  who  were  destined  to  revive 
in  that  kingdom  the  faith  of  which  it  had 
almost  been  entirely  despoiled  in  the  per- 
secution of  Diocletian,  or  the  practice  of 
which,  at  least,  had  almost  entirely  ceased 
there. 

Now,  if  Donatism,  Arianism,  Pelagian- 
ism, Nestorianism,  Eutychianism,  which 
occupied  such  vast  portions  of  the  globe, 
which  counted  such  multitudes  of  disci- 
ples, and  which  exercised  such  sway  for 
centuries,  furnish  no  argument  against  the 
universality  of  the  Church,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  any  serious  objection  against 
her  universality  can  be  taken  from  the 
bulk  of  the  Greek  schismatical  com- 
munions of  the  present  day,  or  from  the 
wide  prevalence  of  Protestantism  which 
has  taken  possession  of  so  many  countries, 
and  which  is  professed  by  so  many  peoples. 
The   Greek  schismatics   of    the   East,  as 


112 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


well  as  the  Protestants  of  the  West,  admit 
that  the  disciples  of  these  various  reli- 
gious bodies  were  heretics,  and  in  admit- 
ting this  they  are  virtually  admitting  that 
their  own  bulk  and  influence,  in  them- 
selves, go  no  way  either  towards  proving 
that  they  are  members  of  the  true  Church, 
or  towards  proving  that  the  claim  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  is  weakened  or  affected 
in  any  way  through  their  vastness.  This 
ought  to  be  remembered  by  those  to  whom 
Cardinal  Newman  refers  when  he  says : 
"  Bulk,  not  symmetry,  vastness,  not  order, 
are  their  tests  of  truth." 

But  we  may  go  further.  The  wide 
diffusion  of  Nestorianism,  of  the  Greek 
schism,  of  the  heresy  of  the  Reformation, 
is  no  more  an  argument  against  the  uni- 
versality of  the  Catholic  Church  than  is 
the  wide  and  wonderful  spread  of  Mahome- 
tanism  ;  and  the  sway  which  Mahometan- 
ism  exercised  over  so  many  millions  for  so 
many  ages  is  no  more  an  argument 
against  that  universality  than  are  those 
numberless  pagans  who  are  outside  the 
pale  of  Christianity  altogether.  "  Cor- 
ruptions of  the  Gospel,"  says  Cardinal  New- 
man again,  "  are  as  necessary  and  ordinary 
a  phenomenon,  taking  men  as  they  are,  as 
its  rejection.  Is  misbelief,"  he  asks,  "a 
greater  marvel  than  unbelief  ?  or  do  not 
the  same  intellectual  and  moral  principles 
which  lead  men  to  accept  nothing,  lead 
them  also  to  accept  half,  of  revealed  truth  ? 
Both  effects  are  simple  manifestations  of 
private  judgment  in  the  bad  sense  of  the 
phrase,  that  is,  of  the  use  of  one's  own 
reason  against  the  authority  of  God." 


This  is  strikingly  true.  Heresy  ol 
schism,  however  widely  spread,  interferej 
no  more  with  the  universality  of  th« 
Church  than  absolute  infidelity.  Fror 
the  outset  the  Church  was  only  one  of 
number  of  communions  which  professed 
to  be  Christian.  From  the  days  of  \M 
apostles,  true  belief,  misbelief,  unbelief 
have  walked  side  by  side.  Among  those : 
who  had  the  Gospel  preached  to  them, 
some  received  it,  some  mutilated  it, 
some  rejected  it.  In  the  last  (the  twenty- 
eighth)  chapter  of  the  Acts,  we  find  it 
stated  that  many  came  to  the  lodgings  of 
St.  Paul,  that  they  might  hear  from  him 
an  account  of  the  new  religion  ;  and  that 
he  expounded  it  to  them  at  great  length, 
"  testifying  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  per- 
suading them  concerning  Jesus,  out  of  the 
Law  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  from 
morning  till  night."  And  it  is  added  that 
a  certain  number  were  persuaded,  and  that 
others  were  not  persuaded.  "  Some  be- 
lieved the  things  that  were  said,  but 
some  believed  not"  {Ads  xxiii.  24).  So 
was  it  then,  so  has  it  been  ever  since,  so 
is  it  now,  so  will  it  be  to  the  end  of  time. 
The  Church's  note  of  universality  does 
not  require  it  to  be  otherwise ;  that  note 
is  independent  of  all  rejections,  mutila- 
tions, corruptions  of  her  Gospel.  It  does 
not  rest  on  the  condition  that  in  every 
century  sJie  must  have  exclusive  sway 
over  three-fourths  of  the  globe  ;  or  that, 
in  every  generation,  nine  out  of  ten  of  the 
world's  population  must  profess  her  doc- 
trine. It  is  not  to  be  measured  by  mathe- 
matical lines.     No.     What  is  essential  to 


UNIVERSALITY  OR  CATHOLICITY. 


"3 


it  is  that,  wherever  she  exists,  she  should  be 
found  at  all  times  and  in  all  circumstances 
to  be  one  and  the  same.  And  that  she  is 
found  to  be.  In  point  of  space,  Rome,  or 
the  See  of  Peter,  is  her  centre ;  the  bound- 
aries of  the  earth,  her  only  circumference. 


And,  in  point  of  identity,  she  is  now  what 
she  was  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and 
what  she  is  now  she  will  continue  to  be 
to  the  end  of  time ;  for  she  is  the  one 
and  only  true  Church  of  the  unchanged, 
unchanging,  and  unchangeable  God. 


CONCLUSION. 


I^ 


HE  theory  of  Indifferentism  may 
help  much,  strange  as  it  may 
sound  to  say  so,  in  the  search 
after  the  true  Church.  To  real- 
ize this  fully,  we  must  fix  our 
thoughts  again  for  a  moment  on 
some  of  the  many  inconsistencies,  inco- 
herences, and  endless  contradictions  with 
which  that  theory  is  pregnant. 

And,  first  of  all,  I  would  draw  attention 
to  this  :  If  God  is  indifferent  in  what  sense 
men  receive  His  revelation,  it  follows  He 
is  indiflferent  in  what  sense  they  receive 
His  ten  Commandments,  since  the  ten 
Commandments  are  but  a  portion  of  His 
revelation.  Now,  I  assume  that  no  one 
who  pretends  to  be  a  Christian  will  hold 
that  men  are  free  to  choose  the  contradic- 
tories of  the  Commandments  as  the  stand- 
ard of  their  morality.  On  what  grounds, 
then,  can  it  be  affirmed  that  they  are  free 
to  choose  the  contradictories  of  His 
revealed  doctrines  as  the  object  of  their 
faith  ?  Where  is  the  reason  for  making 
any  difference  ?  Does  not  such  a  system 
do  away  with  the  distinction  between 
truth   and    falsehood    altogether.^      Why 

114 


should  God  promulgate  a  special  precept 
forbidding  lies,  if  every  man  was  to  be  free 
to  give  to  the  precept  itself  two  opposite 
interpretations  —  that  is,  to  understand  it 
either  as  forbidding  people  to  state  what  is 
false,  or  as  commanding  them  never  to 
state  anything  else  except  what  is  false. 

But  we  may  put  the  thing  in  a  stronger 
light  still.  The  only  reason  why  the  Com- 
mandments are  binding  on  the  human 
conscience  is  because  Revelation  teaches 
that  they  are  the  expression  of  God's  will 
in  regard  to  man.  Apart  from  this 
j  revealed  teaching,  they  can  have  no  oblig- 
I  atory  power  at  all.  Take  away  the  Divine 
[  truth  that  there  is  one  God,  and  one  only 
—  that  He  is  the  Creator,  Sovereign  Lord 
of  all  —  that  He  is  to  be  worshipped  by 
His  creatures,  and  the  first  commandment 
is  meaningless  and  without  force.  Put 
aside  the  doctrine  that  He  is  infinitely 
powerful,  infinitely  wise,  infinitely  good  — 
that  He  is  all  pure  and  all  holy  —  that 
His  name  is,  therefore,  to  be  hallowed, 
and  the  second  commandment  ceases  to 
bind.  Cancel  the  revelation  that  our 
neisrhbor's   soul    is   made   to   the   Divine 


CONCLUSrON. 


115 


image  —  that  it  is  the  Divine  will  we 
should  love  him,  and  those  command- 
ments which  refer  to  the  duties  of  frater- 
nal charity  lose  all  their  binding  force. 
It  is  the  doctrines  on  which  they  are 
founded  that  give  to  the  Commandments 
their  hold  upon  the  will  of  man,  and  their 
claim  to  his  obedience.  And  hence  the 
only  reason  why  we  have  no  authority  to 
change  the  commandment  is  because  we 
have  no  authority  to  change  the  doctrinal 
truth  on  which  it  rests.  And  if  we  have 
no  leave  or  privilege  to  take  opposite  views 
of  God's  revelation  in  one  case,  how  can 
we  have  any  leave  or  privilege  to  take 
opposite  views  of  it  in  another  "i 

Again,  if  God  inscribed  His  ten  Com- 
mandments on  tablets  of  stone,  and  had 
>them  preserved  in  the  Ark  that  they 
might  keep  the  form  and  meaning  He 
originally  gave  them,  and  that  He  might 
show  the  high  and  important  place  which 
they  occupied  in  His  Divine  mind.  He 
surely  intended  there  should  be  a  means 
of  preserving  the  doctrinal  portion  of  His 
revelation  in  the  sense  and  meaning  it  had 
IL  at  the  outset.  If  He  deigned  to  reveal 
fcertain  truths  of  faith,  it  was  because  He 
meant  them  to  be  heard  and  to  be 
believed,  and,  if  He  meant  them  to  be 
heard  and  to  be  believed,  it  was  undoubt- 
[edly  because  He  set  some  value  upon 
them.  But  in  what  sense  could  they  be 
said  to  have  any  value  in  His  eyes,  if  He 
merely,  cast  them  out  upon  the  world  and 
let  men  treat  them  as  they  liked  —  allow- 
ing them  to  be  looked  upon  as  meaning 
anything,  or  as   meaning  nothing,  or  as 


meaning  two  contradictory  things  in  one 
and  the  same  moment }  With  what  show 
of  reason  can  it  be  maintained  that  He 
attached  any  importance  to  them  at  all,  if 
He  intended  His  people  were  to  be  at 
liberty  to  believe  them  or  not  to  believe 
them,  or  to  believe  their  opposites,  or  to 
believe  anything  else  in  their  stead  if  they 
chose. 

One  of  two  things  :  either  He  never 
made  a  revelation  at  all,  or,  if  He  did.  He 
cannot  have  left  it  to  be  the  sport  of 
men's  whims  and  fancies.  If  He  revealed 
certain  doctrines  to  the  world,  it  must 
have  been  with  the  intention  that  they 
should  be  not  merely  believed,  but  should 
be  believed  according  to  the  meaning  in 
which  He  revealed  them.  And  the  very 
same  reason  that  would  lead  Him  to 
reveal  them  would  force  Him  to  invent 
some  means  of  making  them  always 
express  the  same  sense,  and  of  surround- 
ing them  with  such  guardianship  as  would 
render  them  secure  against  being  tam- 
pered with  by  the  ever-changing  opinions 
and  idle,  erring  speculations  of  men. 

When  He  took  such  care  lest  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Decalogue  should  be  changed, 
surely  He  must  have  taken  quite  as  much 
care  that  the  revelations  made  by  His 
Divine  Son  should  never  be  changed. 
And  if  that  Divine  Son  Himself  cleared 
and  purged  the  Mosaic  Law,  which  was  to 
be  made  void,  of  the  false  traditions  and 
interpretations  of  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, would  He  not  take  precautions  lest 
similar  false  interpretations  might  be  in. 
troduced  in  the  course  of  time  into  the 


ii6 


INDIFFERENTISM, 


laws  and  doctrines  which  He  Himself 
revealed  for  all  ages.  The  revelations  to 
which  He  referred  in  the  words  of  the 
great  commission  were,  to  say  the  least, 
quite  as  important  as  those  delivered  to 
Moses  on  Mount  Sinai.  And,  doubtless, 
those  revelations  of  His  New  Dispensa- 
tion, which  He  condescended  to  make  to 
the  world  with  His  own  lips,  would  have 
been  committed  to  stone  also,  had  He  not 
designed  to  preserve  their  identity  and 
sense  by  a  guardianship  still  more  sacred, 
of  which  we  shall  speak  presently  —  that 
is,  His  own  special  help,  His  own  special 
presence.  His  own  personal  supervision, 
nay,  His  own  unerring  voice  ever  speaking 
through  His  Church,  which  He  meant  to 
be  His  mouth-piece  on  earth  throughout 
all  time. 

And  now  this  opens  out  a  new  view  of 
the  matter  before  us  —  a  view  which,  on 
the  one  hand,  reveals  clearly  the  hollow 
fallacies  of  Indifferentism,  and  which,  on 
the  other  hand,  brings  out  into  striking 
prominence  the  irresistible  claims  of  the 
Catholic  Church  to  be  the  sole  authorized, 
adequate,  infallible  guardian  and  teacher 
of  all  revealed  truth. 

The  very  fact  that  Indifferentists  dis- 
agree among  themselves,  not  merely  about 
things  which  they  take  the  unwarrantable 
liberty  of  terming  minor  points  of  revela- 
tion, but  disagree  also  as  to  what  doctrines 
are  to  be  regarded  as  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  Christianity ;  this,  I  may  say,  of 
itself  is  sufficient  to  establish  two  things  : 
first,  the  unreasonableness  and  utter  un- 
tenableness  of  their  system,  and,  secondly. 


the  necessity  of  an  authoritative  voice  still 
speaking,  which  can  tell  with  certainty 
what  has  been  revealed  and  what  has  not. 
Let  us  dwell  on  this  for  a  moment.  The 
adherents  of  Indifferentism  differ  even  as 
to  what  are  those  truths  which  are  to  be 
deemed  essentials,  the  peculiar  doctrines, 
the  vital  doctrines,  the  leading  idea,  the 
great  truth,  of  the  Gospel.  Some  say  that 
it  is  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  some  the 
Redemption,  some  the  Resurrection,  some 
that  Divine  charity  is  everything,  and  some 
that  the  immortality  of  the  human  soul  is 
the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  and  all  that 
need  be  believed.  They  dispute  over 
almost  every  doctrine  which  is  spoken  of 
as  lying  within  the  sphere  of  revelation. 
And  hence  their  system,  when  taken  to 
pieces,  plainly  means  that  God  once,  or  at 
sundry  times,  revealed  a  number  of  doc- 
trines with  the  design  they  should  be 
believed,  and  that  at  the  same  time  He 
left  His  people  perfectly  free  to  affirm  or 
to  deny  every  one  of  those  truths  from 
beginning  to  end,  according  as  they  thought 
proper.  Is  not  this  equivalent  to  saying 
that  He  made  a  revelation,  and  that  it  was 
utterly  useless  to  make  it,  since  men  were 
quite  as  wise  before  it  was  made  as  after 
they  received  it .? 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  fact  that 
Indifferentists  take  opposite  views  about 
even  the  vital  doctrines  of  Christianity  is 
not  only  a  refutation  of  their  theory,  it  is 
at  the  same  time  proof  sufficient ;  it  com- 
pels us  to  the  conclusion  that  if  God  ever 
vouchsafed  to  make  a  revelation  to  the 
world,  He  must  have  consigned  it  to  such 


CONCLUSION. 


117 


careful  keeping  as  would  preserve  it 
always  in  its  entirety,  and  make  it  always 
express  exactly  the  same  thing.  Why 
should  He  reveal  a  doctrine,  unless  He 
wished  it  to  have  always  the  same  mean- 
ing ?  How  could  He  wish  it  to  have 
always  the  samo  meaning,  if  He  intended, 
when  He  revealed  it,  that  men  were  to 
be  at  liberty  to  give  it  any  interpretation 
they  chose  ?  And  how  could  men  at  any 
time  be  certain  of  its  true  meaning  unless 
there  were  to  be  from  age  to  age  an 
authoritative,  definite,  infallible  voice  to  tell 
its  meaning. 

Unless  there  exist  some  such  unerring 
authority  on  earth,  there  can  never  be  any 
certainty  about  revealed  doctrine  of  any 
kind,  whether  it  be  called  fundamental  or 
non-fundamental.  Nay,  there  can  never 
be  any  certainty  even  that  those  doctrines 
which  are  said  to  be  revealed  have  been 
revealed  at  all.  And  what  is  more,  if  that 
unerring  voice  spoke  only  during  the 
first  two  or  three,  or  four  or  five,  or 
six  or  seven  centuries,  and  then  became 
silent,  and  has  never  spoken  since,  how 
can  there  be  any  certainty  now  about 
those  truths  which  ought  to  form  the 
object  of  faith.'  Unless  it  speaks  still, 
even  at  the  present  moment,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  make  an  act  of  faith  at  all.  For 
faith  supposes  certainty  and  excludes 
doubt ;  faith  is  incompatible  with  doubt, 
and  undoubting  faith  I  can  never  have, 
unless  I  regard  as  infallible  the  voice 
which  teaches  me  what  I  am  to  believe. 

Yet  our  Lord  makes  faith  an  essential 
condition   of    salvation  ;  and   the   apostle 


tell  us  that  without  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  please  God.  Now,  would  God  make 
faith  a  necessary  qualification  for  entrance 
into  heaven,  and  then  leave  men  in  the 
impossibility  of  ever  possessing  it,  of  ever 
exercising  it,  of  ever  eliciting  an  act  of  it  > 
In  such  a  plight  He  must  have  left  them, 
unless  there  is  in  the  world  some  source 
of  unquestionable  authority  which  can  tell 
for  certain  what  has  been  revealed,  how 
much  has  been  revealed,  what  its  true 
meaning,  and  in  what  sense  it  is  to  be 
received. 

Cardinal  Manning,  in  his  book,  Tempo- 
ral Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  refers  to 
this  point  :  "  There  are  some  who 
appeal  from  the  voice  of  the  living  church 
to  antiquity,  professing  to  believe  that 
while  the  Church  was  united  it  was  infalli- 
ble, that  then  when  it  became  divided  it 
ceased  to  speak  infallibly,  and  that  the 
only  certain  rule  of  faith  is  to  believe  that 
which  the  Church  held  and  taught  while 
yet  it  was  united,  and  therefore  infallible. 
Such  reasoners  fail  to  observe  that  since 
the  supposed  division  and  cessation  of  the 
infallible  voice,  there  remains  no  Divine 
certainty  as  to  what  was  then  infallibly 
taught." 

If  it  be  urged  that  the  Scriptures  con- 
tain all  the  truths  of  revelation,  the  state 
of  the  case  is  not  altered.  The  same 
reasoning  holds  good ;  for  I  answer,  how 
can  I  be  sure  that  the  Scriptures,  as  they 
are  now  published,  are  identical  wich  the 
Scriptures  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries, 
unless  an  infallible  authority  tells  me  they 
are?     How  can   I   be  sure   they   contain 


ii8 


INDIFFERENTISM. 


the  Word  of  God  at  all,  unless  the  same 
infallible  authority  tells  me  they  do  ?  How 
can  I  be  sure  whether  the  Catholic  ver- 
sion or  the  Protestant  is  the  correct  one 
—  the  one  that  contains  the  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth  —  unless  I  regard 
as  infallible  the  decision  of  my  informant  ? 
If  the  authority  which  tells  me  that  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  are  the  Word  of 
God  be  a  fallible  authority,  and  therefore 
a  questionable  one,  then,  whether  it  is  the 
voice  of  an  individual  or  the  voice  of  a 
hundred  millions  of  individuals,  I  can 
have  no  certainty,  and  consequently  can- 
not exercise  faith.  For  the  opinions  of  a 
fallible  multitude,  equal  in  number  to  the 
whole  population  of  the  earth,  as  long  as 
there  is  question  of  the  things  which  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  reason,  can  never  pro- 
duce certainty  of  any  kind,  much  less  abso- 
lute, infallible  certainty. 

But  granting  that  the  Scriptures  contain 
the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth, 
and  putting  aside  the  question  which  ver- 
sion is  the  right  one,  let  us  test  the  matter 
on  another  ground.  How  can  I  be  sure 
which  is  the  true  interpretation  of  those 
passages,  from  which  are  drawn  contradic- 
tory doctrines  with  regard  to  points  which 
are  commonly  called  points  of  fundamen- 
tal importance  —  such,  for  example,  as  the 
passages  which  refer  to  the  Eucharistic 
presence  and  sacramental  confession  — 
unless  I  have  an  infallible  teacher  to  guide, 
enlighten,  and  instruct  me  } 

I  think,  then,  we  are  warranted  in  draw- 
ing the  conclusion,  that  if  God  ever  came 
into  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 


revelation  and  of  instituting  a  Church, 
He  must  have  established  an  unerring 
interpreter  of  the  one  and  an  unfailing 
ruler  of  the  other,  since  there  was  exactly 
the  same  reason  for  instituting  a  means  of 
protecting  the  revelation  against  false 
meanings,  as  there  was  for  making  the 
revelation  at  all.  To  have  acted  other- 
wise would  have  been  to  defeat  His  own 
ends ;  for  either  He  intended  His  re- 
vealed doctrines  to  have  contradictory 
meanings,  or  He  did  not.  If  He  did,  then 
He  changes,  and  He  is  the  God  of  truth 
to-day  and  the  God  of  lies  to-morrow ;  or 
He  is  the  God  of  truth  and  of  lies  in  one 
and  the  same  moment,  for  the  same  indi- 
vidual, and  under  the  very  same  circum- 
stances. If  He  did  not  intend  them  to 
have  contradictory  meanings,  then  He  can- 
not have  abandoned  them  to  every  chance 
interpretation  and  to  every  human  caprice. 
He  must  have  raised  up  around  them 
ramparts  of  defence  which  would  protect 
them  against  the  encroachment  of  innova- 
tion, and  prevent  their  being  wrecked  by 
the  ever- varying  judgments  and  wandering 
imaginations  of  men.  Yes,  being  the 
unchanged,  unchanging,  and  unchangeable 
God,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for- 
ever. He  must  have  established  on  earth 
an  undying  authority,  whose  infallible 
voice  would  speak  in  His  name  throughout 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  time  and  throughout 
the  coming  and  passing  away  of  all  genera- 
tions down  to  the  day  of  doom  —  an  author- 
ity whose  voice  would  proclaim  to  the 
world,  with  unerring  certainty,  those  doc- 
trines which  he  revealed,  and  those  only^ 


i 


CONCLUSION. 


119 


and  declare  to  all  men  the  sense  in  which 
they  were  to  be  understood. 

Either  this  must  be  granted,  or  a  system 
of  faith  there  cannot  be,  since  otherwise 
absolute  certainty  about  the  object  of  faith 
there  cannot  be. 

Well,  then,  dear  reader,  raise  your  eyes, 
look  around  you,  inquire,  examine.  Is  there 
any  Church  on  earth  in  which  this  unerr- 
ing authority    is   found  —  in  which  this 


infallible    voice    speaks }     Where    is    it } 
Which  is  it .? 

One,  and  one  only,  claims  it.  It  is  that 
one  which  alone  can  give  sufficient  reason 
for  urging  the  claim  —  the  one  which,  from 
her  mark  of  everlasting,  undivided  unity, 
and  from  her  inborn  power  of  universal 
expansion,  we  have  shown  to  be  the  one 
only  true  Church  of  the  living  God  on  this 
earth. 


•.?.*      w 


i 


Copyright,  188;). 


€f)e  <Booh  %nt^cU 


EVOTIOJ^ 


TO    THE 


39e 


¥  5ACI^£D  fiGAI^T.  f 


r^i;!  u'"w 


■^^ 


Se   iHsarHats    llJerd 


^^ 


►HE  Devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  rests,  for  its  dog- 
matic basis,  on  the  adora- 
tion which  our  faith 
teaches  us  to  pay  to  the 
sacred  humanity  of  our 
Lord.  The  Church,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  nas  instructed  her  children  to  pay 
special  devotion  to  His  sacred  heart  as 
the  noblest  portion  of  His  body,  as  a 
memorial  in  brief  of  the  interior  life  and 
passion  of  Christ,  and  as  a  symbol  of  His 
Divine  Love  for  man. 

In  speaking  of  the  adoration  which  we 
pay  to  the  humanity  of  our  divine  Lord, 
and  to  His  sacred  heart  as  part  of  His 
sacred  humanity,  it  may  be  well  to  state 
in  what  sense  we  use  the  term  Adoration, 
and  in  what  sense  we  apply  it  to  the  adora- 
tion of  His  sacred  humanity,  and  of  His 
sacred  heart  as  a  living  part  of  His 
sacred  humanity. 

Adoration  is  here  understood  in  its 
highest  and  strictest  sense,  as  an  act  of  the 

1 


highest  worship  paid  only  to  the  supreme 
excellence  of  the  Divinity.  This  is  known 
in  the  language  of  the  Church  as  Latria. 

The  theological  statement  of  the  grounds 
on  which  we  pay  adoration  to  the  sacred 
humanity  of  our  Lord  and  to  His  sacred 
heart  may  appear  at  first  sight  to  be  too 
abstruse  in  its  dogmatic  details  for  ordinary 
Catholic  readers. 

This,  however,  is  an  objection  which 
may  be  urged  against  the  exposition  of 
any  of  the  articles  of  Catholic  faith,  and 
which  is  found  practically  to  be  overcome 
to  a  great  extent  by  the  Catholic  instincts 
of  the  faithful,  by  the  power  of  which  they 
more  readily  apprehend  and  appreciate  the 
great  truths  of  their  faith  than  perhaps  we 
are  inclined  to  suppose. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  with  increased 
gratification  and  consolation  that  they  see 
how  deeply  their  own  devotion  to  the 
person  of  our  Lord  and  His  sacred  heart 
has  struck  its  roots,  unconsciously  perhaps 
to  themselves,  in  the  very  foundations  of 
their  religioxi. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


We  say,  then,  in  entering  on  our  sub- 
ject, that  Jesus  Christ,  the  Incarnate  Word, 
God,  and  Man,  is  to  be  adored  both  in  His 
divine  and  His  human  nature.  He  is  to  be 
adored  not  only  in  His  divine,  but  also  in 
His  human  nature ;  not  with  two  distinct 
acts,  but  with  one  single  act  of  adoration. 

The  reason  of  an  act  of  adoration  is 
the  supreme  excellence  of  the  Divinity. 
Any  object  of  our  adoration,  therefore, 
must  necessarily  be  united  with  this 
supreme  excellence. 

This  union  may  be  either  that  of  iden- 
tity, as  when  we  adore  God,  Who  is  identi- 
cally one  with  the  Divinity  —  and  in*  this 
case  the  object  is  adored  in  itself,  and  on 
its  own  account ;  or,  in  other  words,  on 
account  of  its  own  formal  or  intrinsic 
excellence,  by  an  act  of  absolute  adora- 
tion. Or,  again,  the  object  of  adoration 
may  be  something  substantially  united,  as 
a  part,  or  by  way  of  part,  to  the  object 
which  claims  adoration  on  its  own  account 
by  reason  of  its  own  sovereign  excellence. 
Such  object,  thus  substantially  united,  is 
the  direct  though  partial  object,  in  itself, 
though  not  on  account  of  itself,  of  that 
absolute  adoration  which  is  paid  to  the 
one  entire  substantial  object. 

Thus,  when  we  adore  Christ,  God,  and 
Man,  the  object  of  our  adoration  is  Christ 
as  a  whole,  and  in  Him  also  His  humanity, 
substantially  united  to  the  Word.  "  The 
Incarnate  Word  of  God,"  says  St.  Cyril,^ 
"  as  being  one  Son,  is  adored  not  without 
His  flesh,  but  rather  together  with  it." 

J  Aptlogia  frt  A»athem.    8.  contra  Orientalts  VoL  Ti. 


It  follows,  then,  from  what  has  beei 
said  (one  Divine  person  in  the  two  nature^ 
being  supposed )  that 

(i)    The   Man  Jesus    Christ  is  to 
adored  with  supreme  worship  ;  for  He  i^ 
truly  God. 

(2)  Jesus  Christ,  regarded  both  in  Hi< 
divine  and  human  nature,  is  to  be  adore 
with  one  and  the  same  supreme  worshij 
For  one  adoration  is  referred  to  this  divini 
composite  person  including  both  natures j 
nor  can  the  man  Christ  be  regarded  witl 
out  considering  the  divine  nature  as  propc 
to  Him.     In  other  words,  the  man  Chi 
is   the   Word    Himself    having  a   human" 
nature.     But  the  Word  is  assuredly  to  be 
adored  with  supreme  worship. 

The  reason,  however,  why  Christ,  as 
man,  is  to  be  adored,  is  not  His  human 
nature.  His  human  nature  is  the  reason 
why  Christ  who  is  to  be  thus  adored,  is 
man.  In  the  same  manner,  the  man  Christ 
is  the  natural  Son  of  God ;  although  the 
reason  of  this  is  not  His  human  nature, 
but  the  divinity  of  the  Word,  to  whom  the 
humanity  of  the  man  Christ  is  united  from 
the  very  beginning  of  its  existence.  For, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  its  existence, 
it  belongs  to  the  eternal  Word  generated 
from  the  Father  and  therefore  of  one 
divine  nature  with  Him.  As,  in  the 
inverse  order,  God  the  Word  is  the  Son  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  although  it  is  not  the 
divine,  but  the  human  nature,  the  material 
part  of  which  was  formed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  from  the  most  pure  blood  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  which  is  the  reason  ot 
this. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


Consequently,  therefore,  Christ,  inas- 
much as  He  is  man,  is  to  be  adored  with 
supreme  worship ;  provided  only  that  the 
expression,  inasmuch  as  man,  be  not  under- 
stood to  express  the  distinctive  or  formal 
reason  why  Christ  is  to  be  thus  adored. 

(3)  The  sacred  humanity  of  Christ  itself, 
or  His  human  nature  with  all  that  com- 
poses it,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  nature  of  the 
Word,  is  the  partial  object  of  adoration. 
To  it  is  directed  one  and  the  same  absolute 
worship  with  which  the  person  Christ  is 
adored. 

The/«// object  of  adoration  is  the  com- 
posite person,  Christ ;  including  the  human 
nature  as  His  own,  and  proper  to  Himself. 

The  worship  paid  to  a  person  has  for  its 
object  the  person,  not  only  with  reference 
to  something  belonging  to  him,  but  with 
reference  to  «// that  substantially  belongs 
to  him  ;  although  the  reason  why  this  wor- 
ship is  paid  to  the  person  has  reference 
only  to  something  contained  in  the  person. 

Thus,  for  instance,  we  pay  the  same 
homage  to  the  royal  crown  as  we  pay  to 
the  sovereign  who  wears  it.  We  do  not 
pay  this  homage  to  the  crown  as  simply  a 
material  object,  but  as  representing  the 
person  of  the  sovereign  who  wears  the 
crown. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  notice  that 
the  instance  adduced,  though  adequate,  as 
far  as  it  goes,  ceases  to  serve  as  an  illus- 
tration at  an  important  point.  The  union 
between  the  crown  and  the  sovereign  is 
only  accidental,  and  therefore  the  homage 
paid  to  the  crown  is  only  relative ;  whereas 
the  union  between  the  humanity  of  Christ 


and  the  Word  is  substantial,  and  conse- 
quently the  worship  of  adoration  paid  to  the 
sacred  humanity  is  absolute,  though  partial. 

It  may  be  of  service  to  direct  attention 
here  to  the  note  by  Denziger  upon  the 
second  canon  of  the  anathemas  of  St. 
Cyril.  These  were  received  by  the  third 
CEcumenical  Synod  of  Ephesus  ;  the  fourth 
placed  them  amongst  its  Acts,  and  styled 
the  epistles  of  St.  Cyril  canonical ;  they 
were  defended  by  the  fifth  Synod. 

The  canon  referred  to  it  as  follows : — 

''  If  any  one  do  not  confess  that  the 
Word  of  God  the  Father  was  substantially 
{secundum  substantiam)  united  to  the  flesh, 
and  that  Christ  is  one  with  His  own  flesh, 
the  same,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  same  time 
God  and  man,  let  him  be  anathema." 

To  this  Denziger  appends  the  following 
note : — 

"  The  old  version  here  renders  the  word 
u-oazaatv  by  substance.  The  same  is  the 
case.  Synod  V.  can.  13.  This  we  have 
retained  ;  and  it  may  be  defended  by  Peta- 
vius  lib.  6.  de  Incarn  c.  17.  ad  Anath.  2 
Cyrilli. 

"  Hypostatic  union  is  called  substantial 
or  essential,  inasmuch  as  these  words  are 
opposed  to   the   accidental'^   union  of   the 

1  The  heretic  Nestorius,  as  is  well  known,  denied  the  Catho- 
lic doctrine  that  there  is  only  One  Person  in  Jesus  Christ,  God 
and  Man,  the  Person  of  the  eternal  Word.  He  taught  that 
the  Word  united  Himself  to  Christ  (a  mere  man),  after  His 
birth,  and  resided  in  Him  as  in  a  temple.  He  admitted  only  a 
moral  union  between  the  Word  and  the  man  Christ,  thus 
understood ;  such,  in  kind,  as  may  exist  between  two  friends, 
who  are  united  by  unity  of  sentiments.  He  thus  admitted 
only  an  a^«V^^«^a'/ union.  He  denied  that  the  eternal  Word, 
the  Son  of  God  the  Father,  united  Himself  by  a  real,  physical, 
substantial  union  to  the  sacred  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  first  moment  of  its  existence.  He  was  led  necessarily, 
as  a  consequence  of  these  heretical  tenets,  to  deny  that  tht 
Blessed  Virgin  was  truly  the  mother  of  God. 


DEVOTION  TO    THE  SACRED  HEART. 


Nestorians.  This  union  is  in  truth  a  union 
of  substances,  but  by  subsistence." 

The  object  of  our  adoration,  then,  is  also 
the  humanity  of  Christ  hypostatically 
united  to  the  Word.  But  the  reason  why 
it  is  adored,  is  the  Word  Himself  whose 
humanity  it  is. 

The  adoration,  however,  which  is  paid 
to  the  humanity  in  Christ,  is  not,  on  this 
account,  merely  relative. 

Relative  worship  is  when  an  object  is 
worshipped  on  account  of  some  «;xcellence 
residing  in  some  person,  with  which  that 
object  has  some  relation.  But  whatever  is 
substantially  united  to  the  person  who  is 
the  object  of  worship,  and  belongs  properly 
to  him,  is  the  object  of  that  absolute  wor- 
ship which  is  paid  to  the  entire  person. 

We  said  that  the  humanity  of  Christ, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  nature  of  the  Word,  is 
the  object  of  adoration  ;  for  if  the  human 
nature  were  regarded  in  itself,  or  as  separa- 
ted from  the  Word,  or  prescinding  from  the 
Word,  assuredly  it  could  not  be  adored 
with  supreme  worship  ;  because  the  reason 
of  such  worship  is  the  Divinity  alone. 

Wickliff  maintained  that  relative  wor- 
ship only  should  be  paid  to  the  humanity  of 
Christ.i 

The  Jansenists  calumniously  charged 
Catholics  with  the  adoration  of  the 
humanity  regarded  by  itself. 

Against  them  was  directed  the  Dogmatic 
Bull  "  Auctorem  Fidei,"^  in  which  it  is 
said,   of  "the  proposition,   which   asserts 


1  Waldens,  Vol.  i.  p.  135. 

2  In  this  Bull  the  propositions  61  and  63  of  the  Pistoians 
were  condemned. 


that  the  direct  adoration  of  the  humanity  of 
Christ,  and  much  m.ore  of  any  part  of  it, 
must  always  be  divine  honor  given  to  a 
creature ;  inasmuch  as  by  the  word  direct 
it  intends  to  condemn  the  worship  of 
adoration  paid  by  the  faithful  to  the 
humanity  of  Christ,  as  though  such  adora- 
tion, by  which  the  humanity  and  life- 
giving  flesh  of  Christ  is  itself  adored 
(not  indeed  on  account  of  itself  and  as 
mere  flesh,  but  as  united  to  the  divinity) 
were  divine  honor  paid  to  a  creature, 
and  not  rather  one  and  the  sarne  adora- 
tion with  which  the  Incarnate  Word  is 
adored  with  His  own  proper  flesh  " ;  this 
proposition  is  declared  to  be  "false,  cap- 
tious, detractive,  and  injurious  to  the 
pious  and  due  worship  paid  and  to  be  paid 
by  the  faithful  to  the  humanity  of 
Christ."  1 

"  Moreover,  inasmuch  as  it  also  charges 
the  worshippers  of  the  heart  of  Jesus,  on 
the  ground  that  they  do  not  bear  in  mind 
that  the  most  sacred  flesh  of  Christ  or  any 
part  of  it,  or  even  the  whole  humanity  sep- 
arated or  prescinding  from  the  divinity  can- 
7iot  be  adored  with  Latria,  (or  supreme 
adoration)  as  though  the  faithful  adored 
the  heart  of  Jesus  with  separation  or  pre- 
scinding from  the  divinity,  while  they 
adore  it  as  it  is  the  heart  of  Jesus,  that  is 
to  say,  the  heart  of  the  person  of  the 
Word,  to  which  it  is  inseparably  united,  in 
the  same  manner  in  which  the  lifeless 
body  of  Christ,  during  the  three  days  after 
His  death,  without  separation  or  pre 
scission  from  the  divinity,  was  an  object  of 

1  From  the  Council  C.  P.  V.  Gener.  Canon  9. 


DEVOTION  TO    THE  SACRED  HEART. 


adoration  in  the  tomb  "  ;  this  proposition 
is  declared  to  be  "  captious  and  injurious  to 
the  faithful  worshippers  of  the  heart  of 
Christ." 

What  has  been  said  is  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly expressed  in  the  decrees  of  coun- 
cils and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers. 

It  is  there  defined  that  one  and  the  same 
adoration,  which  is  paid  to  God  the  Word, 
belongs  also  to  Christ  regarded  in  His 
human  nature.  Moreover  it  is  clearly 
taught,  that  the  adoration  with  which  God 
the  Word  is  adored,  is  paid  (the  Incarna- 
tion being  supposed)  not  only  to  the  Word 
regarded  in  Himself  and  in  His  divine 
nature,  but  to  the  Word  in  His  flesh  ;  and 
consequently,  because  His  flesh  or  human 
nature,  whether  whole  or  according  to  its 
parts,  is  something  belonging  to  the  Word, 
it  is  taught  that  one  and  the  same  adora- 
tion is  paid  both  to  the  Word  and  to  Christ 
as  a  whole,  and  to  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  as  the  partial  object. 

Thus  in  the  Lateran  council  under 
Martin  I.  it  is  said :  — 

"  If  any  one  says  that  Christ  is  adored 
in  two  natures,  introducing  thereby  two 
adorations,  separately  to  God  the  Word, 
and  separately  to  man ;  or  if  any  one,  to 
the  destruction  of  the  divinity,  or  to  the 
confounding  of  the  divinity  and  humanity, 
or  the  introduction  of  one  nature  or  sub- 
stance out  of  the  two  which  are  united, 
adores  Christ  after  this  manner  (as  do  the 
Monophysites  in  advocating  one  single 
adoration)  but  does  not  with  one  adoration 
adore  God  incarnate  together  with  His  own 
proper  flesh,  as  was  from   the  beginning 


delivered  to  the  Church  of  God  :  let  him 
be  anathema."^ 

There  are  three  points  contained  in 
these  definitions  :  — 

1.  That  a  two-fold  adoration  is  not  to 
be  paid  to  the  incarnate  Word  according  to 
His  two-fold  nature  ;  one  referred  to  God, 
the  other  to  man.  For  this  would  intro- 
duce a  distinction  of  persons. 

2.  That  one  adoration  is  to  be  paid,  not 
in  the  sense  that  the  object  of  adoration  is 
only  one  nature,  whether  divine  or  com- 
posite; for  this  would  be  the  adoration 
taught  by  the  Apollinarists  and  Eutych- 
ians. 

3.  That  one  adoration  is  to  be  paid  to 
the  Word  together  with  His  flesh,  so  that 
the  object  of  adoration  is  His  flesh  also, 
because  it  is  something  belonging  to  the 
word  incarnate  or  Christ,  who  is  adored  in 
His  entirety. 

The  difficulty  which  the  Monophysites 
of  old,  and  the  Jansenists  in  more  recent 
times,  have  raised,  viz.,  that  supreme  adora- 
tion could  not  be  paid  to  a  creature,  met 
as  it  is  in  these  decrees,  is  still  more  clearly 
solved  by  the  Holy  Fathers. 

It  is  thus  that  St.  Athanasius  refutes 
the  Apollinarists,  who,  by  means  of  the 
same  fallacy  as  the  Jansenists  did  later, 
endeavored  to  argue  that  human  nature,  if 
admitted  in  Christ,  cannot  be  adored, 
because  it  is  a  creature  ;  and  that  therefore 
Catholics  adore  flesh  and  adore  man. 

"We  do  not,  you  say,"  writes  St.  Atha- 
nasius, ^    "  adore  the   creature.     Senseless 

1  Council  v.  Act  viii.  Can.  9.  Hard.  iii.  p.  197. 

2  Contra  Ap.  Lib.  i.  No.  6.  Vol.  i.  p.  936. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART 


men  I  Why  do  you  not  reflect  that  the 
adoration  is  not  paid  to  the  created  body 
of  our  Lord  as  though  it  were  a  mere  crea- 
ture ?  for  it  is  the  body  of  the  uncreated 
Word;  and  adoration  is  paid  to  Him, 
whose  body  it  is.  Divine  adoration  is 
rightly  paid  to  this  body,  for  the  word  is 
God,  and  it  is  His  own  body.  Thus  too 
did  the  women  approach  to  the  Lord,  and 
held  His  feet,  and  adored  Him.  They  held 
His  feet,  and  adored  God.  His  feet,  inas- 
much as  they  were  flesh  and  bone,  could  be 
touched  by  them.  But  inasmuch  as  they 
were  the  feet  of  God,  they  adored  God." 

In  like  manner  writes  St.  John  Damas- 
cene :  — ^ 

"  Christ  is  one  ;  perfect  God  and  perfect 
Man ;  whom  with  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  we  adore  with  one  adoration 
together  with  His  immaculate  flesh. 
Neither  do  we  say  that  His  flesh  is  not 
to  be  adored.  For  His  flesh  is  adored  in 
the  one  person  of  the  Word,  which  becomes 
the  person  of  the  flesh. 

"  We  do  not  pay  adoration  to  the  crea- 
ture ;  for  we  do  not  adore  mere  flesh  but 
united,  as  it  is,  to  the  Deity ;  and  because 
His  two  natures  are  united  to  one  Person 
and  one  hypostasis  of  God  the  Word.  I 
fear  to  touch  a  burning  ember  on  account 
of  the  fire  which  is  united  to  the  brand,  I 
adore  the  two  natures  of  Christ  on  account 
of  the  Deity  united  to  the  flesh. 

"  I  do  not  introduce  a  fourth  person  into 
the  Trinity  ;  God  forbid  !     But  I  acknowl- 
edge one  person  of   God   the   Word  and^ 
His  flesh." 

1  Fid.  Ortkodox.  ilL  c.  8.  Vol.  i.  p.  316. 


The  doctrine  taught  by  the  other 
Fathers,  St.  Epiphanius,  St.  Cyril,  St. 
Ambrose,  St.  Augustine,  may  be  seen  in 
Vasquez  disp.  95,  c.  2  ;  disp.  96,  cc.  4,  6 ;  | 
Petavius,  B.  xv.  cc.  3,  4. 

This  teaching  of  the  Fathers  is  but  the 
legitimate  explanation  of  the  testimony  of 
Scripture,  in  which  we  are  taught  that  the 
same  adoration  which  is  paid  to  God  the 
Father  Himself  is  to  be  paid  to  Jesus 
Christ  regarded  even  as  He  is  man.  Con- 
sequently, the  same  divine  worship  which 
is  paid  to  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  is  directed  also  to  the  Human- 
ity of  the  Word ;  not  on  account  of  itself, 
but  on  account  of  the  Word,  and  in  the 
Word,  whose  nature  it  is. 

It  may  be  well  to  point  out  a  few  pas- 
sages :  — 

Ps.  cix.  I :  "  The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord : 
Sit  Thou  at  My  right  hand." 

David  sees  in  spirit  Christ,  ascending 
after  His  death,  passion,  and  glorious 
resurrection,  and  taking  His  seat  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  eternal  Father.  He  uses 
the  expression  :  "The  Lord  said,"  because 
He  announces  the  eternal  decree,  and 
sees  the  future  as  already  past. 

It  is  certain,  says  Cardinal  Bellarmine, 
that  this  Psalm  is  to  be  understood  of 
Christ,  the  Messiah :  the  Son  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh,  and  his  Lord  in 
respect  of  His  Divinity. 

The  Jews,  when  questioned  by  our  Lord 
{Matt.  22),  regarding  the  sense  in  which 
these  words  were  to  be  understood,  did 
not  dare  to  deny  that  they  referred  to 
Christ. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


t 


The  name  Jehovah  is  not  here  given  to 
Christ,  as  it  is  to  the  Father,  because  He 
is  not  spoken  of  as  simply  the  Son  of  God, 
but  as  the  Son  of  God  Incarnate. 

In  this  character  He  is  always  called 
Lord  (Ladoni)  in  Scripture,  and  the  Father 
Jehovah,  when  they  are  spoken  of  together. 
The  name  of  Lord  is  applicable  to  the  Son 
in  both  natures,  but  the  name  of  Jehovah 
is  applicable  to  Him  only  as  He  is  God. 
These  words  are  quoted  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  :  "To  which  of  the 
ingels  said  He  at  any  time :  '  Sit  on  My 
right  hand  until  I  make  thy  enemies  thy 
footstool'.?"  {Heb.  i.  13.) 

PInllipp.  ii,  11:  "  That  every  tongue 
should  confess  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
is  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

These  words  are  thus  paraphrased  by 
Bernardinus  a  Piconio  :  "  That  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  the  same  glory  with  God 
the  Father." 

Heb.  i.  6 :  "  And  again  when  He 
bringeth  in  the  First-begotten  into  the 
world,  He  saith,  *  Let  all  the  angels  of  God 
adore  Him.'  " 

Hence,  also,  in  Scripture,  baptism,  by 
which  the  faithful  are  made  members  of 
the  Church  in  the  Name  of  the  Three 
Persons  and  one  God,  is  also  called  bap- 
tism in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

But  the  sacred  humanity  of  Christ  is  not 
merely  the  object  of  adoration.  It  is  also 
the  object  of  manifestation,  by  which  the 
object  of  our  adoration  manifests  Himself 
to  us,  and  moves  us  in  a  singular  manner 
to  a  love  and  adoration  of  His  excellence 
.and  goodness. 


For,  besides  the  sovereign  excellence  of 
the  Divinity,  which  is  the  reason  which 
moves  us  to  an  act  of  adoration,  there  may 
be  some  other  reason,  more  remote,  indeed, 
in  itself,  but  one  which  comes  more  closely 
home  to  ourselves,  and  touches  us  more 
nearly,  by  which  the  object  of  our  adora- 
tion manifests  Himself  and  appeals  to  our 
love. 

Thus  God,  our  Creator,  Redeemer,  and 
Sanctifier,  is  adored  on  account  of  His 
infinite  excellence  ;  nevertheless,  infinitely 
perfect  and  adorable  as  He  is  in  Himself, 
He  manifests  Himself  to  us  by  His 
exterior  works  and  benefits. 

.But  the  highest  of  all  His  manifesta- 
tions of  Himself,  and  the  crowning  act  of 
His  benefits  to  us,  is  that  God  Himself 
became  man. 

In  the  nature  which  He  took  He  con- 
descended to  become  our  first-born  Brother, 
our  Restorer,  and  our  Redeemer. 

Although,  then,  the  immediate  reason, 
on  account  of  which,  as  He  is  to  be 
supremely  loved,  so  is  He  to  be  adored,  is 
His  intrinsic  absolute  goodness  and  per- 
fection ;  nevertheless,  in  His  human  nature 
He  manifests  Himself  to  us  in  a  singular 
manner  as  the  object  of  our  love  and 
adoration. 

"As  the  incarnation,"  says  St.  Thomas, 
"  adds  nothing  to  the  goodness  of  the 
Divine  Person,  so  also  does  it  add  nothing 
to  His  loveableness  ;  and,  in  consequence, 
the  person  of  the  Incarnate  Word  is  not 
to  be  loved  more  than  the  person  of  the 
Word  simply ;  although  it  is  to  be  loved 
for  another  reason.     This  reason,  however, 


8 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


is  itself  comprehended  in  the  universal 
goodness  of  the  Word.^  " 

It  is  not  only  His  human  nature,  as  a 
whole,  that  may  be  thus  considered  as  an 
object  of  manifestation.  Each  single  action 
and  each  single  mystery  of  the  Incarnate 
Word  may  be  thus  regarded.  So  also  His 
human  nature,  according  to  its  several 
parts,  is  the  immediate  instrument  by 
which  God  the  Incarnate  Word  manifests, 
in  a  singular  manner,  His  goodness,  mercy, 
and  love. 

God  manifests  Himself  to  us,  indeed,  in 
His  exterior  works  ;  but  it  does  not  follow 
from  this  that  those  created  works  are  an 
object  of  adoration.  We  adore  God  mani- 
fested as  Creator,  Preserver,  Benefactor. 

We  distinguish  in  thought  the  excel- 
lence of  the  Divine  Essence  as  the  primary 
reason  of  our  adoration,  and  His  charac- 
ter of  Creator  and  Benefactor  as  a  reason 
consequent  in  God,  and  as  one  that  comes 
more  closely  home  to  ourselves,  and  by 
which  we  are  powerfully  moved  to  adore 
Him. 

But  in  the  Incarnate  Word  our  flesh  and 
our  nature,  which  He  has  assumed,  is  not 
an  exterior  work,  and  thus  extrinsic  ^  to 
the  Word,  but  it  is  the  nature  of  the 
Word,  in  which,  according  to  the  different 

1  Q.  de  unione  Verdi  a.  I.  ad.  9. 

2  The  human  nature,  hypostatically  united,  is  to  be  called 
neither  extrinsic  to  the  Word,  nor  simply  .intrinsic,  for  these 
are  terms  of  ambiguous  meaning.  Ifmtrinsic  is  opposed  to 
extrinsic,  as  what  is  identified  with  the  divine  nature  's 
opposed  to  what  is  distinct  and  different  from  that  nature, 
in  this  case,  the  human  nature  assumed  is  something  extrmsic. 
But  if  by  extrinsic  is  meant,  not  only  what  is  distinct  from  the 
divine  nature,  but  also  separated  from  the  divine  person,  and 
subsisting  by  itself,  then  human  nature  is  not  extrinsic  to  the 
Word,  but  intrinsic  to  the  composite  person  subsisting  in  the 
two  natures. 


mysteries,  now  in  one  way  now  in  another, 
the  adorable  Word  Himself  manifests 
Himself,  and  acts  and  suffers  for  our  sal- 
vation and  redemption  as  God-Man. 

"  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt 
amongst  us,  and  we  have  seen  His  glory ^ 
the  glory  as  of  the  only-begotten  of  the 
Father"  {St.  John  I   14). 

"The  Life  was  manifested  which  was 
with  the  father,  and  hath  appeared  to  us" 
(i   St.  John  i.  2). 

"  Glorify  Thou  Me,  O  Father,  with  Thy- 
self  with  the  glory  which  I  had,  before  the 
world  was,  with  Thee  "  {St.  John  xvii.  5). 

"  Evidently,  great  is  the  mystery  of  god- 
liness,^ which  was  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
hath  been  preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  is 
believed  in  the  world,  is  taken  up  in  glory  " 
(i  Timothy  iii.  16). 

"  The  goodness  and  kindness  of  God  our 
Saviour  appeared  "  {Tit.  iii.  4). 

When,  then,  Jesus  Christ,  God  and  Man, 
presents  Himself  to  us  for  our  adoration 
in  His  human  nature,  we  pay  supreme 
adoration  to  the  Divine  Person  in  both 
natures. 

The  formal  or  intrinsic  reason  of  this 
adoration  is  the  Divinity ;  the  sacred 
humanity  is  the  material  object,  and  not 
only  the  material  object,  but  also  the 
object  in  which  the  Incarnate  Word  mani- 
fests Himself  to  us,  and  moves  us  to 
adoration.  This  He  does  the  more  power- 
fully in  proportion  as  the  infinite  goodness 
of   God,    His   love,   mercy,   wisdom,   and 


1  The  mystery  of  the  Incarnation.    "  Sacramenium  pitta- 
iis"  ;  the  mystery  of  mercy  and  condescension,  by  whick  w» 
'   are  taught  the  true  worship  of  God  and  religion. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


Almighty  power  are  more  resplendent  and 
manifest  themselves  more  clearly  in  the 
mystery  of  the  incarnation. 

St.  Augustine  has  beautifully  developed 
the  thought,  in  his  own  profound  and 
devotional  manner,  of  the  manifestation  by 
our  Lord  of  the  majesty,  glory,  and  love 
of  His  divinity  in  the  very  infirmity  of 
His  sacred  humanity. 

Commenting  on  the  63d  Psalm,  he 
shows  how  our  Divine  Lord  baffled  the 
wiles  and  triumphed  over  the  malicious 
counsels  of  His  enemies  by  veiling  His 
divinity  in  His  manhood,  and  thus  mani- 
festing the  glory  of  His  divinity  through 
the  sufferings  and  ignominies  of  His 
passion. 

Becoming  man,  He  says.  He  entered 
into  the  profound  counsels  of  His  heart, 
and  manifested  to  the  world  the  power, 
glory,  and  love  of  His  divinity.^  "  It  was 
as  man  that  He  met  their  wicked  coun- 
sels; as  man  He  allowed  Himself  to  be 
held  in  their  hands.  For  He  could  not  be 
held  by  them  if  He  were  not  man.  He 
could  not,  but  as  man,  present  Himself  to 
their  sight ;  He  could  not  be  scourged, 
crucified,  or  die  but  as  man.  He  entered, 
then,  into  all  these  His  sufferings  as  man  ; 
neither  would  these  sufferings  be  of  any 
avail  were  He  not  truly  man.  Were  He 
not  truly  man,  man  would  not  be  truly 
redeemed.  It  was  in  becoming  man  that 
He  entered  into  the  profound  and  secret 
counsels  of  His  heart ;  presenting  Him- 
self as  man  to  the  gaze  of  men,  and  veiling 
from  their  sight  the  truth  of  His  divinity  ; 


-  Accedet  homo  ad  eor  mitum  gt  txaUabitur  Dots. 


concealing  the  form  of  God,  in  which  He 
is  equal  to  the  Father ;  presenting  to  the 
sight  of  men  the  form  of  a  servant,  in 
which  He  is  inferior  to  the  Father.** 

Each  single  mystery  of  the  Incarnate 
Word,  His  conception,  birth,  hidden  life, 
preaching,  passion,  death,  resurrection, 
His  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  His  second  coming  to  judge  the 
living  and  the  dead,  etc.  ;  each  bears  in 
itself  a  special  character  of  manifestation. 
These  mysteries  are,  each  of  them,  actions 
or  sufferings  of  the  Word  Himself  in  His 
human  nature,  and  therefore  claim  to  be 
regarded  as  so  many  manifestations  of  the 
Incarnate  Word,  the  object  of  our  supreme 
adoration. 

The  divine  Word,  man  according  to  His 
human  nature,  is  glorified  and  beatified  in 
overflowing  fulness,  as  in  vision  and  incom- 
prehensible love  He  enjoys  God ;  as  with 
love,  mercy,  and  the  desire  of  our  salvation 
He  is  borne  towards  us  as  His  redeemed, 
His  branches,  and  His  members ;  as  He 
loves,  cherishes,  nourishes,  tries,  and  glori- 
fies both  the  whole  Church  and  individual 
souls  by  His  merits,  by  the  pouring  forth 
of  His  blood ;  by  His  protection  and  His 
power ;  by  His  doctrine,  His  sacraments, 
His  body  and  blood  in  the  Holy  Eucharist 
and  the  perpetual  sacrifice ;  as  in  His 
mortal  life,  from  His  conception  in  the 
womb  of  the  virgin,  to  the  consummation 
on  the  cross,  He  offered  Himself  as  victim 
not  only  in  affection,  but  also  in  effect, 
"because  He  Himself  willed  it." 

He  was  "  in  labors  from  His  youth  "  ;  in 
poverty,   "  not   having    where  to  lay  His 


lO 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


head  " ;  in  obedience,  "  subject  to  them  "  ; 
obedient  to  His  Father,  even  to  the  death 
of  the  cross. 

In  meekness  and  humility;  "meek  and 
humble  of  heart."  In  commiseration 
towards  the  afflicted ;  "Jesus  wept ;"  "  See- 
ing the  city,  He  wept  over  it  "  ;  "  Come  to 
Me  all  you  who  labor,  and  are  burdened, 
and  I  will  refresh  you  "  ;  "  He  went  about 
doing  good  " ;  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do." 

In  great  and  intolerable  sorrows ;  "  My 
soul  is  sorrowful  even  unto  death."  In  His 
body  ;  "  a  leper  and  stricken  by  God  "  ;  "a 
worm  and  no  man  " ;  "the  last  of  men,  and 
the  most  abject  of  the  people,"  In  His 
entire  humanity  ;  spoiled  of  all  external 
goods,  even  to  His  vesture,  for  which  they 
cast  lots.  Spoiled  of  the  goods  of  honor 
and  fame,  even  to  the  most  atrocious  calum- 
nies and  infamy ;  of  the  goods  of  His  most 
precious  Life,  even  to  death,  the  death  of 
the  cross  ;  of  the  very  goods  of  external, 
and,  according  to  His  state  of  traveller  upon 
earth,  even  internal,  consolation  ;  "  My 
God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
Me!" 

All  these  are  not  the  actions  and  suffer- 
ings of  a  mere  man,  but  the  operations  of 
a  God-Man.  By  these  the  Incarnate  Word 
manifests  Himself  to  us  as  the  object  of  our 
adoration,  love,  and  heartfelt  gratitude. 
Nothing  less,  then,  than  adoring  love  and 
gratitude  should  correspond  to  each  and  all 
of  them. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  God  the  Word, 
acting  and  suffering  in  His  sacred  human- 
ity, is  the  object  in  full  of  our  adoration ; 


that  the  sacred  humanity,  in  respect  of  all 
and  each  of  the  things  above  mentioned,  is 
X.h.Q partial  object.  The  sacred  humanity 
we  adore  in  the  Incarnate  Word  ;  in  it  the 
eternal  Word  manifests  Himself  for  our 
adoration.  The  Divinity  of  the  Word  is 
the  formal  or  intrinsic  reason  on  account 
ofwhichwepay  this  homage  of  supreme 
adoration. 

It  is  evident,  also,  that  in  adoring  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Incarnate  Word,  certain  mys- 
teries of  the  incarnation,  in  particular,  may 
be  piously  and  holily  regarded  by  the 
faithful.  So,  also,  may  certain  portions  of 
the  sacred  humanity,  which  present  a 
special  reason  for  being  regarded  as  mani- 
festations of  the  Incarnate  Word,  be  thus 
regarded. 

Such  reason  may  be,  that  they  present 
themselves  to  our  loving  adoration  as  the 
immediate  instruments  by  which  the 
Incarnate  Word,  in  His  actions  and  suf- 
ferings, manifested  Himself,  and  carried 
out  the  work  of  our  redemption  ;  or,  again, 
because  they  represent  in  brief,  and,  as  it 
were,  symbolically,  all  those  sentiments  of 
God  incarnate  towards  us,^  which  are,  so 
to  speak,  the  interior  principle  of  all  His 
actions  and  sufferings  for  us. 

All  the  several  manifestations  of  the 
Incarnate  Word  may  be  referred  either  to 
the  exterior  life  and  passion  of  Christ,  or 
to  His  interior  life  and  passion,  the  inform- 
ing principle,  so  to  speak,  of  the  exterior. 

Hence  the  Church,  led  and  governed 
by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  her  divine  spouse, 
has  in  a  particular  manner  proposed  to  the 

1  Philipp,  sa. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


II 


public  worship  of  the  faithful  two  special 
objects  of  manifestation,in  accordance  with 
the  reasons  above  mentioned,  namely : 
the  sacred  wounds  and  the  sacred  heart 
of  Jesus,  which  respectively  correspond  to 
this  two-fold  life  and  passion. 

It  is  to  the  second  of  these  that  our 
subject  leads  us  to  confine  our  attention. 
We  have  seen  in  part,  from  what  has  been 
already  said,  what  is  the  judgment  which 
the  Church  has  expressed  regarding  the 
Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  how 
jealously  it  has  defended  its  solidity  and 
its  harmony  with  revealed  truths  against 
those  who  venture  to  taunt  the  worship- 
pers of  the  sacred  heart  with  heresy ! 

By  establishing  the  Feast  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  for  the  whole  Catholic  world,  it  has, 
in  an  unmistakable  manner,  recommended 
the  Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  to  the 
practice  of  all  the  faithful. 

The  time  would  seem  to  have  now  come 
of  which  St.  John,  the  beloved  disciple, 
spoke,  when  asked  by  St.  Gertrude,  to 
whom,  as  we  read  in  her  life,  he  appeared, 
why  he,  who  had  reposed  on  the  breast  of 
our  Lord  at  the  Last  Supper,  had  said  so 
little  of  the  movements  of  His  sacred 
heart .?  "  God  has  reserved  the  sweetness 
of  the  movements  of  His  heart,"  he 
replied,  "  to  be  revealed  in  later  times,  in 
order  to  rekindle  charity  which  shall  have 
been  greatly  cooled," 

May  we  not  read  the  mysterious  words 
of  the  Psalmist,  *  which,  as   we  have  said, 


1  Accedet  homo  ad  cer  altum  et  exaltabitur  Deus.  "  Man 
*hall  come  to  a  deep  heart,  and  God  shall  be  exalted  "  {Psalm 
turn.) 


are  so  beautifully  referred  by  St.  Augus 
tine  to  the  triumphant  manifestation  of 
His  divinity  through  the  humiliation  of 
His  sacred  humanity ;  may  we  not  read 
these  words  as  prophetic  of  the  time  when 
the  hearts  of  men  should  be  led  by  the 
voice  of  the  Church  to  approach  more 
nearly  to  the  sacred  heart,  and  thus 
manifest  everywhere  the  triumph  of  the 
reign  of  its  divine  love  } 

St.  Bernard  gives  expression  in  his 
burning  language  to  the  sentiments  of  the 
hearts  of  the  devout  faithful  in  their 
recognition  of  the  claims  of  the  heart  of 
Jesus  to  their  love  and  adoration.  "  I  too 
have  found,"  he  says,  "  the  heart  of  my 
King,  my  brother,  and  my  kind  friend 
Jesus,  and  shall  I  not  adore  it  1  Having 
found  Thy  heart,  which  is  also  mine,  O 
sweet  Jesus,  I  will  adore  Thee  my  God."^ 

From  the  very  beginning  indeed,  of  the 
church,  the  heart  of  Jesus  has  been  loved 
and  adored.  His  Blessed  Virgin  Mother, 
of  course,  holds  the  first  place  amongst  the 
adorers  of  the  heart  of  Jesus. 

The  heart  of  Jesus  and  the  heart  of 
Mary  are  one  ;  in  so  far  as  the  distinction, 
taught  by  our  faith,  between  the  Creator 
and  the  creature  may  admit.  The  Blessed 
Virgin,  exalted  to  the  ineffable  dignity  of 
Mother  of  the  Creator,  and  consequently, 
the  Mirror  of  Justice,  reflected  in  her  most 
pure  heart  the  perfect  image  of  the  heart 
of  her  divine  Son.  She  treasured  up  in 
her  immaculate  heart,  as  in  a  house  of 
gold,  all  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  Jesus  Christ.  Queen 

1  Sermon  3  on  the  Passion  of  our  Lord. 


12 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


of  prophets,  she  communicated  to  the 
evangelists,  from  the  precious  treasury  of 
her  knowledge,  many  mysteries  of  the  life 
of  her  Son,  exhaling  the  divine  perfume 
which  breathes  from  the  sanctuary  of  His 
sacred  heart. 

St.  Augustine,  St.  Bonaventure,  St.  Ber- 
nard, St.  Gertrude,  are  links  in  that  golden 
chain  which  we  trace  in  the  lives  of  the 
saints,  from  the  earliest  times,  binding 
together  the  witnesses  to  the  devotion  to 
the  sacred  heart. 

It  is  by  St.  Augustine,  whose  devout 
scrutiny  leads  him  to  note  each  minute 
incident  in  the  life  and  passion  of  our 
Lord,  that  we  are  reminded  of  the  signifi- 
cant expression  used  by  the  evangelist 
when  he  records  the  opening  of  His  sacred 
side,  whence  issued  forth  the  sacraments 
which  alone  give  us  entrance  to  the  true 
life. 

"  It  was  for  this,"  says  St.  Bernard,  com- 
menting upon  the  sanu  mystery,  ^  "  that 
Thy  side  was  pierced  through,  that  we 
might  thereby  find  an  entrance  within. 
For  this  was  Thy  heart  wounded,  that  in 
it  and  in  Thee,  freed  from  all  disquiet  from 
without,  we  might  make  our  dwelling 
therein.  It  was  wounded,  too,  that  by  the 
visible  wound  we  might  see  the  invisible 
wound  of  Thy  love.  Who,  then,  would 
not  love  a  heart  thus  wounded }  Who 
would  refuse  to  love  a  heart  so  loving  "i  " 

Amongst  the  special  gifts  with  which 
our  Lord  rewards  those  who  are  truly 
devout  to  His  sacred  heart,  holy  confi- 
dence holds  a  prominent  place. 

1  Sermoji  3  on  the  Passion  of  our  Lord. 


"  Come  to  Me  all,"  are  His  own  words. 
The  Almighty  Word,  by  whom  all  things 
were  created,  is  able,  by  a  single  word,  to 
draw  the  hearts  of  all  to  Himself.  By  a 
single  word.  He  not  only  called,  but  drew 
St.  Matthew  to  Himself.  "  If  the  mag- 
net," as  St.  Augustine  beautifully  remarks, 
"  possesses  the  power  of  attracting  iron, 
how  much  more  must  we  believe  that  the 
Lord  of  all  had  the  power  of  drawing  after 
Him  those  whom  He  called.-'"  The  invi- 
tation, then,  of  our  Lord,  not  only  calls 
but  also  attracts  to  Himself  those  whom 
He  calls.  "  Come  to  Me  all  who  labor 
and  are  burdened."  This  is  addressed  to 
all ;  for,  as  St.  Augustine  argues,  "  Why 
do  we  all  labor,  but  that  we  are  mortal 
men,  frail  and  weak }  Why  does  He  say. 
Come  to  Me  all  who  labor,  but  that  we 
may  no  longer  labor  ?  His  promise  is  open 
to  all ;  for  it  is  those  who  labor  that  He 
calls  to  Him.  Do  we  ask  under  what 
promise  we  are  called  ?  '  And  I,'  He  says, 
'  will  refresh  you.'  " 

We  insinuated  above  that  the  virtue  of 
holy  confidence,  by  which  we  are  led  to 
approach  our  Lord,  is  a  special  gift.  The 
mysterious  action  of  Divine  grace,  by 
which  tbe  Incarnate  Word  attracts  the 
hearts  of  men  to  Himself,  is  declared  by 
the  words  of  our  Lord  when  He  says,  "  No 
man  can  come  to  Me  unless  My  Father 
who  sent  Me  draw  him."  ^ 

St.  Augustine,  speaking  on  these  words, 
explains,  with  his  characteristic-depth  and 
beauty  of  thought,  in  what  manner  this 
divine  attraction   is   reconciled   with    the 

1  St.  John  vi.  44. 


DEVOTION  TO    THE  SACRED  HEART. 


13 


freedom  of  the  human  will.  "  How  can  I 
freely  believe  if  I  am  drawn  ?  I  answer : 
It  is  but  little  to  say  that  you  are  drawn 
willingly ;  you  are  drawn  also  with  delight. 
What  do  I  mean  when  I  say  that  you  are 
drawn  with  delight  ?  '  Delight  in  the 
Lord  and  He  will  give  thee  the  petitions 
of  thy  heart.'  There  is  a  delight  of  the 
heart  which  finds  sweetness  in  this  bread 
of  heaven.  If  the  poet  could  say,  Each 
one  is  drawn  by  his  own  delight  —  delight, 
not  necessity  —  how  much  more  truly  may 
we  say  that  man  is  drawn  to  Christ  when 
he  delights  in  the  truth,  delights  in  hap- 
piness, delights  in  Eternal  Life ;  for  all 
these  is  Christ. 

"The  Father  draws  to  the  Son  those 
who  believe  in  the  Son  because  they  con- 
sider that  He  has  God  for  His  Father.  For 
God  begot  the  Son  equal  to  Himself;  and 
whoever  considers,  and  thinks,  and  ponders 
in  faith,  that  He,  in  whom  he  believes,  is 
equal  to  the  Father,  he  it  is  whom  the 
Father  draws  to  the  Son." 

Father  de  la  Colombi^re,  the  faithful 
servant  who  was  appointed  by  our  divine 
Lord  Himself  to  the  special  office  of  con- 
tributing to  make  known  the  devotion  to 
His  sacred  heart,  closes  one  of  his  sermons, 
preached  in  England,  with  the  most  ardent 
expression  of. this  holy  confidence,  in  words 
which  will  commend  themselves  to  the 
hearts  of  many. 

"  For  myself,  O  my  God !  I  am  so  per- 
suaded that  Thou  watchest  over  those  who 
hope  in  Thee,  and  that  I  can  want  nothing 
so  long  as  I  look  for  everything  from  Thee, 
that  I  am  resolved  henceforth  to  live  with- 


out any  care,  and  to  relieve  myself  of  all 
disquietude  by  casting  all  my  care  upon 
Thee.  In  pace  in  idipsum  dormiam  et  re- 
quiescam  ;  qitoniam  Tu  Domine  singidariter 
in  spe  constituisti  me. 

*'  Men  may  rob  me  of  my  goods,  and  my 
honor ;  sickness  may  deprive  me  of  strength 
and  power  to  serve  Thee  ;  I  may  even  lose 
Thy  grace  by  sin  ;  but  I  will  never  lose  my 
hope.  I  will  keep  it  to  the  last  moment  of 
my  life,  and  all  the  demons  of  hell  shall 
try  in  vain  to  rob  me  of  it.  In  pace  in  idip- 
sum dormiam.  et  requiescam. 

"  Others  may  look  for  happiness  from 
their  riches  or  their  talents  ;  others  may 
rely  on  the  innocence  of  their  lives,  or  on 
the  rigors  of  their  penance ;  or  on  the 
abundance  of  their  alms,  or  the  fervor  of 
their  prayers  ;  Tu  Domine  singulariter  in 
spe  constituisti  me.  '  Thou,  O  Lord  !  hast 
singularly  settled  me  in  hope.'  " 

"  For  myself,  O  Lord !  all  my  hope  is 
hope  itself.  This  hope  has  never  deceived 
any  one.  No  one,  no  one,  I  say,  has  hoped 
in  the  Lord,  and  been  confounded.  Nullus 
speravit  in  Domino  et  confusus  est. 

"  I  am  assured,  then,  that  I  shall  be 
eternally  happy,  because  I  hope  firmly  to 
be  so,  and  because  it  is  from  Thee,  O  my 
God !  that  I  hope  this.  In  Te  Domine 
speravi,  non  confundar  in  (Sternum. 

"  I  know,  alas  !  too  well,  that  I  am  weak 
and  changeable.  I  know  how  great  is  the 
power  of  temptation  against  virtue  the 
most  assured.  I  have  seen  the  stars  of 
heaven  and  the  pillars  of  the  firmament 
fall ;  but  all  this  cannot  make  me  fear,  as 
long  as  I  hope.     I  am  secure  against  all 


«4 


DEVOTION  TO  THE  SACRED  HEART. 


evil,  and  I  am  sure  of  hoping  always,  be- 
cause I  still  hope  this  unswerving  hope."^ 

The  heart  of  Jesus  is  the  school  in 
which  we  are  to  study  His  sentiments,  in 
order  to  frame  our  lives  in  accordance  with 
them.  "  Learn  of  Me."  He  has  said  : 
"  Let  the  same  mind  be  in  you,  which  was 
in  Christ  Jesus  "  ;  are  the  words  of  the 
apostle,  in  which  he  enforces  the  same 
truth. 

St.  Ambrose  describes  the  life  of  Mary 
as  the  school  in  which  all  may  learn  to  imi- 
tate the  life  of  her  divine  Son. 

The  Blessed  Virgin,  the  crowning  work 
of  divine  grace,  had  attracted  to  herself 
the  eternal  word.  "While  all  things  were 
in  quiet  silence,  and  the  night  was  in  the 
midst  of  her  course.  Thy  Almighty  Word," 
says  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  "  leaped  down 
from  heaven  from  Thy  eternal  throne." 

While  the  deluge  of  sin  covered  the 
whole  face  of  the  earth,  Mary,  like  the 
dove  sent  forth  from  the  ark,  had  found  for 
the  eternal  word  the  only  spot,  her  own 
immaculate  heart,  from  which  the  waters 
had  retired,  and  on  which  He  might  set 
His  foot.  She  brought  back  the  branch  of 
olive,  the  sign  of  safety  for  the  world,  and 
the  pledge  of  the  restoration  of  man. 

By  her  faith,  resplendent,  in  the  mystery 
of  the  annunciation,  she  secured  to  us  the 
triumph  of  the  mystery  of  Redemption, 
and  became  truly,  in  the  part  assigned  to 
her,  the  repairer  of  the  human  race. 
"  Blessed  art  thou  who  hast  believed  ; 
behold  all  thmgs  shall  be  accomplished 
which  were  said  to  thee." 

1  Sermon  68.    On  Confidence  in  God. 


St.  Leo  tells  us  how  tne  work  of  the 
restoration  of  man  to  his  lost  dignity  is 
effected  by  the  action  of  divine  grace  ;  and 
we  see,  from  what  has  been  said,  the 
part  taken  by  Mary  in  this  supernatural 
work. 

"  Man  was  created,"  says  St.  Leo,  ^  "  to 
the  image  of  God,  in  order  that  he  might 
imitate  his  Creator.  The  natural  dignity, 
therefore,  of  our  race,  consists  in  this,  that 
the  form  of  the  divine  goodness  may  be 
resplendent  in  us,  as  a  mirror.  It  is  to 
this  that  the  grace  of  our  Saviour,  day  by 
day,  restores  us,  whereby  what  fell  in  the 
first  Adam  is  raised  up  again  in  the 
second. 

"  But  the  cause  of  this  restoration  is 
nothing  but  the  mercy  of  God,  whom  we 
could  not  love,  unless  He  first  loved  us, 
and  dispelled  the  darkness  of  our  ignorance 
by  the  light  of  His  truth. 

"  By  loving  us,  then,  God  restores  us  to 
His  own  image  ;  and  in  order  that  He  may 
find  in  us  the  form  of  His  own  goodness. 
He  gives  us  the  power  to  act  as  He  acts, 
kindling  the  light  of  our  minds,  and  in- 
flaming us  with  the  fire  of  His  charity,  in 
order  that  we  may  not  only  love  Him,  but 
also  love  whatever  He  loves." 

The  divine  light,  then,  which  is  poured 
into  our  minds,  is  cast  from  the  life  and 
actions  of  our  divine  Lord.  It  comes  in 
a  less  majestic,  but,  for  our  weakness, 
exceedingly  attractive  form,  to  our  sight 
in  the  life  of  Mary ;  in  which  we  are 
enabled  to  gaze  by  a  borrowed  light  on  the 
splendor  of   her  divine    Son,  the   bright- 

1  Sermon  I.  on  the  Fast  of  Advent. 


DEVOTION  TO   THE  SACRED  HEART. 


15 


ness  of  the  glory  of  the  Father  and  the 
figure  of  His  substance. 

Our  Lord  Himself  tells  us  what  are  the 
virtues  which  are  specially  to  form  our 
study  in  His  sacred  heart.  "Learn  of 
Me,"  He  has  said,  "  because  I  am  meek 
and  humble  of  heart."  "  Learn  of  Me," 
observes  St.  Augustine  on  these  words, 
**  not  to  frame  the  world  ;  not  to  create 
all  things  visible  and  invisible ;  not  to 
work  wonders  in  the  world  and  to  raise 
the  dead  to  life ;  but  '  becatise  I  am  meek 
and  humble  of  heart.'  " 

It  is  to  these  two  virtues  that  our  atten- 
tion is  principally  directed  by  the  words 
of  the  Decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation 
of  the  6th  of  February,  1765  ;  in  which 
X  is  said  that  the  Devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  "renews  symbolically  the  memory 
of  that  divine  love  with  which  the  Only 
Begotten  Son  of  God  took  human  nature, 
and,  being  made  obedient  even  unto  death, 
said  that  He  gave  an  example  to  men  for 
that  He  was  meek  and  humble  of  heart." 

Reparation  for  the  injuries,  which  the 
sacrament  of  His  love  has  been  the  occa- 
sion of  inflicting  on  the  heart  of  our 
divine  Lord,  is  one  of  the  acts  of  devotion 
which  suggests  itself  most  powerfully  to 
the  adorer  of  His  sacred  heart. 

In  presence  of  this,  the  greatest  gift  of 
His  divine  love,  one  of  the  most  urgent 
demands  which  presses  upon  our  hearts 
is  to  discover  some  means  of  making 
reparation  for  the  coldness  and  injuries 
with  which  it  has  been  received. 

It  is  with  a  burning  sense  of  this  want 
that   Father    de    la    Colombi^re,   in    his 


sermon  on  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi, 
earnestly  appeals  to  our  Lord  Himself  to 
g^ve  us  His  own  most  sacred  heart  to 
enable  us  to  make  some  adequate  return. 
He  thus  hastens  in  desire  the  coming  of 
the  reign  of  His  sacred  heart  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Feast  and  the  Devo- 
tion throughout  the  world ;  a  work  in 
which  he  had  already  been  called  to 
co-operate  in  a  remarkable  manner. 

"  Incredible,"  he  says,  "  as  may  appear 
the  love  manifested  by  the  Son  of  God  in 
this  Sacrament,  there  is  something,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  yet  more  surprising ;  the 
ingratitude  with  which  we  repay  so  great 
a  love. 

"What  must  Thou  do  then,  O  Lord! 
to  conquer  hearts  so  hard.'  Thou  hast 
gone  so  far,  the  holy  fathers  tell  us,  as 
even  Thy  divine  power  could  go.  If  even 
the  touch  of  Thy  sacred  body  cannot 
break  this  hellish  charm,  we  can  hope  for 
no  other  remedy  of  greater  power.  I  see 
but  one  resource  in  so  great  an  evil.  Thou 
must  Thyself,  O  my  God !  Thou  must 
give  us  another  heart :  Thou  must  give  us 
a  tender  heart,  a  heart,  not  like  our  own, 
of  marble  or  of  bronze ;  Thou  must  give 
us  a  heart  like  Thy  own  ;  Thou  must  give 
us  Thy  own  heart  itself."^ 


1  Sermon  30.  On  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi.  This  ser- 
mon was  preached  in  England  before  the  Duchess  of  York. 
It  was  not  long  before  this  that  Father  de  la  Colombifere  had 
learned  from  Blessed  Margaret  Mary  the  revelation  made  to 
her  by  our  Lord  regarding  His  wish  that  the  Feast  01  His 
Sacred  Heart  should  be  established  in  the  Church.  In  this 
work  he  was  himself  named  and  commissioned  to  assist  her. 
It  was  the  subsequent  publication  of  the  Notes  of  his  retreat 
made  in  London  (in  which  he  speaks  of  this  revelation),  that 
first  brought  the  Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  into  public 
notice. 


L 


i6 


DEVOTION  TO    THE  SACRED  HEART. 


It  would  seem  that  the  ardent  petition  of 
the  faithful  servant  of  the  sacred  heart  has 
been  heard.  Our  Divine  Lord  has  given  to 
,  the  Church  His  most  sacred  heart.  The 
devotion  to  it  lives  in  the  hearts  of  the 
faithful  children  of  the  Church.  The  hom- 
age of  reparation  goes    up  from  unnum- 


bered hearts  throughout  the  Catholic  world 
to  the  heart  of  Jesus  in  the  sacrament  of 
His  love,  as  He  resides  in  the  tabernacles 
of  our  altars  or  presents  Himself  on  His 
throne  of  mercy,  and  reminds  them  of 
His  sacred  heart,  the  crowning  gift  of  His 
Incarnation. 


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(C^apfer  1.— On  i^e  Botoe  of  <Boii. 


St.  Francis  de  Sales  and  Father  Segneri. 


"  This  only  take  care  of  with  all 

\T.  FRANCIS  DE  SALES  was 
bom  at  the  Castle  of  Sales,  in 
the  diocese  of  Geneva,  August 
21,  1567. 

Leigh  Hunt,  the  most  charm- 
ing of  our  modern  essayists, 
has  left  us  an  interesting  article 
in  his  "London  Journal" 
( February  4,  1835,)  o^  ^'^ 
grand  saint  and  doctor.  He 
says  that,  "  like  ¥6n6\on,  he 
was  a  sort  of  angel  of  a  gentleman  ;  a  species 
of  phoenix  which,  we  really  must  say,  the 
French  Church  seems  to  have  produced  beyond 
any  other." 

After  the  death  of  Bishop  Granier,  Francis 
was  appointed  Bishop  of  Geneva.  This  was 
on  the  8th  of  December,  1602. 

He  continued  to  discharge  all  the  duties  of 
a  saintly  prelate  till  the  year  1622,  when  he 
died  of  an  apoplexy,  at  Lyons,  December  28, 
aged  fifty-six,  leaving  several  religious  works, 
collected  in  two  volumes  folio.  He  was 
canonised  in  1665. 

For  his  life,  &c.,  see  MarsolUer,  Moreri, 
Disct.  Hist.,  Butler,  &c.,  &c. 


diligence,  that  you  love  the  Lord  your  God." 

—  JosuE  xxiii.  I. 

Love  is  strong  as  death  (Cant.  viii.  6) ; 
since  both  equally  separate  the  soul  from 
the  body  and  all  terrestrial  things,  the 
only  difference  is,  that  the  separation  is 
real  and  effectual  when  caused  by  death, 
whereas  that  occasioned  by  love  is  usually 
confined  to  the  heart. 

I  say  usually,  because  divine  love  is 
sometimes  so  violent  that  it  actually  sep- 
arates the  soul  from  the  body,  jnd,  by 
causing  the  death  of  those  who  love,  it 
renders  them  infinitely  happier  than  i^  it 
bestowed  on  them  a  thousand  lives. 

As  the  lot  of  the  reprobate  is  to  die  in 
sin,  that  of  the  elect  is  to  expire  in  l!ie 
love  and  grace  of  God,  which  is  effected 
in  several  ways. 

Many  of  the  saints  died,  not  only  in  the 
state  of  charity,  but  in  the  actual  exercise 
of  divine  love.  St.  Augustine  expired  in 
making  an  act  of  contrition,  which  cannot 


lO 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS.  ETC. 


exist  without  love  ;  St.  Jerome,  in  exhort- 
ing his  disciples  to  charity  and  the 
practice  of  all  virtues ;  St.  Ambrose,  in 
conversing  sweetly  with  his  Saviour,  whom 
he  had  received  in  the  Holy  Eucharist ; 
St.  Antony  of  Padua  also  expired  in  the  act 
of  discoursing  with  our  Divine  Lord,  after 
having  recited  a  hymn  in  honor  of  the  ever- 
glorious  Virgin  ;  St.  Thomas  of  Aquinas, 
with  his  hands  clasped,  his  eyes  raised  to 
heaven,  and  pronouncing  these  words  of 
the  Canticles,  which  were  the  last  he  had 
expounded :  "  Come,  my  beloved,  let  us  go 
forth  into  the  field  "  {Cant.  vii.  1 1). 

All  the  apostles,  and  the  greater  number 
of  the  martyrs,  died  in  prayer.  Venerable 
Bede,  having  learned  the  hour  of  his  death 
by  revelation,  went  to  the  choir  at  the 
usual  hour  to  sing  the  evening  office,  it 
being  the  feast  of  the  Ascension,  and  at 
the  very  moment  he  had  finished  singing 
vespers  he  expired,  following  his  Guide  and 
Master  into  Heaven,  to  celebrate  His  praises 
in  that  abode  of  rest  and  happiness,  round 
which  the  shades  of  night  can  never  gather, 
because  it  is  illumined  by  the  brightness  of 
the  eternal  day,  which  neither  dawns  nor 
ends. 

John  Gerson,  Chancellor  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Paris,  remarkable  for  his  learning 
and  virtue,  —  of  whom  Sixtus  of  Sienna 
said,  "  that  it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 
the  vein  of  piety  which  runs  through  his 
works  surpasses  his  science,  or  whether 
his  learning  exceeds  his  piety," — after 
having  explained  the  fifty  properties  of 
divine  love  mentioned  in  the  Canticles, 
expired  at  the  close  of  three  days,  smiling, 


and  pronouncing  these  words  of  the  same 
sacred  text :  "  Thy  love,  O  God,  is  strong 
as  death  "  {Cant.  viii.  6). 

The  fervor  and  ardor  of  St.  Martin  at 
the  hour  of  his  death  are  remarkable.  St. 
Louis,  who  has  proved  himself  as  great  a 
monarch  among  the  saints  as  an  eminent 
saint  among  kings,  being  attacked  by  the 
plague,  ceased  not  to  pray,  and  after 
receiving  the  viaticum,  he  extended  his 
arms  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  fixed  his  eyes 
on  heaven,  and,  animated  with  love  and 
confidence,  expired  in  saying  with  the 
Psalmist :  "  I  will  come  into  Thy  house,  O 
Lord;  I  will  worship  towards  Thy  holy 
temple,  in  Thy  fear  "  {Ps.  v.  8). 

St.  Peter  Celestine,  after  having  en- 
dured the  most  cruel  and  incredible  afflic- 
tions, seeing  the  end  of  his  days  approach, 
began  to  sing  like  the  swan,  and  termi- 
nated his  song  with  his  life,  by  these  words 
of  the  last  Psalm  :  "  Let  every  spirit  praise 
the  Lord  "  {Ps.  cl.  5). 

St.  Eusebi^,  surnamed  the  Stranger, 
died  kneeling  in  fervent  prayer.  St.  Peter 
the  Martyr  yielded  his  last  sigh  in  writing 
(with  his  finger,  which  he  had  dipped  in 
his  blood  )  the  articles  of  the  faith  for  which 
he  sacrificed  his  life,  and  in  saying :  "  Into 
Thy  hands,  O  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit " 
{Ps.  XXX.  6). 

The  great    apostle   of   the   Indies  and 
Japan,  St.  Francis  Xavier,  expired  holding 
a  crucifix,  which  he  tenderly  embraced,  and 
incessantly  repeated  in  transports  of  love 
"  O  Jesus  !  the  God  of  my  heart !  " 
St.   Francis  de  Sales. 
From  his  Treatise  on  "  The  Love  of  God!* 


THE  LOVE   OF  GOD, 


II 


[Paul  Segneri,  S.  J.,  was  born  in  the  year 
1624,  at  Nantes.  From  an  early  age  he 
showed  a  predilection  for  the  religious  state. 
He  united  the  functions  of  missionary  with 
that  of  preacher  during  the  space  of  twenty- 
seven  years,  with  a  zeal  truly  apostolic.  This 
indefatigable  religious  and  saintly  director, 
'  worn  out  with  hard  work  and  austerities, 
yielded  up  his  soul  to  God  in  the  year  1694, 
aged  seventy.] 

The  saintly  Father  Segneri  tells  us  that 
the  sure  way  of  gaining  heaven,  without 
much  cost,  is  by  making  frequent  acts  of 
the  love  of  God,  and  by  accustoming 
ourselves  to  do  everything  with  the  inten- 
tion of  pleasing  Him. 

We  shall  no  longer  be  tempted  to 
complain  that  we  cannot  undertake  such 
great  things  as  we  so  much  admire  in 
others. 

God  is  content  if  we  do  all  we  can  to 
love  Him  in  our  sphere  of  life,  and  He 
asks  for  nothing  more.  You  sometimes 
regret    that   you  cannot    practise    great 


austerities,  which  no  doubt  are  due  to  Him 
for  our  past  sins. 

Supply  for  these  in  another  way,  replace 
those  fastings  and  watchings  by  fervent 
acts  of  love ;  He  requires  nothing  more. 

You  are  engaged  here  below  in  temporal 
affairs  ;  domestic  cares,  perchance,  occupy 
your  time.  Well,  do  all  these  with  the 
intention  of  pleasing  Him,  and  God  will 
be  as  content  as  if  you  had  undertaken  the 
worthy  functions  of  an  apostolate. 

By  what  way,  do  you  think,  did  the 
saints  attain  to  the  perfection  of  holiness  } 
It  was  less  by  their  heroic  actions  than  by 
the  great  love  they  showed  in  performing 
their  lesser  duties.  Our  Saviour  does  not 
praise  Mary  Magdalen  for  having  done 
much,  but  for  having  loved  much.  Mag- 
dalen had  not  then  practised  austerities, 
but  the  love  of  Jesus  had  filled  her  heart 

with  torrents  of  tears. 

P.  Segneri. 
MttUtatiom. 


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i  W  ^  W  w  ^  ^  ^/^  _y^_^i^  "w^  ^ JW^^^t^  : 


I 


Fathers  Bretteville,  Faber,  Nouet,  and  St.  Gregory. 

"  With  hitn  that  feareth  the  Lord,  it  shall  go  well  in  the  latter  end,  and  in  the  day  of  his  death  h« 
shall  be  blessed."  —  Eccles.  i.  13. 


'ABBfi  DE  BRETTEVILLE,  born 
in  the  year  1630  at  Bretteville, 
near  Caen  in  Normandy.  In  the 
year  1667  he  entered  the  Society 
of  Jesus,  which  order  he,  how- 
ever, abandoned  in  1678.  He 
died  in  1688. 


The  fear  of  the  terrible  judgment  of 
God  is  necessary  to  lead  a  sinner  back  to 
repentance,  but  love  must  be  added  to  fear 
to  make  this  repentance  perfect. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  implanted 
in  the  heart  of  man  two  natures ;  both 
combined  will  contribute  to  his  conversion, 
and  make  it  perfect  and  secure.  In  toto 
corde  vestro. 

There  is  in  the  heart  an  inferior  nature, 
which  is  more  worldly,  and  which  can  only 
be  moved  by  sensible  things ;  fear  is  for 
this  portion  of  the  heart ;  for  it  is  the 
contemplation  of  hell  and  the  fearful  con- 
sequences of  vice  that  seizes  the  heart  of 
man  and  turns  it  away  from  sin. 

But  there  is  in  this  same  heart  a  supe- 
rior celestial  nature,  which  is  only  suscep- 
tible of  the  dawn  of  grace.     This  is  love  ; 


this  is  that  divine  charity  which  moves 
that  portion  of  the  heart,  and  which  makes 
it  seek  God  for  God's  sake  alone. 

The  conversion  of  the  heart  begins  with 
fear  and  finishes  with  love. 

To  return  to  God  simply  through  fea^ 
is,  so  to  say,  only  half  the  battle.  In 
order  that  we  may  be  all  for  God,  we  must 
combine  love  with  fear. 

Is  not  the  love  of  God  sufficient,  says 
the  great  St.  Augustine,  to  make  us  avoid 
sin  }  Was  it  needful  to  employ  fear  and 
terrible  threats }  Timor  in  adjutorium 
amor  is  excitandus  fuit. 

At  least  —  if  fear  did  what  love  should 
do,  we  should  have  less  to  complain  of  — 
what  is  so  shocking  is,  that  nowadays  we 
have  reached  that  pitch  of  indifference 
which  is  neither  moved  by  fear  nor  by 
love,  and  that  the  most  frightful  things  do 
not  make  any  impression  on  our  hearts. 

Bretteville. 
Essays. 

[Father  Faber. —  This  celebrated  and 
justly  appreciated  Oratorian  Father  died  on 
September  26,  1863.     The  reader  is  referred 


THE  FEAR   OF  GOD. 


n 


to  Father  John  Bowden's  interesting  Life  of 
this  zealous  servant  of  God. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  his  hymns  are  sung 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
and  that  his  works  have  been  translated  into 
many  an  European  language,  and  that  his 
preaching  entitled  him  to  the  name  of  the 
modem  Chrysostom  ;  for  truly,  like  to  that  great 
saint  and  doctor,  he  was  "  honey-mouthed."] 

The  loss  of  holy  fear  is  the  mischief  of 
all  mischiefs.  For  this  fear  is  a  special  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  be  sought  for  by 
prayer  and  penance,  by  tears  and  cries,  by 
patience  and  impatience,  and  by  the  very 
yearnings  of  an  earnest  and  familiar  love. 
It  has  always  seemed  to  me  very  and  un- 
expectedly beautiful  when  in  the  special 
office  of  St.  Philip  Neri,  knowing  what 
manner  of  man  he  was,  and  what  peculiar 
spirit  he  was  of,  it  says  in  the  antiphon  of 
the  Magnificat,  "  Come,  my  children,  and 
I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord  "  ; 
for  how  else  shall  the  saint  teach  us 
divinest  love  "i 

Let  us  pass  in  review  before  ourselves 
the  ancient  patriarchs  and  their  deep  awe 
ot  God  ;  how  they  trembled  with  holy  fear 
when  God  was  nigh,  and  looked  upon  all 
things  as  unspeakably  hallowed  over  which 
He  had  so  much  as  cast  His  shadow. 

Jacob,  who  was  so  familiar  with  Him 
*^at  he  wrestled  with  Him,  and  would  not 
let  Him  go  till  He  had  blessed  him,  stands 
eminent  among  the  saints  of  God  for  the 
gift  and  grace  of  fear.  The  very  ritual  of 
the  old  synagogue  was  steeped  in  fear  and 
reverence.  David,  the  man  after  God's 
own  heart,  was  ever  praying  for  an  increase 
if  holy  fear.     Our  Blessed  Lord  Himself, 


says  the  apostle,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh 
was  heard  because  He  feared.  Mary  and 
the  apostles  were  filled,  as  none  others 
ever  were,  with  the  beauty,  the  tenderness, 
and  the  excess  of  this  heavenly  fear. 

Hundreds  of  dying  saints,  around  whose 
flesh  and  souls  still  clung  the  fair,  white 
robe  of  their  unforfeitcd  baptismal  white- 
ness, trembled  in  every  limb  as  they  pon- 
dered the  possible  judgments  of  Infinite 
Purity,  beneath  whose  judicial  eye  they 
were  about  to  stand. 

If  they  needed  this  degree  of  fear,  what 
degree  need  we  "i 

Why  do  frustrated  vocations  so  abound  ? 
Whence  come  the  multitude  of  unfinished 
saints,  that  lie  all  around  us  like  the  broken 
models  of  a  sculptor's  studio  .' 

Whence  so  little  perseverance  in  the 
devout  life,  and  such  wearying  and  untying 
even  of  the  vows  and  promises  whereby 
men  have  bound  themselves  to  God  } 

Whencf  'mt  from  the  lack  of  fear  ! 

Father  Faber  (Oral.) 
On  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 


I 


[PfeRE  NoUET  was  born  at  Mans  in  1605- 
He  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  at  the  early  age 
of  twenty.  He  is  chiefly  known  for  his  ascetic 
works,  which  are  still  read  and  studied  with 
great  profit.  His  beautiful  meditations  have 
been  translated  into  the  English  language. 

He  died  in  Paris  in  the  year  1680,  aged 
seventy-five.] 

There  is  nothing  so  bold,  nothing  more 
secure,  than  the  fear  of  God. 

He  who  fears  God,  fears  naught  else ; 
and  he  who  has  a  dread  of  displeasirp. 
Him,  or  a  fear  of  forfeiting  His  love,  docs 


H 


HALF-HOURS    WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


not  shrink  from  suffering  —  cares  not  if 
he  lose  all,  provided  he  be  in  a  state  of 
grace. 

It  is  said  that  love  banishes  fear;  but  it 
is  the  baneful  fear  of  man,  or  that  servile 
and  imperfect  fear  which  dreads  the  shame 
of  sin  more  than  the  sin  that  brings  the 
shame. 

I  say  more  than  this.  There  are  times 
when  it  is  necessary  to  fortify  the  fear  of 
sin  by  the  fear  of  hell,  in  order  to 
strengthen  us  in  the  love  of  God  ;  as  when 
we  are  assailed  by  some  violent  tempta- 
tion, which  is  not  so  easy  to  overcome  if 
we  are  not  well  grounded  in  the  fear  of 
God. 

Let  us,  then,  henceforth  combine  fear 
with  love.     These  are  the  two  supports  of 


the  soul  which  attach  us  to  God,  like  un 
His  mercy  and  justice,  which  go  hand 
hand  together.     Do  not  let  us  sever  the 
one  from  the  other,  if  we  wish  to  walk  on 
the  road  to  heaven  without  swerving  froi 
the  paths  of  perfection. 

Let  us  often  say  with  humility  thai 
prayer  of  the  Church  :  "  Make  us,  O  Lord, 
keep  always  before  our  eyes  the  love  and 
fear  of  Your  holy  Name." 

Pi:RE  NOUET,  S.  J. 
Meditations,  vol.  vil 


an      : 

I 


If  a  depraved  mind  be  not  shaken  and 
humbled  by  the  fear  of  God,  it  will  nev 
amend  its  habitual  sins. 

St.  Gregory. 
H»m.  ir.  #»  tJu  G0sftls. 


I 

id 

I 


^MX 


CHAPTER    III. 


#      # 


#      # 


THE    iA£II-I_    OF    GOD. 


^^, 
^^P 


^       #       #       # 


P^RE  Nepveu,  Massillon,  and  St.  Augustine. 
"  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  —  Matthew  vi.  lo. 


,ATHER  F.  NEPVEU,  born  at  St. 
Male  in  the  year  1639,  embraced 
the  Society  of  the  Jesuits  in  1654. 
He  was  at  the  head  of  the  College 
at  Rennes,  where  he  died  in  the 
year  1708.  All  the  works  of  this 
learned  Jesuit  are  replete  with 
earnest  piety.  A  list  of  his  numerous  works 
may  be  found  in  Moreri's  Dictionary. 

Is  there  any  evil  in  the  city,  says  the 
prophet,  that  God  has  not  made  ^ 

Sin,  the  only  evil  that  God  does  not  will, 
He  simply  permits,  but  the  consequences 
of  sin  He  wills.  He  condemns  the  envy 
of  Joseph's  brethren,  but  He  wills  the 
effect,  which  was  the  slavery  of  Joseph. 
He  had  a  horror  of  the  rage  of  the  Jews, 
but  He  willed  and  ordained  the  death  of 
our  Lord,  which  was  the  consequence. 
I  He  will  punish  the  injury  which  is  done  to 
you,  but  He  wills  the  loss  or  affliction  it 
causes  you. 

Why  not  complain  of  these  evils  when 

looked  at   in  themselves  ?  but  wherefore 

murmur  when  we  look  upon  them  as  the 

■&vill  of  Go^l  >    God  wills  it !    Ah,  that  has 


a  great  weight  with  a  man  who  has  faith, 
who  knows  and  loves  God.  A  good 
Christian,  would  he  dare  to  say,  God  wills 
it,  but  I  wish  it  not } 

Our  perfection  consists  in  doing  the 
will  of  God,  and  it  is  for  us  to  submit. 
The  will  of  God  is  infinitely  holy.  If  this 
be  the  rule  of  all  sanctity,  we  are  then 
holy  in  proportion  to  our  conformity  to 
His  will. 

Jesus  Christ  is  our  model,  and  we  are 
saintly  when  we  are  like  unto  Him  ;  and 
we  are  so  much  the  more  like  Him  in 
proportion  to  our  conformity  to  the  will  of 
God.  Thus,  does  He  not  say  that  He  is 
not  come  to  do  His  will,  but  that  of  His 
Father  > 

In  fine,  our  perfection  and  holiness 
consists  in  charity.  Charity  is  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  law,  says  St.  Paul.  Perfect 
charity  consists  in  doing  the  will  of  God 
in  the  highest  sense  it  can  be  placed. 
"  He  who  keeps  my  commandments  and 
does  my  will,"  says  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
"  is  he  who  loves  me  "  {/oAn  xiv). 


i6 


HALF-HOURS    WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


You  are  sometimes  in  anxiety  ;  if  you 
love  God,  that  is  a  just  subject  of  un- 
easiness. If  you  are  always  ready  to  do 
His  will  and  to  submit  to  it,  then  be  sure 
that  you  love  Him. 

Conformity  to  the  will  of  God  also 
makes  a  man  happy  as  God,  who  is  happi- 
ness itself. 

What  is  it  that  makes  God  infinitely 
happy  ?  It  is  that  He  does  all  that  He 
wills ;  it  is  that  He  wills  all  that  is  good ; 
it  is  that  He  finds  in  Himself  all  the  good 
that  He  wills. 

Thus  a  man  perfectly  conformed  to  the 
will  of  God  possesses  all  these  blessings. 

He  does  what  he  wills  because  he  only 
wishes  for  what  God  wills ;  because  it 
fulfils  also,  in  whatever  manner  it  may  be. 
His  fulfilment  also. 

He  also  wishes  only  for  that  which  is 
good,  for  he  wills  only  what  God  wills. 

In  conclusion,  he  finds  all  things  good 
in  themselves  ;  for  his  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God,  united  as  it  is  to  God,  makes 
him  possess  God ;  and  what  benefit  can 
fail  to  occur  to  him  who  possesses  God  } 
Le  PfeRE  Nepveu. 
Reflex.  Chridtiennes. 


[John  Baptist  Massillon  was  the  son  of  a 
notary  residing  at  Hybres  in  Provence.  Born 
on  the  24th  of  June,  1663,  he  entered  the 
Congregation  of  the  Oratory  in  the  year  1681. 
His  fame  as  a  fine  preacher  having  reached 
the  ears  of  Louis  XIV.,  he  was  summoned  to 
Versailles  to  preach  the  Advent.  It  was 
after  the  course  of  these  discourses  that  he 
received  the  following-encomium  from  the  lips 
of  the  French  king  :  — "  My  father,  I  have 
been  well  satisfied  with  many  orators,  but  as 


for  you,  every  time  that  I  have  heard  you  I 
have  felt  very  discontented  and  vexed  with 
myself. " 

In  the  year  17 17,  the  Regent  nominated 
him  to  be  the  Bishop  of  Clermont.  He  re- 
mained in  the  government  of  his  diocese  until 
the  year  1742,  when  he  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-nine.]  . 

Joseph,  raised  to  the  highest  dignity  in 
the  court  of  Egypt,  by  his  elevation 
became  to  be  the  terror  and  protector  of 
his  brothers.  These  (of  whom  he  had  so 
much  reason  to  complain)  — did  he  not 
consider  them  as  only  executors  of  the 
will  of  God,  notwithstanding  the  outrages 
they  inflicted  on  him,  that  the  treason 
and  cruelty  which  they  employed  against 
him  proved,  by  the  decrees  of  Divine 
Providence,  to  be  more  beneficial  than 
their  jealousy  could  have  imagined  } 

It  is  true  that  they  had  sold  him  to  gc 
into  Egypt,  but  it  was  not  on  account  of 
their  perfidy,  rather  it  was  by  the  will  oi 
God  that  he  should  be  sent  to  this  foreigi 
land.  Non  vestro  consilio  sed  Dei  voluntatk 
hie  missus  sum. 

Such    were   the   feelings   of    so   man] 
saints  and  martyrs  with  regard  to  those] 
by  whom  they  had  been  persecuted. 

They    reverenced   even     the     scourges] 

which  God  had  sent  to  chasten  them.    The| 

early   Christians   blessed   the   hands  that 

struck  them. 

Massillon. 

Give  us,  O  Lord,  the  will   to   do   what! 

Thou  commandest,  and  to  do   what  ThouJ 

wiliest 

St.  Augustine. 

Confessions. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


:^ 


§€  "M:-  X,-J^^  M/M^M/M-M^ M.  M.M.M.M.M,.^.:M>:M:  M,.  M.M..J^.  JC  M.  M.X.M.-MA, 


i\ 


5ii  I  jjjjmLUJj^ujiJJiLmjJiiiJJiLJim  JJJIJJILU^ 


lU 


PfeRE  Antoine  de  la  Porte,  Carmelite,  Massillon, 
St.  Francis  de  Sales  and  St.  Cyprian. 

"  The  seed  is  the  word  of  God."  —  Luke  viii.  1 1. 


chaste 
saints. 


CCORDING  to   St.   Augustine, 
the   Divine   Word    falls   on   a 
weak    and    sensitive    element, 
and   it   becomes   a.  sacrament. 
This  word  also  falls  on  impure 
hearts,    and    it    makes    them 
on   the  wicked,  and   makes  them 
It  finds  them  in  sin,  and  it  con- 
verts them  to  God. 

As  in  the  most  wonderful  of  our  Sac- 
raments, those  words.  Hoc  est  Corpus 
Meum,  are  transubstantiations  of  bread 
into  the  Body  and  of  wine  into  the  Blood 
of  the  Son  of  God,  because  they  are  not 
the  words  of  the  priest,  but  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ,  offered  up  nevertheless  by  the 
priest ;  so  in  like  manner  preachers  make 
use  of  moral  but  wondrous  transubstan- 
tiations, and  change  old  sinners  into  new 
servants  of  God. 

What  miraculous  wonders  has  not  this 
Word  produced  !  It  falls  on  the  heart  of 
an  adulterous  David,  and  it  makes  him  a 
royal  penitent.     It   falls  on  the  heart  of  a 

17 


Magdalen  ;  it  finds  her  a  worshipper  of  sin, 
and  it  makes  her  a  model  of  penance.  It 
falls  on  Matthew,  and  from  a  public  usurer, 
it  makes  him  an  Evangelist.  You  see  a 
soul  enter  the  Church  —  a  soul  enamored 
of  the  world  and  full  of  vanity  —  it  enters 
into  the  Church  ;  it  pays  but  little  atten- 
tion to  the  Word  of  God,  and  immediately 
a  penetrating  light  pierces  the  heart,  which 
shows  the  bad  state  in  which  it  is.  From 
this  knowledge  it  sees  its  shame,  its  base- 
ness ;  this  shame  produces  the  grief  for 
having  offended  God,  and  this  sorrow 
brings  forth  there  solution  of  a  change  of 
life. 

What  is  the  reason  of  this  wonder,  if  it 
be  not  the  Word  of  God  } 

The  force  and  energy  of  the  Word  of 
God  is  such  that  one  could  say  that  it  was 
all-powerful :  Vox  Domini  in  virtu te  in 
magnificcntia.  It  is  found  in  the  nothing- 
ness of  the  ears  who  have  listened  to  its 
voice.  "  It  calls  those  which  are  not,  as 
well  as  those  which  are.'* 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE   SAINTS,   ETC. 


It  has  subdued  the  world,  overturned 
idolatry,  converted  whole  nations.  It  has 
brought  kings,  wise  men,  ministers  of 
state,  under  the  subjection  of  the  Gospel. 
It  has  done  more  than  this :  throughout 
the  universe  the  most  barbarous  and  sav- 
age of  people  have  been  civilized.  In 
short,  we  owe  to  this  Divine  Word  the 
conversion  of  the  whole  world  and  the 
extirpation  of  idolatry, 

Le  PfeRE  Antoine  de  la  Porte 
(Carmelite). 

However  enlightened  and  clever  we  may 
be,  we  must  not,  on  account  of  that,  neg- 
lect the  assistance  of  holy  instructions  ; 
however  bright  may  be  our  intellect,  we 
can  easily  go  astray ;  however  learned  and 
scientific,  we  can  always  learn  something 
from  hearing  the  Word  of  God.  If  your 
understanding  learns  of  nothing  new,  your 
heart  will,  at  least,  feel  that  you  know 
nothing,  if  you  do  not  know  Jesus  and 
Him  crucified.  If  you  are  sinners,  what 
more  capable  of  bringing  you  to  a  sense  of 
your  own  unworthiness  than  by  listening 
to  the  voice  of  the  missionary  sent  by 
God  "i  If  you  are  good,  what  sweeter  con- 
sc^ation  than  hearing  truths  explained, 
truths  you  love  and  practice,  and  which 
become  more  beneficial  the  oftener  you 
hear  them  ? 

Our  Lord  has  given  to  the  preacher  of 
His  Word  a  help  which  is  not  to  be  found 
elsewhere.  The  commonest  truths,  in  the 
mouth  of  the  preacher,  have  a  strength 
and  unction  which  can  alone  move  and 
convert  the  most  hardened  heart. 


In  what  disposition  ^o  you  come  to  heat^ 
the  Word  of  God ,? 

Many  attend  to  decide  upon  the  merit 
or  incapacity  of  him  who  announces  it ; 
many,  to  make  unjust  comparisons  between 
this  and  that  preacher.  Some  glory  in 
being  very  difficult  to  please,  in  order  to 
appear  of  excellent  taste  ;  they,  inatten- 
tively, listen  to  simple  explanations  which 
are  necessary  to  be  touched  upon,  and  all 
the  fruit  which  they  gather  from  a  Chris- 
tian discourse  consists  of  disparaging 
remarks  and  pointing  out  the  defects  of 
the  preacher.  They  come  with  an  inten- 
tion of  finding  fault,  and  ever  find  some- 
thing to  censure  and  criticise. 

Massillon. 
Lenten  Sermon. 

Listen  with  devotion  to  the  Word  of 
God,  whether  you  hear  it  in  familiar  con- 
versation with  your  spiritual  friends  or  at 
a  sermon. 

Make  all  the  profit  of  it  you  possibly 
can,  and  suffer  it  not  to  fall  to  the  ground, 
but  receive  it  into  your  heart  as  a  pre- 
cious balm,  imitating  the  most  holy  Virgin, 
who  preserved  carefully  in  her  heart  all 
the  words  which  were  spoken  in  praise  of 
her  Son. 

Remember  that  our  Lord  gathers  up  the 
words  we  speak  to  Him  in  our  prayers, 
according  as  we  gather  up  those  He 
speaketh  to  us  by  preaching. 

Have  always  at  hand  some  approved 
book  of  devotion,  such  as  the  spiritual 
works  of  St.  Bonaventure,  of  Gerson,  of 
Thomas  k  Kempis,  etc.,  etc.,   and  read  a 


iinillllllillillllilillllll: 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH  iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii  I II  iiiii  mil  I  iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 
DEPONENTES    EUM    DE     LIGNO    | 
POSLERUNT  EUM   EN    MONUMENTQ 


CopjTight,  1889. 


Miiiphy  &  McCarthy. 


€or|JU^  €^n^tE 


THE   WORD   OF  GOD. 


19 


little  in   them   every  day,  with   as  much 
devotion  as  if  you  were  reading  a  letter 

from  those  saints. 

St.  Franxis  de  Sales. 
Devout  Life. 

Manna  suited  everybody's  taste ;  in  like 
manner    the     Word     of    God,    which    is 


preached  to  all  throughout  the  world, 
supplies  the  wants  of  all  kinds  of  persons, 
and  according  as  it  is  listened  to  by  those 
of  ordinary  intelligence  it  will  be  found — • 
like  the  manna  of  old  —  to  be  suitable  to 

everybody's  taste. 

St.  Cyprian. 
Oh  the  Lord's  Prt^tr. 


♦    CMAPXER    V.    ♦ 


Saints  Augustine,  Chrysostom,  Jerome,  and  Cypriam. 

"  Do  not  think  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets.     I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but 
to  fnlfil."  —  Matthew  v.  17. 


T.  AUGUSTINE,  the  perfect  model 
of  penitents,  was  born,  a.  d.  354,  at 
Agaste,  a  small  town  of  Numidia, 
in  Africa.  Patrick,  his  father, 
after  having  been  for  many  years 
an  idolater,  embraced  Christianity 
and  received  baptism.  As  to  St. 
Monica,  his  mother,  every  one  knows  that  she 
was  a  model  to  all  Christian  mothers.  Through 
the  prayers  of  his  saintly  mother,  he  was  con- 
verted when  he  was  thirty-two.  At  the  age 
of  forty-two,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Hippo. 

St.  Augustine  has  ever  been  regarded,  and 
justly,  as  the  most  learned  of  the  bishops  of 
his  age,  and  the  doctor  of  all  the  churches. 
He  expired,  tranquilly,  on  the  28 ih  of  August, 
430,  aged  seventy-six  years,  nigh  forty  of  which 
had  been  spent  in  the  labors  of  apostolic 
ministry. 

The  difference  between  the  two  Testa- 
ments may  be  explained  in  two  words  — 
love  and  fear.  The  one  appertains  to  the 
old  man,  the  other  to  the  new. 

This  is  the  principal  difference.  For 
the  new  law  is  that  which  God  promises 
to  impress  upon  the  mind,  to  engrave  on 

2fi 


the  heart,  and  that  which  is  written  on  in 
giving  us  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  diffuses 
the  requisite  charity  to  make  us  love 
truth  and  justice. 

So  that  this  new  law  induces  us  to  love 
all  that  it  commands,  while  the  laws 
engraven  on  a  stone  only  show  the  obli- 
gations of  creatures,  and  threats  in  default 
of  obedience.  It  is  this  difference  which 
the  apostle  wished  to  point  out  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  where  he  says, 
"  We  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bond- 
age again  in  fear,  but  we  have  received 
the  spirit  of  adoption  of  sons  of  God." 
The  spirit  of  bondage  is  that  which  creates 
fear,  the  spirit  of  adoption  is  that  of  love ; 
fear  makes  us  slaves,  love  makes  us  as  chil- 
dren. The  Jews,  who  acted  only  through 
fear  of  punishment,  were  slaves  ;  the 
Christians,  who  love,  are  the  true  children. 

The  new  law,  imprinted  on  the  heart  b)* 
the  Holy  Spirit,  regulates  the  interior 
feeling  ;  whilst  the  laws  engraven  on  stone 
can  only  regulate  exterior  actions. 


THE  LAW  OF  GOD. 


21 


Fear  is  not  capable  of  changing  the 
interior  feeling ;  it  can  -only  act  out- 
wardly, and  thus  forces  the  will  to  do  what 
it  would  not  do,  or  even  what  it  might  do. 
So  that  exteriorly  it  submits  to  force, 
interiorly,  it  resists.  If  deeds  and  words 
conform  to  the  law,  the  heart  is  opposed  to 
it.  If  the  mouth  and  hands  obey,  the  will 
is  disobedient. 

This  is  the  reproach  that  God  makes  to 
the  Jews  when  He  says  through  His 
prophet,  "This  people  honor  me  with 
their  lips,  but  their  hearts  are  far  from  me." 

The  two  usual  methods  adopted  to  gov- 
ern mankind  are  fear  and  hope.  This  is 
why  the  old  law  does  not  solely  make  use 
of  threats  to  ensure  obedience,  but  it  adds 
to  them  promises  ;  but  these  promises 
were  for  temporal  welfare,  for  sensual  and 
gross  men  who  sought  for  fleeting  pros- 
perity. 

Thus  we  read  in  the  23d  chapter  of 
Exodus  that  Moses,  in  order  to  induce 
them  to  observe  the  law  he  was  about  to 
promulgate,  promises  them  every  kind  of 
prosperity  —  health,  long  life,  a  numerous 
progeny,  abundance  of  everything  neces- 
sary, and  protection  from  enemies,  so  that 
they  may  enjoy  in  peace  and  quiet  all 
these  blessings. 

Now,  on  the  contrary,  the  Son  of  God 
begms  by  preaching  penance,  and  speaks 
only  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  to 
make  us  understand  that  His  wish  was  that 
Christians  should  despise  earthly  pros- 
perity, not  expecting  a  reward  in  this  life. 
He  begins  His  beautiful  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  by  saying,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in 


spirit,"  "  Blessed  are  the  meek,"  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  mourn  "  ;  and  in  St.  Luke 
He  says,  "Woe  to  you  that  are  rich !  woe  to 
you  that  now  laugh !  and  to  all  who  seek 
the  esteem  and  approbation  of  men  !  " 

In  this  life,  He  leads  us  to  expect 
sufferings,  crosses,  and  persecution,  and 
He  wills  that  we  should  love  what  is 
unseen  and  supernatural. 

St.  Augustine. 

Extracts  front  his  Book  against  Adimantt. 


[St.  John  Chrysostom.  —  This  renowned 
saint  and  doctor  of  the  church  was  born  in 
Antioch  in  the  year  344,  and  died  A.  D.  407, 
aged  sixty-three. 

The  name  of  Chrysostom  (which  means 
golden-mouthed)  was  assigned  to  him  after  his 
death,  to  express  the  eloquence  which  he 
possessed  in  a  much  greater  degree  than  the 
other  fathers  of  the  Church,  He  never  re- 
peats himself,  and  is  always  original.] 

The  apostles  announced  to  mankind  a 
doctrine  raised  above  human  intellect ; 
they  spoke  not  of  earthly  things,  but  of 
heaven  ;  they  preached  a  kingdom  and  state 
which  had  never  before  been  understood  ; 
they  discovered  other  riches,  another 
poverty,  another  liberty,  another  bondage, 
another  life  and  death  —  in  fact,  a  change 
and  renewal  of  everything. 

Their  teachings  are  far  beyond  that  of  a 
Plato  who  had  traced  out  an  idea  of  an 
absurd  republic,  or  that  of  a  Zenon,  or 
those  of  other  philosophers  who  had 
formed  projects  of  governments  and  re- 
publics, and  those  who  wished  to  be 
lawgivers. 

One  need  but  read  their  books  to  see 
'  that  the  devil  urged  them  on  and  diffused 


22 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


a  profound  darkness  in  their  mind,  upset- 
ting by  that  means  the  order  of  things,  and 
destroying  the  most  inviolate  laws  of 
nature.  And  notwithstanding  that  these 
philosophers  were  at  perfect  liberty  to 
publish  their  strange  maxims,  fearless  of 
danger  or  persecution,  they  deemed  it 
necessary  to  call  to  their  aid  the  most 
elegant  of  phrases,  the  most  pleasing 
eloquence,  in  order  to  impress  their  own 
ideas  firmly  in  their  minds. 

The  Gospel  which,  on  the  contrary, 
preached  only  for  the  poor  and  for  all 
those  persecuted  sinners  throughout  the 
world  who  had  been  treated  as  slaves,  and 
who  were  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  danger 
—  this  Gospel,  I  say,  has  all  at  once  been 
received  with  every  mark  of  respect  by 
the  learned  as  well  as  by  the  ignorant, 
by  warriors  and  princes,  —  in  a  word,  by 
Greeks  and  Romans,  and  by  every  savage 

nation. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Sermon  on  St.  Matthew. 


[St.  Jerome,  one  of  the  most  learned  and 
prolific  authors  of  the  early  Latin  Church,  was 
born  in  Dalmatia  about  the  year  331.  The 
learned  epistles  which  he  wrote  to  St.  Marcella 
and  St.  Paula  are  celebrated  for  their  learning 
and  rare  monastic  piety. 

St.  Paula  accompanied  him  to  Palestine  in 
386,  where  he  founded  a  convent  at  Bethle- 
hem ;  near  this  he  remained  till  his  death  in  420. 

His  biblical  labors  are  highly  valuable,  his 
Latin  version  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the 


original  language  is  the  foundation  of  the 
Vulgate,  and  his  commentary  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.] 

St.  Jerome,  in  writing  to  the  mother 
of  Paula,  says  :  Begin  with  the  Psalter, 
and  teach  your  daughter  how  to  chant 
the  Psalms.  You  can  read  with  her  the 
Proverbs,  by  which  she  will  know  the 
moral  precepts. 

This  can  be  followed  by  Ecclesiasticus, 
a  book  so  capable  of  inspiring  her  with 
a  contempt  of  this  world. 

You  can  then  proceed  to  the  Gospels  — 
these,  your  daughter  ought  ever  to  have 
in  hand. 

She  can  then  read  the  Acts  and  Epistles 
of  the  apostles.  These  finished,  she  will 
gladly  learn  by  heart  the  Prophets  and 
historical  books. 

Lastly,  she  can  read  the  Canticle  of 
Canticles,  for  she  will  have  been  prepared 
to  understa.nd  this  in  a  spiritual  sense. 

St.  Jerome. 

The  evangelical  precepts  are  no  other 
than  divine  lessons  ;  they  are  the  founda- 
tion of  hope,  the  strengthening  of  faith, 
the  food  of  charity  ;  the  Gospel  is  a  rudder 
to  steer  our  way  through  life,  and  helps 
us  to  reach  the  harbor  of  salvation. 

The  law  commands  but  few  things,  but 

those  few  should  be  willingly  and  lovingly 

performed. 

St.  Cyprian. 

On  the  Lord's  Praytr. 


PRESENCE  OF  GOB 


* 


PftRE  Nepveu  and  Father  Fabek, 
••  The  sinner  hath  provoked  the  Lord  —  God  is  not  before  his  eyes."  —  Psalm  x. 


OD  sees  me.  Ah,  what  a  phrase 
is  this  for  him  who  understands 
it  well !  How  capable  it  is  to 
control  our  passions,  to  moder- 
ate our  desires,  to  prevent  us 
from  sinning,  to  sustain  our 
courage,  to  animate  our  fervor,  to  regulate 
our  conduct ! 

God  sees  me.  He  is  ever  present,  always 
mindful  of  me,  thinks  ever  of  me  ;  whereas 
I  heed  Him  not,  I  am  not  attentive  to 
Him,  I  never  think  of  Him.  Oh !  shame, 
shame ! 

God  sees  me.  With  what  respect  and 
modesty  ought  I  not  to  behave  in  His 
presence  I  The  seraphim  hide  their  faces 
with  their  wings,  and  I,  a  mere  worm  of 
the  earth,  do  not  tremble, 

God  sees  me.  Shall  I  dare,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Thy  glance  so  infinitely  pure, 
commit  deeds  which  I  dare  not  even  show 
to  man  }  Shall  I  dare  to  sin  in  Thy  pres- 
ence, knowing  that  sin  and  the  sinner  is 
hated  by  Thee,  and  to  condemn  the  sinner 
Thou  hast  no  wish  } 

God  sees  me.  He  penetrates  into  the 
innermost  recesses  of  my  heart ;    He  sees 

23 


therein  every  desire,  and  discerns  every 
intention.  With  what  purity  of  intention, 
then,  ought  I  not  to  perform  every  action. 

God  is  present  not  only  by  the  immen. 
sity  of  His  being,  but  in  a  more  eflficacious 
manner.  He  is  with  me  to  help  me,  to 
support  me,  to  act  with  me,  to  work  with 
me.  I  can  do  nothing  without  Him,  but 
also  I  can  do  everything  with  Him.  I 
cannot  make  the  least  movement,  conceive 
the  least  desire,  do  the  smallest  action, 
unless  He  lends  me  His  help  and  assist- 
ance, even  when  I  would  wish  to  offend 
Him.  What  condescension  !  Why  ought 
I  to  abuse  it  "i  But  He  always  accommo- 
dates Himself  to  my  inclinations ;  He 
subjects  Himself  to  my  will.  Is  it  not 
reasonable  that  I  should  subject  my  will  to 
His  }  He  concurs  always  with  me.  Is  it 
not  right  and  just  that  I  should  act  in 
concert  with  Him  ? 

Not  only  does  God  act  within  me,  but 
He  also  acts  with  every  creature  for  me. 
It  is  for  me  that  He  gives  light  and  warmth 
to  the  sun,  that  He  refreshes  me  with  the 
breeze,  that  He  cheers  me  with  the  fire ; 
should  I  not  be  unjust  if  I  did  not  make 


24 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


use  of  these  creations  fer  His  glory  alone? 
Should  I  not  be  ungrateful  if  I  basely  con- 
verted such  blessings  into  opportunities  of 
sinning  against  Him  who  created  them  for 

me  ? 

Le  P^re  Nepveu. 

Christian  Reflections. 

We  do  our  works  in  the  presence  of 
God,  when  we  practise  the  presence  of  God 
while  we  do  them.  There  are  six  ways  of 
practising  the  presence  of  God  which  are 
given  in  books,  and  from  which  souls 
should  select  those  which  are  most  suited 
to  them,  but  not  try  to  practise  more  than 
one. 

The  first,  is  to  try  to  realize  God  as  He 
is  in  heaven  ;  the  second,  to  regard  our- 
selves in  Him  as  in  His  immensity;  the 
third,  is  to  look  at  each  creature  as  if  it 
were  a  sacrament  having  God  hidden  under 
it ;  the  fourth,  is  to  think  of  Him,  and  see 
Him  by  pure  faith  ;  the  fifth,  is  to  look  at 
Him  as  in  ourselves  rather  than  outside  of 
us,  though  He  is  both  ;  and  the  sixth,  is  to 
gravitate  towards  Him  by  an  habitual 
loving-mindfulness  of  heart,  a  kind  of 
instinct  which  is  no  uncommon  growth  of 
prayer,  and  comes  sooner  than  would  be 
expected  when  men  strive  to  serve  God 
out  of  the  single  motive  of  holy  love. 

For  the  perfection  of  our  ordinary 
actions,  we  should  do  them  in  the  sight  of 
Jesus,  that  is,  to  use  the  words  of  the 
missal,  by  Christ,  with  Christ,  and  in 
Christ.     To   do  our  actions  by  Christ,  is 


to  do  them  in  dependence  upon  Him,  as 
He  did  everything  in  dependence  on  His 
Father,  and  by  the  movement  of  His 
spirit.  To  do  our  actions  with  Christ  is 
to  practise  the  same  virtues  as  our  Lord, 
to  clothe  ourselves  with  the  same  dis- 
positions, and  to  act  from  the  same 
intentions,  all  according  to  the  measure  of 
the  lowliness  of  our  possibilities.  To  do 
our  actions  in  Christ  is  to  unite  ours  with 
His,  and  to  offer  them  to  God  along  with 
His,  so  that  for  the  sake  of  His,  they  may 

be  accepted  on  high. 

Father  Faber. 
Growth  in  Holiness. 

Theological  Definition  of  the   Presence   of 
God. 

When  one  speaks  of  the  presence  of 
God,  there  are  two  ways  of  looking  upon 
it.  The  first,  is  that  God  is  present  to  us, 
that  is  to  say,  that  we  think  of  Him,  and 
that,  in  the  eyes  of  faith,  we  look  upon 
His  Divine  Being  as  intimately  present  in 
the  place  in  which  we  are.  The  second,  is 
that  we  are  present  to  God,  that  is  to  say, 
that  He  sees  us,  and  is  always  looking 
upon  us,  so  that  nothing  escapes  His 
observation,  —  words,  deeds,  thoughts, 
desires,  and  intentions,  —  and  that  wher- 
ever we  may  be,  we  may  always  have  Him 
for  a  spectator,  witness,  and  judge  of  all 
that  we  do.  That  should  we  act  well  or  ill, 
such  actions  are  always  in  His  presence 
and  before  His  eyes. 


'chapter  viij>  0B  \^e.  frouidense.  of  ^od. 


St.  Chrysostom,  PfeRE  Croiset,  S.  J.,  and  St.  Augustine. 

"  For  all  Thy  ways  are  prepared,  and  in  Thy  Providence  Thou  hast  placed  Thy  judgments." 

— Judith  ix.  5. 


[ET  us  place  our  trust  in  the 
Providence  of  God.  Let  us 
cut  off  all  those  anxieties  which 
serve  only  to  torture  our  minds 
uselessly,  since,  whether  we 
make  ourselves  uneasy  or  not, 
it  is  God  alone  who  sends  us  all  these 
things,  and  who  may  increase  them  until 
He  sees  they  disturb  us  less. 

Of  what  use  would  all  our  cares,  anx- 
ijeties,  and  troubles  be  to  us  if  they  only 
served  to  torment  us,  and  made  us  suffer 
the  pain  of  having  had  them  ? 

Our  cares  are  only  the  cares  of  an 
individual ;  those  of  God  include  the  whole 
world.  The  more  we  trouble  ourselves 
with  our  own  interests,  the  less  will  God 
interfere. 

He  who  is  invited  to  a  splendid  banquet 
does  not  trouble  himself  about  what  he 
shall  eat,  and  he  who  goes  to  a  limpid 
spring  does  not  make  hhnself  uneasy,  for 
he  knows  he  will  be  able  to  appease  his 
thirst 

26 


Since,  then,  we  have  the  providence  of 
God,  which  is  richer  than  the  most  mag- 
nificent feast  and  more  inexhaustible  than 
the  purest  spring,  do  not  be  uneasy  —  do 
not  cherish  any  misgivings. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Taken  from   his  Homilies  on  St.  Matthew. 


[Le  Pere  Croiset,  S.  J.,  was  bom  at 
Marseilles,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  His  "  Exercises  of  Piety,"  and  his 
other  religious  works,  are  sufficient  to  prove 
that  he  was  one  of  the  great  masters  of  the 
spiritual  life.] 

Why  fear  ?  says  St.  Augustine ;  you 
have  a  God  for  a  protector  and  His  Provi- 
dence for  a  guide. 

What !  says  the  holy  doctor,  you  fear  to 
perish  under  the  guidance  of  God,  and 
under  the  protection  of  His  Providence.'' 
Times  ergo  ne  pereas  f  Is  it  that  you 
know  not  that  not  a  single  hair  can  fall 
off  without  His  approval  "i  Ciijus  capillus 
non  peribit.  Ah !  if  He  takes  so  much 
care  of  things   that  are  of  little  or  no 


26 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


consequence,  how  safe  ought  we  not  to 
feel  when  we  know  with  what  care  He 
watches  a  soul  which  is  so  precious  to 
Him? 

I  am  under  the  protection  of  the  Lord, 
says  the  prophet ;  there  is  nothing  He 
will  fail  to  supply  me  with.  It  is  true 
that  I  am  poor  and  destitute  of  every- 
thing, but  the  Lord  takes  care  of  me,  and 
He  has  undertaken  to  provide  for  my 
wants  ;  nothing  can  happen  to  me  —  sin 
excepted  —  without  His  concurrence. 
What  have  I  to  fear  ? 

What  a  host  of  consoling  reflections 
can  we  not  find  in  the  Divine  Providence 
over  His  creatures  !  How  sweet  to  think 
with  what  wisdom  our  Lord  disposes  of 
everything  for  His  glory  and  our  salva- 
tion !  The  cunning  and  malice  of  an 
enemy,  the  ill-will  of  an  envious  man,  a 
hundred  accidents  of  this  life,  all  end 
advantageously  to  those  who  love  their 
God. 

It  is  true  that  we  are  but  exiles  and 
travellers  in  this  fleeting  world,  that  we 
therein  journey  through  difficult  and 
dangerous  paths,  but  what  does  God  not 
do  —  yes,  and  daily,  too, —  to  prevent  His 
servants  from  straying  or  from  perishing } 
He  not  only  is  their  guide  and  protector, 
but  He  showers  down  His  graces,  and 
even  makes  use  of  His  angels  to  help 
them.  He  warns  them,  by  secret  inspira- 
tions, what  they  should  do  and  what  they 
should  not  do,  so  that  one  would  say  that 
God  is  solely  occupied  in  caring  for  His 
creatures. 


The  world  ignores  all  these  loving 
contrivances  of  Divine  Providence.  The 
worldlings  judge  of  the  different  accidents 
which  occur  to  well-to-do  people,  in  the 
same  way  they  pass  their  judgment  on 
the  adversities  of  Joseph,  but  they  did  not 
see  the  resources  of  Divine  Providence 
which  made  everything  turn  to  the 
advantage  of  His  elect  —  according  to  the 
words  of  the  apostle,  Diligentibus  Deum, 
omnia  co-operantur  in  bonum. 

Let  all  the  world  rise  up  in  arms 
against  the  servants  of  God  ;  what  have 
they  to  fear  when  under  the  protection  of 
their  Divine  Master  }  The  malice  of  men 
cannot  hurt  them. 

Let  them  employ  all  possible  cunning 

to  disquiet  them ;  let  them  use  every  kind 

of  cruel   torture  to  destroy  their  bodies ; 

even  let  all  hell  be  unloosed  against  them  ; 

what  have  they  to   dread,  if  God   is   for 

them } 

Le  PfeRE  Croiset. 

Exercises  of  Piety, 

He  who  has  given  us  life  will  give  us 
wherewith  to  sustain  it.  He  who  feeds 
the  thief,  will  He  not  feed  the  innocent } 
And  if  He  takes  care  of  His  enemies, 
what  will  He  not  do  for  His  friends  ? 
You  cannot  place  yourselves  into  better 
hands  than  He  who  made  you  what  you 
are.  He  who  has  been  so  good  to  you 
before  you  were  what  you  are,  can  He 
leave  you  uncared  for,  now  that  you  are 
what  He  would  wish  you  to  be  "i 

St.  Augustine. 
On  Psalms  vi.  and  xxxviii. 


Henri  Marie  Boudon,  and  Father  Faber. 
'My  yoke  is  sweet,  and  my  burden  light."  —  Matthew  xi.  3a 


'ENRI  MARIE  BOUDON,  Arch- 
deacon of  Evreux,  was  born  in 
1624,  and  died  in  the  year  1702. 
This  holy  servant  of  God  was  the 
author  of  many  pious  works.  The 
seventh  volume  of  the  Library  of 
Religious  Biography,  edited  by 
Edward  Healy  Thompson,  contains  an  excel- 
lent biography  of  this  distingubhed  eccle- 
siastic. 

What  an  honor,  and  how  glorious  it  is,  to 
be  in  the  service  of  so  great,  so  good  a 
Master ! 

The  condition  of  the  least  of  His  ser- 
vants is  incomparably  greater  than  that 
of  the  kings  of  the  earth  ;  for  their  great- 
ness and  prosperity  finish  with  their  lives, 
but  the  servants  of  God  finish  with  their 
lives  the  pains  and  trials  they  have  had  to 
suffer  in  His  service,  and  after  that  they 
find  an  eternal  happiness  and  immortal 
crowns  awaiting  them. 

It  is  then  reasonable  what  the  royal 
prophet  assures  us,  that  one  day  spent  in 
His  house  and.  in  His  service  is  better 
than  a  thousand  days  spent  elsewhere. 

It  is  true  that  all  men  esteem  and  love 
to  be  great,  but  they  do  not  think  wherein 


true  greatness  is.  They  deem  it  to  be  a 
great  honor  to  be  in  the  service  of  royalty ; 
they  pay  heavy  sums  to  be  deemed  the 
head  of  a  firm  ;  but  they  take  but  little 
pains  to  be  a  servant  of  God,  and,  what  is 
more  grievous,  they  often  blush  at  the 
idea  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  His  service. 

The  great  apostle  was  elated  at  a  time 
when  the  Christians  were  looked  upon  as 
scavengers  of  the  world,  Tanquam  purga- 
menta  hnjus  mundi ;  and  we  often  are 
confused  when  called  upon  to  practise  the 
duties  of  His  service,  and  this,  too,  at  the 
time  when  the  Christian  religion  is  dom- 
inant, and  when  many  powerful  monarchs 
have  willingly  professed  it. 

Happy  are  the  Christians  who  feel  the 
honor  and  acknowledge  the  grace  which 
God  has  bestowed  upon  them  when  He 
has  received  them  as  His  servants  !  Oh ! 
what  a  good  master  we  have !  how  mag- 
nificent are  His  promises !  how  faithful 
He  is  to  carry  them  out  1  how  liberal  are 
His  rewards ! 

How  happy  is  he  who  serves  Him  !  and 
thrice  happy  is  the  choice  he  has  made  \ 
Oh  !  if  all  men  knew  what  it  wa*  lo  be  a 


28 


HALF-HOUKS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


servant  of  God,  they  would  have  no  more 
ardent  wish,  or  aspire  to  a  higher  honor, 
ihan  to  be  reckoned  among  the  number  of 
His  faithful  servants. 

O  my  Lord  and  my  God !  my  heart  is 
filled  with  bitter  grief  when  I  call  to 
mind  the  years  of  my  past  life.  Alas  ! 
far  from  having  employed  them  in  Thy 
service,  I  am  one  of  those  unfaithful  ser- 
vants who  have  had  my  own  self-interest 
in  view. 

However,  as  You  are  my  Lord  and 
King,  I  this  day  take  an  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  from  henceforth,  swear  that  my  wish 
is  to  live  and  die  in  Thy  service. 

BOUDON. 

Le  Chritien  Inconttit. 

The  service  of  God  is  not  only  our  most 
important,  but  our  sole  work.  This  is  so 
obvious  that  it  requires  only  to  be  stated. 
Time  and  words  would  alike  be  wasted  in 
the  attempt  to  prove  it.  Yet,  alas  !  even 
spiritual  persons  need  to  be  reminded  of 
this  elementary  truth.  Let  us  subject 
ourselves  to  a  brief  examination  upon  it. 
Are  we  thoroughly  convinced  it  is  true .? 
Has  our  past  life  shown  proof  of  it  ?  Is 
our  present  life  modelled  upon  it }  Are 
we  taking  pains  that  our  future  life  shall 
be  so  ? 

What  is  the  result  when  we  compare 
our  worldly  promptitude  and  industry 
with  our  preference  of  the  service  of  God 
over  all  other  things  ^  Are  we  in  any 
way  on  the  lookout  for  His  greater  glory, 
or  our  own  greater  union  with  Him }  Is 
it  plain  at  first   sight   that  we   have   no 


object  or  pursuit  so  engrossing  and  so 
decidedly  paramount  as  the  service  of 
God  } 

The  spirit  in  which  we  serve  Him 
should  be  entirely  without  reserve.  Need 
I  prove  this  1  What  is  to  be  reserved  ? 
Can  there  be  reserves  with  God  ,?  Can 
His  sovereignty  be  limited,  or  our  love  of 
Him  ever  reach  the  measure  of  enough } 
But  have  we  no  reserve  with  Him  now  ?  Is 
there  really  no  corner  of  our  heart  over 
which  He  is  not  absolute  Lord  1  Does 
He  ask  of  us  freely  what  He  wills,  and  do 
we  do  our  best  to  give  Him  all  He  asks } 
Have  we  no  implicit  condition  with  Him 
that  He  is  only  so  far  with  us  and  no 
further }  Is  our  outward  life  utterly  and 
unconditionally  dependent  on  Him } 
And  if  it  is,  is  the  kingdom  of  our  inward 
intentions  reposing  peaceably  beneath  His 
unquestioned  sceptre  .'' 

It  is  of  importance  not  to  allow  our- 
selves to  rest  in  any  pursuit  except  the 
service  of  God.  By  resting  I  mean  feel- 
ing at  home,  reposing  on  what  we  do, 
forgetting  it  is  a  mere  means  even  when 
we  do  not  err  so  far  as  to  mistake  it  for 
an  end,  being  contented  with  what  we  are, 
not  pushing  on,  nor  being  conscious  that 
we  are  fighting  a  battle  and  climbing  a 
hill.  Nothing  can  excuse  the  neglect  of 
the  duties  of  the  position  in  life  which  God 
has  conferred  upon  us.  All  is  delusive 
where  these  are  not  attended  to  and  made 
much  of.  They  are,  as  it  were,  private 
sacraments  to  each  one  of  us.  They  are 
our  chief,  often  our  sole,  way  of  becoming 
saints. 


THE  SERVICE   OF  GOD. 


29 


But  while  we  perform  them  with  all  the 
peaceful  diligence  which  the  presence  of 
God  inspires,  we  must  jealously  realize 
that  they  are  means,  not  ends,  subordinate 
and  subservient  to  the  great  work  of  our 
souls.  No  amount  of  external  work,  not 
the  unsleeping  universal  heroism  of  a  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  can  make  up  for  the 
want  of  attention  to  our  own  souls,  such 
as  resting  in  our  external  work  would 
imply. 

Hence  we  should  be  jealous  of  any  great 
pleasure  in  our  pursuits,  even  when  they 


are  works  of  Christian  mercy  and  love. 
It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  do  good,  yet  it 
must  be  watched,  moderated,  and  kept  in 
check,  or  it  will  do  us  a  mischief  before 
we  are  aware.  The  thought  of  eternity  is 
a  good  help  to  this.  It  brings  down  the 
pride  of  external  work,  and  takes  the 
brightness  and  color  out  of  our  successes ; 
and  this  is  well,  for  such  brightness  and 
color  are  nothing  more  than  a  reflection  of 
ourselves  and  our  own  activity. 

Father  Faber. 
Growth  in  Holiness- 


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V 


ii^     ^     ^     ^     ^     ^ 

7n^       "^1^        "s^        T^       "^        ^W" 
CHAPTER     IX. 

'                                               -           ,  -— 1 

1  On  \k  Want  of  FefVoi'  in  tje  pefVice  of  (Jod.  J 

^^          iM^           ^M^          ^fe           4^          :^^ 

^^        ■^^         ^S^        ^^         '^        ^Rf 

BouRDALOUE,  FATHER  Croiset,  and  St.  Augustine. 

"Because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  begin  to  vomit  thee  out  of  my  mouth." 

—  Apocalypse  iii.  i6. 

OURDALOUE,  LOUIS.  —  Louis 
Bourdaloue  was  born  at  Bourges 
in,j682,  and  died  on  the  13th  of 
May,  1704. 

During  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV. 
of  France  many  ecclesiastics  at- 
tained    celebrity     and     even    an 

European  reputation,  but  Bourdaloue  equalled, 

if  not  excelled,  all  those  who  have  succeeded 

him.     He  was  styled  **  The  King  of  Preachers 

and  the  Preacher  of  Kings." 

His  sermons  and  different  works  were  col- 
lected and  published  in  17  vols.  8vo.,  in  the 

year  1826.     In  his  magnificent  discourses  no 

one  displayed  a  deeper  insight  into  the  divine 

mysteries.     Addressing  himself  less  to  world- 
lings than  to  Christians,  he  united  the  charity 

of  St.  Paul  to  the  unction  and  learning  of  St. 

Augustine,  and  the  use  he  makes  of  passages 

from  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  quotations   from 

the  writings   of  the   holy    fathers,  render  the 

reading  of  his  sermons  profitable,  and  at  the 

same  time  interesting. 

The  eulogy   of    Bourdaloue   from  Cardinal 

Maury's   Essai    sur     I'Eloquence    is     always 

quoted  in  all  French  elegant  extracts. 

We  begin  at  once  to  go  back  in  the 
spiritual  life  when  we  become  lukewarm  or 
lax  in  the  service  of  God     It   is  the  first 

30 


step  that  leads  to  sin  and  death.  To 
languish,  says  St.  Bernard  —  not  that 
languor  of  love  like  unto  that  of  the 
spouse  of  the  Canticle,  not  that  languor  of 
dryness  which  David  felt  when  God  with' 
drew  His  consolations  and  seemed  to  leave 
him  to  himself,  and  which  made  him  say, 
Languerunt  oculi  mei  prce  inopid;  but  that 
lukewarmness  which  is  criminal  and  vol- 
untary, that  languor  which  is  our  own 
doing,  and,  through  cowardice,  makes  us 
throw  off  the  yoke  of  Christian  regularity 
—  induces  us  to  neglect  the  ordinary 
exercises  of  piety  and  prayer,  causes  us  to 
feel  a  distaste  for  penance,  so  much  so  that 
we  withdraw  from  the  Sacraments,  cease 
from  performing  good  works  —  in  short, 
makes  us  feel  that  religion  is  so  wearisome 
that  we  can  no  longer  serve  the  Lord  our 
God  in  spirit  and  truth. 

This  is  what  St.  Bernard  means  when 
he  depicts  spiritual  tepidity ;  and  God 
wills  that  we  should  reflect  on  our  past 
tepidity  and  attend  to  what  His  saints 
teach  us. 


THE    WANT  OF  FERVOR  IN  THE  SERVICE   OF  GOD. 


The  state  of  lukewarmness  is  hurtful  to 
every  one,  inasmuch  as  it  is  one  of  those 
maladies  of  the  soul  to  cure  which  the 
strongest  remedies  are  often  found  to  be 
ineffectual. 

Such  a  state  is  also  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  grace  of  penance,  because,  in  lieu 
of  that  holy  fear  which  it  ought  to  excite 
within  us,  it  substitutes  fruitless  fears 
which  result  in  nothing. 

We  must  try  to  check  the  growth  of 
tepidity  by  thinking  of  the  holiest  Chris- 
tian duties,  and  fortify  our  will  by  prayer 
and  watchfulness. 

In  lesser  attacks  of  lukewarmness  which 
are  not  actually  criminal,  far  from  les- 
sening our  devotions,  we  should,  on  the 
contrary,  try  to  be  more  fervent,  more 
regular  in  our  exercises  of  piety. 

To  succeed  in  this  it  is  preferable  to 
practice  solid  devotion,  to  encourage  the 
most  generous  piety,  because  it  often 
happens  that  he  who  serves  God  with  less 
sensible  devotion  serves  Him  with  more 
merit  and  perfection. 

This  lukewarmness  does  not  come  upon 
us  suddenly.  Like  unto  the  foolish 
virgins  mentioned  in  the  Gospel,  it  changes 
from  a  drowsiness  to  a  deep  slumber. 
Dorniitaverunt  ontnes  et  dormierunt. 

An  indifference  about  our  salvation,  a 
contempt  for  little  duties,  a  falling  off 
from  all  that  is  good  and  hopeful,  a  com- 
placency in  all  that  is  bad — all  these 
stupify  the  soul,  and  reduce  it  to  that 
state  of  Jonah,  who  slept  soundly  during 
the  violent  storm,  when  all  those  who 
were  in  the  ship  were  sore  afraid,  and  yet 


he   remained,  as   it   were,    in   a  lethargic 
sleep. 

It  is  in  vain  for  a  confessor  to  advise 
vain  for  the  preacher  to  exhort.  If  luke 
warraness  be  accompanied  with  culpable 
negligence,  the  sinner  will  rarely,  if  ever, 
be  awakened  to  a  sense  of  his  or  her 
danger. 

This  is  a  true  picture  of  very  many  who 
add  to  their  indifference  the  torpidity  of 
an  obstinate  negligence  ;  those  who  do  not 
wish  to  fall  into  open  sin,  but  take  no 
trouble  to  advance  in  virtue ;  who,  although 
absolved  from  past  sins,  still  remain  in  a 
guilty  negligence  of  their  everyday  duties  ; 
who  do  not  deny  the  truths  of  our  holy 
faith,  but,  in  listening  to  exhortations,  pay 
no  attention  or  heed  them  not ;  who, 
under  the  pretence  that  they  are  not  so 
bad  as  many  others,  never  wish  or  try  to 
imitate  those  who  are  fervent. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  to  such  as  these  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  alludes  when  He  pro- 
nounces the  curse  on  those  who  do  the 
work  of  the  Lord  negligently.  Maledictus 
quifacit  opus  Dei  negligenter. 

BOURDALOUE. 
Passion. 

The  earnestness,  the  zeal,  the  love  of 
Mary  Magdalen,  compelled  our  Saviour  to 
console  her.  She  knew  Him  by  His  voice. 
O  my  God !  What  were  at  that  moment 
the  transports  of  love,  the  tender  gratitude 
of  that  holy  soul ! 

Those  who  are  lukewarm  in  the  service 
of  God  cannot  realize  this,  because  they 
love   so   little,   and    consequently    cannot 


32 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


know  how  much  she  loved  Him.  Such  as 
these  would  wish  to  be  all  for  Jesus,  but 
they  wish  it  if  God  will  be  satisfied  with 
a  divided  love  —  if  God  would  accept  of  a 
service  of  their  own,  and  not  the  one  He 
desires. 

They  would  like  to  be  perfect,  but  only 
in  their  own  imperfect  way ;  they  wish  to 
rely  on  human  prudence,  and  if  anything 
overtax  their  strength,  they  lose  courage 
and  are  frightened  at  the  least  difficulty. 


Vain  are  the  desires,  frivolous  are  thu 
pretexts,  of  a  heart  steeped  in  tepidity. 

Father  Croiset. 

Howsoever  long  you  may  have  lived, 
howsoever  persevering  you  have  been  in 
doing  well,  oh  !  do  not  say,  "  It  is  enough, 
I  am  all  right  now  "  ;  for  this  would  be  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  It  is  sufficient,  I  will  now 

begin  to  slacken  and  fall  off." 

St.  Augustine. 
Oh  Psalm  Ixix. 


-^< 


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♦+•*+■♦• +  +  +  +  +•*•+■♦•+•*•*■*■■*••*••*•+*•  4- 4- ■*•■*•++■♦•++  +  ++■♦+•♦•  •* 


r 


Father  Faber  and  Father  Claude  de  la  Colombi^re,  S.  J. 

**  How  great  is  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  and  His  forgiveness  to  them  that  turn  to  Him.** 

—  EcCLES.  xvii.  28. 


'ERCY  is  the  tranquillity  of 
God's  omnipotence  and  the 
sweetness  of  His  omnipres- 
ence, the  fruit  of  His  eternity 
and  the  companion  of  His 
immensity,  the  chief  satisfac- 
tion of  His  justice,  the  triumph  of  His 
wisdom,  and  the  patient  perseverance  of 
His  love. 

Wherever  we  go  there  is  mercy,  the 
peaceful,  active,  endless  mercy  of  our 
Heavenly  Father.  If  we  work  by  day, 
we  work  in  mercy's  light ;  and  we  sleep 
at  night  in  the  lap  of  our  Father's  mercy. 
The  courts  of  heaven  gleam  -with  its 
outpoured  prolific  beauty.  Earth  is  cov- 
ered with  it,  as  the  waters  cover  the  bed 
of  the  stormy  sea.  Purgatory  is,  as  it 
were,  its  own  separate  creation,  and  is 
lighted  by  its  gentle  moonlight,  gleaming 
there  soft  and  silvery,  through  night  and 
day. 

His  mercy  is  simply  infinite,  for  mercy 
is  one  of  His  perfections,  while  His  love 
is  the  harmony  of  all. 

33 


Mercy  does  not  tire  of  us,  does  not 
despair  of  us,  does  not  give  over  its  pur- 
suit of  us,  takes  no  offence,  repays  evil 
with  good,  and  is  the  ubiquitous  min- 
ister of  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus.  But 
love  seems  more  than  this.  Love  fixes 
upon  each  of  us,  individualizes  us,  is 
something  personal ;  but  mercy  is  some- 
thing by  itself. 

Love  is  the  perfection  of  the  uncreated 
in  Himself.  Mercy  is  the  character  of 
the  Creator. 

Mercy  pities,  spares,  makes  allowances, 
condescends  ;  and  yet  if  mercy  is  not  the 
reason  of  God's  love,  where  else  shall 
we  find  it  in  His  infinity  ? 

Father  Faber.    ( Oral. ) 
Creator  and  Creature. 


CoLOMBi^RE,  Claude  de  la. —  This  learned 
and  saintly  Jesuit  was  born  in  the  year 
1641,  and  yielded  up  his  soul  to  God  at  the 
early  age  of  forty-one,  at  Paray  le  Menial. 
After  a  two  years'  sojourn  at  the  court  of 
James  II.,  God  led  him  to  Paray,  to  the 
school  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  that  he  might 
discover  its  treasures  and  make  known  their 


34 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


value.  "It  was  distinctly  told  me,"  writes 
the  blessed  Margaret  Mary,  "  that  this  great 
servant  of  God  had  been  partly  designed  for 
the  execution  of  this  grand  design."] 

God  so  pardons  our  sins,  that  He  blots 
out  even  the  remembrance  of  the  greatest 
outrage.  God  does  not  act  as  men  do. 
He  does  not  grant  half  a  pardon. 
.  When  any  one  has  betrayed  our  trust, 
or  has  mortally  offended  us  —  howsoever 
we  may  wish  to  become  reconciled  to  the 
offender,  or  may  cherish  an  earnest 
desire  to  forgive,  and  strive  in  our  heart 
to  do  so  —  nevertheless,  we  find  it  difficult 
to  place  the  same  confidence  in  him,  or  to 
treat  him  with  the  same  affection  as 
before  ;  for  there  remains  in  the  corner  of 
our  heart  a  tinge  of  bitterness  from  time 
to  time,  or  when  we  call  to  mind  what  he 
has  done  to  us. 

Our  merciful  Lord  is  not  subject  to 
this  weakness. 

Oh !  would  that  all  sinners  who  sin- 
cerely repent  of  their  past  offences  could  see 
in  His  heart  the  feelings  He  has  for  them  ; 
—  no  resentment,  no  bitterness  there ! 
and  how  thoroughly  He  forgives  them. 

God  does  not  stop  there.  Not  content 
with  forgetting  our  trespasses,  He  gives 
us  back  the  merit  of  those  good  deeds 
which  we  had  lost  by  losing  His  grace; 
He  restores  to  us  those  merits  and  that 
grace  with  interest,  and  He  places  us  in  a 
position  more  advantageous  than  that  in 
which  we  were  when  Are  fell  away  from 
Him. 

I  am  not  at  all  astonished  that  St.  Mary 
Magdalen  had  not,  even  after  thirty  years 


had  elapsed,  ceased  to  weep  for  her  kins, 
although  she  could  not  doubt  but  they  had 
been  remitted.  I  am  not  surprised  that 
St.  Peter  should  have  been  inconsolable 
even  unto  death  for  having  failed  in  his 
fidelity  to  so  good  a  Master,  notwith- 
standing the  certainty  he  had  of  being 
forgiven. 

Can  one  be  mindful  that  so  good  a 
Master  has  been  offended  without  having 
one's  heart  torn  with  grief,  and  without 
feeling  a  hatred  of  one's  self?  Can  we, 
who  have  so  coolly  insulted  Kim  without 
any  reason,  having,  on  the  contrary,  a 
thousand  reasons  to  love  Him,  we,  who 
have  for  so  long  a  time  abused  His  love, 
His  patience,  His  blessings,  His  mercy, 
can  we,  I  say,  recollect  this  without  dying 
of  regret  and  repentance  } 

It  is  that  thought  which  redoubles  my 
grief  at  having  so  cruelly  sinned  against  a 
God  who  has  so  readily  forgiven  me,  who 
has  returned  good  for  evil,  and  all  kinds  of 
blessings  in  return  for  every  kind  of  evil. 

Can  it  be  that  I  shall  ever  forget  the 
ingratitude  which  He  has  so  soon  for- 
gotten }  that  I  should  forgive  my  own 
infidelities,  which  He  not  only  has  par- 
doned, but  has  urged  me  to  accept  His 
forgiveness  many  a  time.-*  in  fine,  that  I 
should  remain  satisfied  after  having  in- 
sulted His  divine  goodness  so  often  and 
for  so  long  a  time,  —  a  God  who  does  not 
love  me  less  to-day,  and  who  loves  me  even 
more  now  than  before  I  had  offended 
Him? 

LE   PfeRE   DE    LA    COLOMBltRK. 

Reflections, 


CHAPTER    XI. 


■'^   ■^' '  "  ■^' '^' '' ''iiiltfiiifiiTinTitiiiiiftiiifrfF"''' ' ' 


ON  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 


^y^riSI   AS  MANIFESTED  IN  OUR  ILLNESSES.   j, 

^feDlSllllMIIIIIIIMIIIllllllMJIiillillJIJIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIMMinl 


T 


Father  Spinola,  P^re  Nouet,  and  St.  Ambrose. 

"  My  son,  in  thy  sickness  forget  not  thyself,  but  pray  to  the  Lord,  and  He  shall  heal  thee." 

— EccLES.  xxxviii.  9. 


.ATHER  SPINOLA,  saint  and 
martyr,  was  one  of  the  band  of 
missionaries  who  suffered  martyr- 
dom in  Japan  on  the  2d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1622.  Urban  VIII.  placed 
these  martyrs  on  the  list  of  saints, 
and  our  Holy  Mother,  the  Church, 
celebrates  their  triumph  on  February  5. 

Father  Spinola,  a  noble  Genoese,  entered 
the  order  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  at  Nole  at 
the  time  when  his  uncle.  Cardinal  Spinola, 
was  Bishop  of  that  diocese.  So  ardent  was 
his  desire  to  shed  his  blood  for  the  faith  of 
his  Divine  Master,  that  he  entreated  to  be 
allowed  to  join  the  band  of  missionaries  who 
were  ready  to  go  to  Japan.  To  his  joy,  his 
request  was  granted,  and  he,  in  company  with 
Jesuits,  Dominicans,  and  Franciscans,  reached 
Japan  in  1602. 

They,  with  an  indefatigable  zeal,  worked 
ior  the  salvation  of  souls  and  converted  a 
large  number  of  heathens.  The  Japanese 
authorities  sent  Father  Spinola  and  others  to 
a  miserable  dungeon,  and  it  was  during  his 
incarceration  that  Father  Spinola  managed 
to  send  the  following  letter  to  one  of  his 
relatives  in  Europe. 

In  the  year  1622  the  saintly  Father  was 
condemned  to  be  burned  alive.  When  the 
cords  which  attached  his  poor  weak  frame  to 
the   stake    were    consumed,   he  fell    on   the 

36 


burning  embers,  and  his  soul,  now  free  from 
its  prison-house  of  flesh,  flew  up  to  heaven 
surrounded  by  the  flames  of  divine  love.] 

How  sweet  to  suffer  for  Jesus  Christ  ! 
I  cannot  find  words  energetic  enough  to 
tell  you  what  I  feel,  more  especially  since 
I  have  been  confined  in  prison,  where  we 
are  forced  to  observe  a  continual  fast. 
The  strength  of  my  body  has  left  me,  buJ 
the  joy  of  my  heart  increases  in  proportion 
to  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  death. 

What  a  happiness  it  will  be  if  I  am  per- 
mitted to  sing  next  Easter  Sunday  the 
I/cec  Dies  in  heaven  ! 

Had  you  tasted  the  sweet  delight  which 
God  has  poured  into  our  souls,  you  would 
indeed  despise  the  good  things  this  world 
affords.  Since  I  have  been  in  prison  for 
His  sake,  I  feel  that  I  am  a  disciple  of 
Jesus.  I  now  find  myself  fully  compen- 
sated for  the  pangs  of  hunger,  by  the  con- 
soling sweetness  which  filled  my  soul ; 
and  were  I  to  be  immured  in  prison  for 
years,  the  time  would  appear  to  me  to  be 
short,  so  much  do  I  desire  to  suffer  for 


36 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Him  who  rewards  me  so  liberally  for  my 
pains. 

Among  other  illnesses,  I  have  had  a 
fever  raging  within  me  which  lasted  a 
hundred  days,  without  the  possibility  of 
being  relieved.  During  all  this  time  my 
joy  has  been  so  great,  that  I  find  it  useless 
to  describe  it  in  words. 

Father  Spinola. 

When  we  are  in  good  health  there  are 
two  things  which  usually  go  far  to  stifle 
every  sense  of  the  fear  of  God,  and  these 
are  the  hope  of  a  long  life  and  the  forget- 
fulness  of  eternity. 

So  long  as  the  sinner  is  strong  and  well, 
the  thought  of  death  never  enters  into  his 
mind ;  or,  if  it  should,  it  makes  but  little 
impression  upon  him,  because  he  looks 
upon  it  as  an  event  very  far  off. 

Then  comes  the  judgment  (which  awaits 
until  that  fearful  moment),  and  even  the 
thought  of  this  does  not  affect,  him,  for  he 
lives  as  if  he  never  had  to  give  an  account 
of  his  misdeeds  ;  but  when  he  finds  him- 
self stretched  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  weak, 
languid,  exhausted  with  pain  and  over- 
come with  grief,  it  is  then  that  he  recollects 
that  he  is  mortal ;  and,  seeing  himself  so 
near  that  fearful  passage  which  he  had  not 
before  thought  of,  he  cannot  but  be  much 
alarmed  at  finding  that  he  is  compelled  to 
ponder  on  the  danger  he  is  in,  and  of  the 
necessity  of  preparing  for  the  salvation  of 
his  soul. 

This,  then,  is  the  short  road  by  which 
the  Divine  Mercy  leads  worldlings  and 
draws  them  back  to  His  service. 


That  libertine  would  have  gone  on  care, 
lessly  for  ten  years  more,  had  not  God  in 
His  mercy  sent  him  a  malignant  fever, 
which  has  frightened  him  and  made  him 
return  to  his  duty. 

Doctors  are  accustomed  to  wound  one 
part  of  the  body  in  order  to  cure  another 
part ;  they  open  a  vein  in  a  sound  arm  to 
relieve  a  feverish  brain  ;  they  make  use  of 
the  cupping-glass  to  remove  inflammation  ; 
they  keep  a  wound  open  in  order  to  be 
able  to  close  another ;  and,  as  St.  Jerome 
says,  the  secret  of  their  science  con- 
sists in  restoring  health  through  pain. 
Ars  medicorum  est,  per  dolor e,  reddere 
sanitatem. 

The  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  Physician  of 
souls,  follows  the  same  method  to  cure  sin- 
ners. He  smites  the  flesh  to  cure  the 
mind,  and  from  illnesses,  which  are  the 
forerunners  of  the  death  of  the  body.  He 
frames  a  good  provision  for  the  life  of  the 
soul. 

All  the  holy  Fathers  teach  us  that  ill- 
ness is  the  school  of  Christian  wisdom,  the 
dawning  of  virtue  whereby  the  mind  is 
invigorated,  and  the  grand  means  of  grace, 
which  redoubles  its  strength,  through  the 
weakness  of  the  body.  When  I  am  weak, 
says  St.  Paul,  it  is  then  that  I  am  strong. 
I  am  never  more  vigorous  in  mind  than 
when  my  body  is  exhausted  with  illness 
and  wearied  with  weakness.  More  than 
this,  illness  may  be  said  to  be  victorious 
over  vice,  through  the  triumph  of  grace 
over  the  passions  of  the  soul,  and  a 
triumph  of  the  soul  over  the  appetites  of 
the  flesh. 


THE  MERCY  OF  GOD. 


37 


It  is  then  that  the  sensualist  thinks 
more  of  his  health  than  of  his  pleasures; 
it  is  then  that  the  miser  dreams  not  of  his 
riches,  but  sighs  for  the  treasure  of 
health ;  then  that  the  ambitious  man 
throws  aside  his  vanity  and  builds  no  more 
castles  in  the  air.  The  gormandizer 
sobers  down  at  the  sight  of  death,  the 
envious  and  vindictive  proclaim  a  truce ; 
for  the  pains  of  the  body  soften  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  mind. 

Is  it  not,  then,  a  wonderful  blessing 
that  Almighty  God  should  allow  the  infirm- 


ities of  the  body  to  arrest  the  impetuosity 

of  our  passions  ? 

Rev.  PfeRE  NouET,  S.  J. 

Meditations. 

That  illness  has  been  your  salvation. 
You  have  suffered,  but  your  life  has  not 
been  in  danger.  This  is  what  the  Lord 
has  said :  "  I  will  strike  him,  and  I  will 
cure  him." 

He  has  struck  you,  your  illness  has 
awakened  your  faith,  and  that  has  been 
your  cure.  St.  Ambrose. 

From  his  epistlts. 


St.  Chrysostom  and  Bishop  Plechier. 
*•  Tribulation  worketh  patience ;  and  patience  trial,  and  trial  hope."  —  Romans  v.  4. 


'ESUS  CHRIST  has  forewarned 
us  that  we  should  be  persecuted 
in  this  world.  St.  Paul,  in  like 
manner,  says  that  all  they  who 
wish  to  dwell  in  Christ  will 
suffer  great  afflictions,  not  only 
through  the  agency  of  man,  but  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  devil  and  his 
angels. 

Job  emphatically  says  that  the  whole 
of  our  life  here  below  is  one  chain  of 
temptations. 

Why,  then,  should  we  be  so  sensitive  of 
tribulations,  if  such  be  the  period  fixed 
for  all  kinds  of  afflictions  ? 

You  would  indeed  have  just  cause  to 
groan  if  you  had  passed  through  a  life  of 
pleasure  and  sensual  delight  —  a  time 
which  our  Saviour  has  allotted  for  troubles, 
vexations,  and  mortifications. 

If  you  are  inactive,  or  apt  to  pine, 
buckle  on  your  armor  and  fight  coura- 
geously ;  if  you  walk  on  the  broad  path 
when  the  narrow  way  is  recommended, 
what  will  your  lot  be .''  what  fearful 
thoughts  will  be  in  store  for  you  ! 

38 


Quote,  I  entreat  you,  a  single  instance 
of  a  person  who,  after  leading  a  cowardly, 
indifferent  life,  has  participated  in  the 
reward  God  has  promised  to  His  elect. 

We  must  always  keep  in  mind  that  our 
Saviour  warns  us  that  the  gate  of  heaven 
is  small,  that  the  road  which  leads  to  it 
is  narrow,  and  that  few  can  find  it. 

It  is  evident,   therefore,   that    no    one 

need  go  astray  if  he  but  follow  the  right 

path. 

St.  Chrysostom. 


[Flechier,  Esprit,  Bishop  of  Nimes,  and 
Sacred  Orator,  was  born  on  the  ibth  of  June, 
1632,  at  Perues.  He  enjoyed  a  considerable 
share  in  the  patronage  which  Louis  XIV. 
extended  to  all  men  of  letters.  He  died  at 
Montpellier,  on  February  16,  17 10,  aged  78, 
regretted  by  all  who  resided  in  his  diocese. 
His  funeral  orations  are  models  of  eloquence.] 

To  cure  the  blindness  which  almost 
always  accompanies  prosperity,  the  surest 
remedy  is  to  be  found  as  in  the  case  of 
Tobias'  gall  of  the  fish,  that  is  to  say,  in 
afflictions  and  chastisements. 

When  a  violent  fever  will,  as  it  were, 
liqiaefy  your  bones  ;  when  you  lie  on  yout 


THE  MERCY  OF  GOD. 


39 


bed  prostrate  and  full  of  grievous  pain, 
you  will  then  see  that  body  for  which  you 
have  so  often  risked  your  soul,  which  you 
have  clothed  with  so  much  luxury,  that 
you  have  pampered  with  so  many  delica- 
cies, is  but~  a  fragile  vessel  which  the 
slightest  accident  might  shatter,  and 
which,  of  itself,  may  be  broken. 

When  a  preconcerted  calumny  or  any 
underhand  conspiracy  will  cause  you  to 
fall  from  a  position  to  which  you  ambi- 
tiously aspired,  and  which  position  you 
may  have  kept  up  by  intrigue,  you  will  at 
last  be  convinced  of  the  nothingness  and 
instability  of  human  greatness. 

When  age  or  some  unforeseen  calamity 
will  efface  that  beauty  which  attracted 
many  admirers,  and  which  in  your  heart 
you  wished  to  preserve,  you  would  be 
forced  to  confess  that  all  is  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit. 

When  sent  adrift  by  a  capricious  mas- 
ter, or  betrayed  by  a  cowardly,  false  friend, 
you  will  naturally  feel  contempt  for  those 
from  whom  you  expected  protection  and 
assistance,  and  you  will  then  know  that 


one  must  not  trust  to  human  support ;  but 
if  you  wish  never  to  be  deceived,  you 
must  place  all  your  confidence  in  God 
alone. 

Losses  and  disgrace  may  be  (and  often 
are,  thanks  be  to  God,)  the  means  and 
cause  of  our  conversion.  They  excite  us 
to  do  penance,  and  make  us  feel  how  just 
is  God,  and  that  afflictions  are  the  best 
victims  we  can  offer  to  appease  Him. 
They  try  us  when  we  feel  a  natural 
repugnance  to  them ;  they  sanctify  us  if  we 
accept  with  humble  submission  both  evils 
and  remedies  together  ;  we  suffer  trout '.es, 
and  acquire  merit  by  our  patience  ;  o  ;ca- 
sions  of  conflict  and  victory  —  suffe.  ing 
and  longanimity — knowledge  and  prac  ice, 
go  hand  in  hand  together.  They  are  the 
merciful  means  of  softening  our  s'  ony 
hearts,  and  whoever  resists  or  is  insensible 
to  the  chastisements  which  God  sends  for 
his  instruction  and  conversion,  his  mind 
and  will  will  be  enveloped  in  impenetrable 
darkness.  I  tremble,  if  I  dare  to  say  so 
—  I  tremble  for  his  salvation. 

Flechiea. 


CHAPTKR   XIII. 


0n  \^a  ^reiee  of  ^od. 


St.  ^lred,  Massillon,  and  Bourdaloue, 
"We  do  exhort  you,  that  you  receive  not  the  grace  of  God  in  vain."  —  2  Corinthians  vi.  i. 


T.  ^LRED. —  This  great  saint  was 
born  in  the  year  11 69,  in  the  north 
of  England.  Descended  from  a 
noble  family,  and  having  received 
an  excellent  education,  he  soon 
obtained  a  valuable  appointment 
in  the  court  of  David  I.  king  of 
Scotland.  The  seeds  of  virtue  having  been 
planted  within  him  by  a  pious  mother,  he  was 
enabled  to  battle  against  the  corruptions  of 
the  world ;  and  even  before  he  determined  to 
withdraw  himself  from  the  temptations  of  a 
courtier's  life,  he  ever  preserved  that  favorite 
virtue  of  our  Saviour's,  namely,  humility.  In 
addition  to  this,  he  possessed  an  unalterable 
meekness,  which,  according  to  the  gospel,  is 
inseparable  from  humility. 

In  order  to  detach  himself  from  the  world, 
he  quitted  Scotland  and  went  to  Rieval,  in  the 
county  of  York.  Here  he  entered  the  Cister- 
cian order,  and  placed  himself  under  the  guid- 
ance of  William,  a  disciple  of  the  glorious  St. 
Bernard. 

In  II 42  he  was  elected  Abbot  of  Revesby, 
in  the  county  of  Lincoln.  He  died  in  the 
year  1166,  aged  57,  having  been  abbott  for 
the  space  of  twenty-two  years.  Benedict  XIV., 
in  approving  of  the  martyrology  of  the  Cister- 
cian order,  calls  attention  to  the  learning, 
innocence,  and  humility  of  St.  ^Ired.  The 
same  Pope  adds,  that  God  crowned  the  virtues 


of  His  servant  with  the  gifts  of  prophecy  and 
miracles. 

St.  .^lred  describes  the  state  of  his 
soul  before  he  resolved  to  leave  the  world, 
its  pomps  and  vanities.  In  the  Life  of  the 
Saint  by  Godescard,  the  saint  says  :  — 

Those  who  looked  only  at  the  external 
grandeur  which  surrounded  me  —  those 
who  judged  of  my  position  in  the  world  — 
knew  not  what  was  passing  within  me, 
and  yet  they  cried  out,  Oh,  how  envious 
is  the  lot  of  that  man !  how  happy  he 
must  be  ! 

But  they  did  not  see  my  dejection  of 
mind  ;  they  did  not  know  of  the  insupport- 
able anguish  of  a  heart  weighed  down  by 
sin. 

It  was  then,  O  my  God,  that  I  knew  of 
the  unutterable  joy  I  felt  when  I  found 
myself  supported  by  Thy  grace,  and  that  I 
tasted  of  that  peace  which  is  now  my 
inseparable  companion. 

The  operations  of  grace  in  the  conver- 
sion of  a  sinner  are  not  always  the  same. 


THE  GRACE  OF  GOD. 


41 


At  one  time  it  is  a  sharp  and  piercing 
ray,  which,  darting  from  the  bosom  of 
the  Eternal  Father,  enlightens,  strikes, 
humbles,  and  overcomes  those  upon  whom 
it  descends ;  at  another  time,  it  is  a  more 
subdued  brightness,  which  has  its  progres- 
sion and  succession,  which  seems  to  battle 
for  victory  over  the  dark  clouds  which  it 
wishes  to  disperse,  and  after  a  thousand 
attacks,  succeeded  by  as  many  repulses,  it 
remains  for  some  time  doubtful  which 
shall  carry  off  the  palm. 

Now,  it  is  a  powerful  God  who  over- 
throws the  cedars  of  Lebanon  ;  then  it  is 
the  God  most  patient,  who  wrestles  with 
His  servant  Jacob,  and  holds  him  fast  in 
order  to  make  him  enter  the  right  path 
wherein  He  invites  him. 

It  is  thus,  O  my  God,  that  You  act  as 
the  instructor,  the  master  of  all  hearts. 

First  proof  of  grace  :  To  conquer  a 
guilty  and  rebellious  soul,  which  alone 
would  prevent  its  conversion,  God  even 
makes  use  of  its  guilty  passion.  He  seeks, 
to  excite  it  in  those  very  places  in  which 
the  sinner  sought  for  pleasure  and  amuse- 
ment. Saul  in  his  fury  runs  to  Damascus 
in  order  to  persecute  the  Church,  and  on 
his  road  he  is  struck  to  the  ground  and 
becomes  an  apostle.  The  centurion  rides 
up  to  Mount  Calvary  to  complete  the  bar- 
barous outrages  of  the  executioners  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  a  ray  of  light  descends 
upon  him,  and  he  confesses  that  He  was 
truly  the  Son  of  God. 

A  soul  experiences  trouble  and  remorse 
in  the  very  places  wherein  it  vainly  sought 
for  pleasure  and  satisfaction. 


Grace  awaits,  so  to  speak,  at  the  gates 
of  sin  and  crime ;  and  disgust,  perfidy, 
bitterness  of  soul,  disgrace,  and  other 
frightful  consequences,  are  the  punish- 
ments of  the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  sinner 
often  finds  treasures  of  justice  in  the  verj 
place  where  he  sought  for  his  eternal  loss. 

Grace  triumphs,  when  it  wishes,  over 
the  greatest  obstacles,  because  that 
heavenly  unction  changes  at  will  our 
troubles  into  consolations,  so  that  by  means 
of  this  grace,  that  which  was  our  delight, 
and  which  was  to  us  a  deadly  poison, 
becomes  a  hidden  manna,  which  feeds  and 
strengthens  us. 

The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  can,  if  He  will, 

change  the  weakest  of  men  into  one  so 

strong  and  powerful  that  nought  can  make 

him  swerve  from  his  fidelity,   no  danger 

can    shake    his    firmness,    no    seductive 

pleasure  can  corrupt  him  ;  in  one  word  it  is 

this,  that  grace,  far  stronger  than  nature, 

surmounts  every  obstacle,  and  attracts  all 

hearts    gently    and    sweetly    which     He 

wishes  to  convert  ., 

Massillon. 

Grace  is,/ar  excellencey  the  gift  of  God, 
It  is  this  that  infinitely  surpasses  every 
gift  of  nature  ;  it  is  the  only  source  of  our 
happiness,  without  which  we  can  do  noth- 
ing, and  with  which  we  can  do  everything. 

It  is  this  gift  which  comes  from  on  high, 
and  flows  direct  from  the  Father  of  Light ; 
which  converts  us  and  makes  us  new 
men  ;  it  is  that  gift  by  which  we  are  as  we 
are ;  if,  however,  we  are  something  before 
God,  as  the  apostle  says,  "  By  the  grace  of 
God  I  am  what  I  am." 


4« 


HALF-HOURS    WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


Yet,  nevertheless  (so  strange  it  is),  it  is 
the  same  gift  which,  through  our  stubborn 
ignorance,  we  know  not  of,  and  which, 
through  our  unbearable  ingratitude,  we 
receive  every  day  in  vain. 

Alas !  of  what  use  is  it  to  acknowledge 
its  greatness  and  merit  if  we  abuse  it 
nearly  every  moment  of  our  life  ? 

It  is  for  that,  that  our  Saviour,  speaking 
to  the  Samaritan  woman,  chided  her  igno- 
rance by  saying,  "  Ah  !  woman,  if  you  had 
known  the  nature  and  excellence  of  the 
gift  of  God." 

Grace  triumphant  must,  so  to  speak,  be 
subject  to  us.  Be  not  shocked  at  this 
term,  for  it  derogates  nothing  from  the 
dignity  of  grace.     It  must  be  so  subject  to 


us  as  to  well-nigh  weary  the  patience  of 
God,  who  waits  for  us  for  years  without 
interfering  with  our  free-will.  It  selects 
the  place  and  time ;  it  seizes  the  most 
favorable  opportunity  to  win  us  ;  it  is  the 
first  to  warn  us,  and,  far  from  taking 
something  away  from  us  by  force  or 
violence,  it  entreats  us  with  prayers  and 
mild  remonstrances,  it  accommodates  itself 
to  our  weaknesses,  adjusts  itself  to  our 
humor,  and  if  at  last  it  makes  us  realize 
the  blessings  of  heaven  and  the  contempt 
for  earthly  joys,  it  is  only  after  having 
convinced  us  by  innumerable  trials  of  the 
solidity  of  the  one  and  the  frailty  of  the 

BOURDALOUE. 

Oh  th*  Samaritan  Woman. 


••J     \*i 


*■*■• 


Copyright.  1889. 


Murpli)  &  MtCartUy. 


a>itoinc  l^opc. 


anctifging  (jrace  of  Ijod. 


Cardinal  Bellarmin,  PfeRE  Duneau,  and  St.  Leo. 

"  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  more  abound.    That  as  sin  hath  reigned  to  death,  so  also  grace 
might  reign  by  justice  unto  life  everlasting."  —  Romans  v.  20. 


ARDINAL  BELLARMIN  was 
born  at  Monte  Pulciano  in  1542. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered 
as  novice  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
Clement  VI IL  raised  him  to 
the  rank  of  cardinal  in  the  year 
1601. 

Paul  V.  wishing  to  retain  him  near  him, 
the  cardinal  resigned  his  archbishopric  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  Court  of  Rome  until 
the  year  1621.  He  died  the  same  year  at  the 
novitiate  of  the  Jesuits,  whither  he  had  re- 
tired from  the  commencement  of  his  serious 
illness. 

This  learned  cardinal  has  enriched  the 
Church  with  several  works. 

God,  when  He  created  man,  gave  him  a 
free  will,  and  this  in  so  perfect  a  way  that, 
without  constraint,  without  impairing  his 
liberty.  He  rules  him  by  His  power, 
frightens  him  by  His  threats,  and  wins 
him  by  His  blessings. 

He  has  an  earnest  wish  for  the  salvation 
of  all,  but  He  waits  for  their  consent,  for 
their  co-operation.  It  is  to  gain  them  that 
He  warns,  that  He  encourages  them,  that 
He  leads  them  on  in  so  wonderful  a 
manner,  so  as  to  bring  them,  with  His 

4S 


assistance,  to  that  happiness  which  is  their 
destiny. 

These  are  the  inventions  of  His  wisdom, 
which  the  prophet  Isaiah  says  that  he  will 
announce  to  the  people  {Isaiah  xii). 

For  those  who  are  reprobates,  at  one 
time  He  warns  them  with  mildness,  at 
another  time  He  encourages  them  with 
kindness,  and  at  another  He  corrects  them 
with  a  paternal  love,  according  to  the 
disposition  in  which  they  are,  and  accord- 
ing to  their  necessities. 

This  loving  conduct  is  a  visible  excess 
of  the  charity  of  our  Lord,  not  only 
towards  the  good,  but  even  towards  the 
wicked,  in  order  that  they  may  be  con- 
verted and  become  good. 

All  that  contributes  to  our  justification 
is  an  effect  of  His  divine  grace.  It  is  that 
which  accompanies  this  great  work,  which 
teaches  us  by  exhortation,  which  encour- 
ages us  by  example,  which  terrifies  us  by 
chastisement,  which  moves  us  by  miracles, 
which  enlightens  our  mind,  which  induces 
us  to  follow  wise  counsels,  which  improves 
our  understanding,  and  which  inspires  us 


44 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC 


with '  feelings  conformable  to  the  faith 
which  we  profess. 

Thus  our  will  is  subservient  to  grace, 
and  acts  only  conjointly  with  it ;  so  that 
all  these  helps  which  God  gives  us  require 
our  co-operation,  in  order  that  we  may 
begin  to  carry  out  the  good  resolutions 
which  we  have  received  from  His  divine 
inspirations.  So,  if  we  should  fall  into 
some  sinful  habit,  we  can  only  impute  our 
fall  to  our  own  pusillanimity  ;  and  if  we 
advance  in  virtue,  we  can  only  attribute 
our  advancement  to  grace. 

The   help  of  grace  is  given  to  all  in  a 

thousand  ways,  be  they  secret  or  be  they 

manifest.     If  many  reject  it,  it  is  always 

their  own  fault ;  if  some  profit  by  it,  it  is 

the  united  effect  of  divine  grace  and  the 

human  will. 

Cardinal  Bellarmik. 

OpuscuUs. 


[L'ABBfe  Franqois  Duneau  was  born  in 
Rome  in  April,  1752.  His  father  was  a 
follower  of  the  Pretender.  The  son  at  first 
followed  the  profession  of  barrister-at-law ; 
but  afterwards  took  orders,  and  was  one  of 
the  early  members  of  the  Acad^mie  Catho- 
lique,  established  in  1800. 

In  1806  the  Grand  Duke  Ferdinand  III. 
engaged  this  learned  ecclesiastic  to  educate 
his  son,  but  he  did  not  long  enjoy  his  deserved 
promotion,  for  he  died  on  the  4th  of  October, 
181 1,  aged  fifty-nine.  His  discourses,  called 
^'  Discorsi  Apologetici,"  consisting  of  four  vol- 
umes, are  well  known  and  appreciated.] 

Some  holy  Fathers,  in  speaking  of  that 
passage,  "  And  God  created  man  accord- 
ing to  His  own  image  and  likeness,"  say 
that   man    has  two  kinds  of  resemblance 


to  God  —  the  first,  signified  by  the  name 
of  image,  consists  in  that  man  by  nature 
is  endowed  with  an  understanding  and  a 
will  like  unto  God,  capable  of  knowing 
Him  and  of  loving  Him ;  the  second, 
expressed  by  the  name  of  likeness,  con- 
sists in  that  man  was  created  in  the  grace 
of  God,  and  this  gives  him  a  perfect 
resemblance  to  His  Creator,  which  he  had 
not  in  his  natural  being. 

From  thence  it  follows,  that  since  God 
is  the  essential  and  unbegotten  beauty, 
sanctifying  grace  is  the  most  perfect,  the 
most  noble  participator  of  that  beauty; 
the  soul  which  is  endowed  and  adorned 
with  it  is  infinitely  pleasing  in  the  eyes 
of  God.  So  much  so  that  a  great  saint, 
to  whom  was  revealed  the  wondrous 
beauty  of  a  soul  in  a  state  of  grace,  used 
to  say  that  she  no  longer  was  astonished 
that  God  had  willed  to  shed  the  last  drop 
of  His  precious  blood  in  order  to  cleanse 
it,  and  by  His  redemption  renew  every 
trace  of  beauty  which  sin  had  entirely 
effaced. 

But  if  God,  who  cannot  deceive,  is 
charmed  with  the  beauty  of  a  soul  in  a 
state  of  grace,  how  is  it  that  we  are  so 
careless  in  enriching  our  souls  by  the 
practise  of  evefy  virtue  }  Is  it  not  lament- 
able that  we  should  prefer  to  please  a 
wretched  being  —  uncomely  though  we 
be  —  rather  than  try  to  please  the  Divine 
Majesty  by  that  true  beauty  which  He 
is  ever  willing  to  give  to  those  who  seek 
Him? 

We  daily  witness  the  pains  that  worldly- 
minded     people    take    in    dressing    and 


rHE  SANCTIFYING   GRACE   OF  GOD. 


45 


decking  out  their  bodies,  merely  for  the 
sake  of  pleasing  others ;  and  often  do  we 
witness  that  exterior  ornaments  are 
sought  after  and  used  to  hide  their  natu- 
ral defects. 

We  are  careful  to  adorn  our  bodies 
which  soon  will  be  food  for  worms,  and 
we  neglect  that  most  beautiful  ornament 
of  the  soul  which  is  the  grace  of  God. 

PfeRE  DUNEAU. 

Sermon  in  Advent. 


Acknowledge,  O  Christian,  ,thy  dignity, 
and  after  having  been  made  participator 
of  the  divine  nature,  do  not  return  to  thy 
first  state  by  leading  a  life  which  would 
tarnish  thy  nobility. 

Is  it  not  a  gift,  exceeding  all'  other 
gifts,  that  God  should  call  man  His  child, 
and  that  man  should  call  God  his  Father  ? 

St.  Leo. 
Oh  the  Nativity- 


=  ^^    -^      -^    ■-^.    ■^    ^^^  j^  .-A^     -^     -^    ^^  ^^   ■^.'  ^^^    ■^.    ! 
"i* ;  ^^  ^^^   ^^'  ^^  "^   -^  •^   "W^   "W^   •W   W^  ^^^   W'   ^^^   W"    g*** 


A^  -'^-  ^^  ^^  .^^         .^         .^         ^.  ^.        ^^         .^         ^.         ^.  ^^  ;^^  ^^. 

"*  -^  -^  ^F  w^  ^F  w^  ^^  'w'J^^  •W'  ^^  "^  ^w^  ^F  w^ 


^n  Qoni'idemse.  in  ^od. 


Father  Houdry  and  Father  Claude  de  la  CoLOMBiifcRE. 

"  This  is  the  confidence  which  we  have  towards  God :  that  whatsoever  we  shall  ask  according  to 
His  will,  He  heareth  us."  —  i  John  v.  14. 


HE  Rev.  Father  Vincent  Houdry 
was  born  in  Tours  on  the  2?d  of 
January,  1630,  on  the  Feast  of  St. 
Vincent  of  Saragosa,  hence  his 
name. 

At  an  early  age  he  manifested 
a  taste  for  study  and  piety,  and 
at  the  age  of  thirteen,  in  1644,  he  entered  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  During  the  thirty  years  of 
his  ministry  P^re  Houdry  distinguished  him- 
self as  an  eloquent  preacher.  His  last  years 
were  passed  in  the  library  in  the  midst  of 
books.  Besides  being  the  author  of  several 
learned  works,  he  will  be  best  known  as  the 
editor  of  that  stupendous  monument  of  indus- 
try, "Za  BibliotKkque  des  Pr^dicateurs"  and 
from  this  work  many  extracts  have  been  culled 
and  translated. 

He  died  at  the  College  of  Louis  le  Grand, 
in  Paris,  on  the  29th  of  March,  1729,  aged 
ninety-eight  years  and  three  months.  Although 
he.  was  continually  reading  and  writing,  he 
never  had  occasion  to  make  use  of  spectacles. 
His  age  and  example  would  lead  us  to 
believe  that  longevity  of  life  is  in  favor  of  the 
learned  and  industrious. 

Full  confidence  in  the  goodness  of 
Almighty  God  is  one  of  the  sure  marks  of 
predestination. 


The  most  criminal,  corrupt,  or  wicked 
man  who  sincerely  wishes  to  do  penance 
for  his  past  sins,  will  find  that  confidence 
in  God  is  an  efficacious  and  sovereign 
remedy  for  all  his  miseries. 

Let  him  be  penitent,  let  him  persevere 
in  hope,  he,  eventually,  will  be  saved.  God 
has  said  it,  God  has  promised  it  ;  is  there 
any  reason  to  doubt  the  word  and  promise 
of  Him  who  is  truth  itself.? 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  hope  has  been 
compared  to  the  anchor  of  a  ship,  and  this 
comparison  is  consecrated  by  the  apostle 
St.  Paul  in  his  epistles. 

Should  a  vessel  lose  all  its  rigging  in  a 
tempest,  if  there  still  remain  an"  anchor, 
there  is  hope  that  the  crew  may  yet  be 
saved. 

The  same  thing  might  be  said  of  t^e 
confidence  in  God  ;  and  it  was  for  want  of 
having  recourse  to  this  that  Cain  and 
Judas  perished  in  their  sins. 

The  first  had  angered  God  by  jealousy 
and  a  cruel  fratricide;  but  what  put  the 
climax  to   the  curse  was    Cain  saying  in 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD. 


47 


despair,  "My  crime  is  too  great  for  any 
hope  of  pardon. " 

The  second  repents  of  the  shameful 
treachery  he  had  committed  against  the 
Son  of  God ;  but,  says  St.  Chrysostom, 
had  he  confided  in  the  goodness  of  his 
Divine  Master,  had  he  returned  to  implore 
His  mercy,  our  dear  Redeemer,  who  par- 
doned St.  Peter  and  who  prayed  for  His 
executioners,  would  no  doubt  have  led  this 
traitor  back  to  penance. 

This  confidence  in  God  has  also  another 
advantage ;  it  is  a  mighty  help  against 
temptations.  This  is  what  the  Gospel 
says  so  plainly,  "  In  hope  you  will  find 
yoiir  strength  "  ;  and  again,  "  I  shall  hope, 
and  there  will  be  nothing  to  weaken  me." 
In  fine,  what  more  powerful  than  having 
confidence  in  God  ? 

To  confide  in  God,  is  to  lean  upon  Him. 
It  is  to  call  for  His  assistance.  His 
goodness,  His  truth.  His  power. 

With  such  arms,  what  can  any  one  fear  1 
for  what  can  prevail  against  God }  Par- 
atum  cor  ejus  sperare  in  Domino,  confor- 
maium  est  cor  ejus  ;  non  commovebitur.  It 
is  in  this  confidence  that  one  finds  such 
fervent  charity.  This  is  easy  to  see  by 
the  difference  there  is  between  a  pre- 
suming or  a  timid  love  with  that  which 
Holy  Scripture  says  will  banish  fear. 

From  that  proceeds  the  saying  of  the 
Wise  Man  :  "  He  who  is  animated  by 
charity  is  like  unto  an  eagle  who  flies 
with  rapidity,  and  who  cleaves  the  air 
without  hindrance." 

In  conclusion,  the  apostle,  did  he  not 
say  to   the  early   Christians,    Serve   God 


with  love,  because  to  reach  perfection,  joy 
and  hope  are  the  most  efficacious  means  } 

PfeRE   HOUDRY. 

I  feel  so  persuaded,  O  my  God,  that 
You  graciously  watch  over  those  who 
hope  in  Thee,  and  that  no  one  need 
require  anything  so  long  as  they  look  up 
to  Thee  in  all  things,  that  I  am  determined 
for  the  future  to  lay  at  Your  feet  all  my 
anxieties  and  troubles.  "  In  peace,  in  the 
self-same  I  will  sleep  and  rest ;  for   Thou, 

0  Lord,  singularly  hast  settled  me  in 
hope  "  {Ps.  iv). 

Men  may  deprive  me  of  property  and 
honor;  sickness  may  take  away  ray 
strength,  and  other  means  of  serving  You ; 

1  may  even  lose  Your  grace  by  sin ;  but 
never,  never  will  I  lose  my  hope  in  Thee. 
I  will  cherish  it  unto  that  dreadful 
moment  when  all  hell  will  be  unchained 
to  snatch  my  soul  away.  "  No  one  hath 
hoped  in  the  Lord  and  hath  been  con- 
founded "  {Eccles.  ii.  1 1). 

I  know,  alas  !  I  know  too  well,  that  I  am 
weak,  headstrong,  and  changeable ;  I  know 
what  temptations  can  do  against  the  firmest 
resolution  ;  I  have  seen  some  stars  from 
heaven  fall ;  but  all  these  shall  not  frighten 
me  so  long  as  I  hope  in  Thee. 

I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  meet 
bravely  all  misfortunes,  because  my  hope 
is  not  shaken.  I  hope,  too,  that  You  will 
help  me  to  overcome  every  spiritual  enemy, 
that  You  will  defend  me  against  every 
assault,  and  You  will  make  me  triumph 
over  my  fiercest  passions. 

Rev.   PftRE  DE   LA   COLOMBltRE,    S.   J. 


-•^^-^^^-^^^^ 


^^^^^rT^'^^'"^ 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


'.•:  •:•>  •:•;  •:•;  •:•;  ••:•  •:•>  •!•;  i?>  i?;  •!•;  iii:  i*':  '.•':  'jf:  '.•':  i?;  •:•;  iv 

I  0N  ZEAL  rOR  GOB  I 

••*•  i*J  %*i  i*i  i*J  A"  •!•'•  '•!•  i^J  W  .'i  Vi  %*!  'J*!  'M:  ',*i  \*i  \*!  'Mi 


Fathers  Lambert,  Croiset,  and  Nouet. 

"  I  bear  them  witness,  that  they  have  a  zeal  for  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge." 

— Romans  x.  2. 


'ABBfi  LAMBERT,  atfirst  the  Vicar- 
General  of  the  diocese  of  Meaux, 
was  afterwards  appointed  Secre- 
tary to  Monseigneur  de  Juigud, 
Archbishop  of  Paris,  and  with 
him  he  travelled  through  Ger- 
many, France,  and  England.  In 
addition  to  other  works,  this  saintly  servant  of 
God  published  a  life  of  Archbishop  Juigu^. 

The  good  abbd  died  in  Paris,  on  the  nth  of 
June,  1836. 

We  read  in  the  annals  of  ecclesiastical 
history  that  the  prefect  Modestus  was 
sent  to  St.  Basil,  at  that  time  Bishop  of 
Caesarea,  with  a  message  from  the  emperor, 
threatening  him  with  his  vengeance  if  he 
continued  to  exercise  his  zeal  for  the 
conversion  of  his  subjects.  The  prefect 
made  specious  proposals,  and  told  the 
saint  that  much  might  be  expected  from 
his  master's  generosity  if  he  would  but 
moderate  his  zeal.  Promises  succeeded 
menaces,  for  such  as  these  are  all  that 
man  can  do.  St.  Basil  replied  that,  where 
God  was  concerned,  there  was  nothing 
more   important  for  His   servants   to    do 

48 


than  to  be  firm  in  the  exercise  of  theif 
ministry. 

The  following  portion  of  his  reply  is 
taken  from  the  twentieth  oration  of  St. 
Gregory  of  Nazianzen  : — 

"  When  there  is  any  question  of  our 
essential  duties,  we  will  be  as  obliging  and 
as  humble  as  our  rules  prescribe ;  we 
should  be  sorry  to  show  any  arrogance, 
not  only  to  emperors  or  kings,  but  even 
to  the  lowest  of  men.  But  when  the  inter- 
ests of  God  are  concerned,  we  should  recog- 
nize no  human  consideration,  as  we  look 
to  God  alone.  The  most  frightful  torture, 
far  from  alarming  me,  would  give  me  joy. 

"  Threaten  as  you  will,  put  all  kinds  of 
outrages  into  execution,  do  your  worst,  go 
tell  your  master;  for  you  will  gain  noth- 
ing. Were  you  to  reach  the  height  of 
your  cruel  threats,  you  will  never  be  able 
to  force  us  to  subscribe  to  your  impious 
doctrines." 

The  prefect,  astonished  at  his  firmness, 
told  him  that  no  one  had  ever  spoken  to 
him  in  that  bold  way. 


ZEAL  FOR  GOD. 


49 


"Perhaps,"  replied  the  saint,  "you  have 
never  spoken  to  a  bishop  before." 

Father  Lambert. 
Adapted  front  "  Discours  Ecclhiastiques." 

It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  priests 
and  missionaries  ought  alone  to  be  zeal- 
ous. There  is  not  one  who  has  not  a 
mission  to  fulfil,  without  going  out  of  his 
state  in  life ;  not  a  single  person  who 
ought  not  to  connect  his  own  salvation 
with  that  of  his  brethren.  Your  own 
sanctification  is,  of  course,  your  first  and 
greatest  business.  Every  one  should 
look  to  this ;  but  every  one  is  bound  to 
edify  his  neighbor  by  giving  a  good 
example.  This  zeal  is  common  to  all, 
and  to  all  conditions  of  Kfe. 

Are  you  in  office,  have  you  inferiors, 
have  you  the  cares  of  a  family  and 
servants }  Few  professed  missionaries 
have  so  much  to  answer  for,  and  have  to 
give  an  account  of  their  salvation  as  you 
have. 

Take  especial  care  not  to  neglect  this 
duty ;  do  not  leave  it  to  others ;  watch 
continually  over  the  conduct  of  those 
whom  God  has  confided  to  your  care. 
Children,  servants,  inferiors,  are  all,  so  to 
speak,  so  many  trusts  of  which  you  are 
liable  to  render  an  account  to  your  Sover- 
eign Master.  Besides  the  efficacy  of  a 
good  example,  you  are  called  upon  to  give 
them  education,  instruction,  and  good 
advice. 

Watch  over  the  manners  of  your  chil- 
dren and  servants  ;  with  regard  to  morals 
and    religion,    pass  over  nothing ;  do  not 


suffer  any  one  to  give  them  bad  example ; 
check,  warn,  and  correct  with  real  and 
mildness. 

In  whatever  condition  of  life  you  may 
be,  remember  that  you  have  to  fulfil  the 
duties  of  an  apostle.  Christian  charity 
obliges  you  to  take  to  heart  the  salvation 
of  your  brethren,  and  do  not  forget  to  do 
all  you  can  to  obtain  this  desirable 
object. 

It  is  not  solely  by  preaching  that  the 
conversion  of  many  is  brought  about; 
there  are  other  ways  much  more  effica- 
cious. A  kind  word  in  season,  a  warning, 
a  charitable  advice,  a  good  example,  an 
alms  —  all  these  may  be  used  with  a  zeal 
truly  apostolic. 

There  is  no  father  or  mother  who  can 
fail  to  do  an  immensity  of  good  in  the 
home  and  with  the  servants. 

What  good  cannot  a  superior  in  a 
community  do,  if  he  is  animated  with  a 
pure  and  ardent  zeal  and  an  exemplary 
piety  !  What  an  immense  benefit  could 
princes  do  at  the  court  and  in  their  estates 
if  they  had  at  heart  the  truths  of  our  holy 
religion  !  Would  not  honor,  honesty,  and 
justice  then  reign  throughout  their  lands  ? 

Croiset. 
Annie  Chrilienne. 

The  will  of  My  Father,  says  His  divine 
Son,  and  the  reason  He  sent  Me,  is  to 
save  souls,  and  not  to  lose  one  He 
intrusted  to  Me.  In  fact,  as  God  has 
nothing  more  dear  to  Him  than  the  sal- 
vation of  men,  so  nothing  is  more  pleasing 
to  Him  than  to  see  them  withdrawn  from 


50 


HALF-HOURS    WITH  THE  SAINTS;  ETC. 


the  abyss  and  led  into  the  right  path. 
Nihil  ita  gratum  est  Deo  et  ita  curce,  ut 
animarum  salus,  says  St.  Chrysostom. 

It  is  the  favorite  theme  of  Holy  Writ, 
the  omega  of .  all  the  mysteries,  the  centre 
of  His  love,  the  end  of  all  His  designs  and 
of  His  labors ;  for  which,  as  says  St. 
Augustine,  He  created  the  heavens, 
extended  the  seas,  and  formed  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth.  And  what  is  of  greater 
value  ^  for  this  He  sent  His  only  Son. 

This  is  the  reason  that  St.  Gregory  the 
Great  gives  when  he  telk  us  that  we 
cannot  offer  to  the  Almighty  a  more 
pleasing   service  than  a  zeal  for    souls ; 


and  St.  Chrysostom  assures  us  that  we 
can  do  nothing  more  agreeable  to  God 
than  to  sacrifice  our  life  to  the  common 
benefit  of  all  men. 

Meditate  awhile  on  this,  you  who  have 
so  many  persons  under  your  charge  and 
direction ;  and  at  least,  if  you  cannot 
place  them  in  heaven,  try  not  to  lose  one 
whom  God  has  given  to  you  to  direct  and 
govern,  to  whose  hands  He  has  confided 
under  your  care,  so  that  you  may  be  able 
to  say  with  our  Saviour,  Quos  dedisti 
Mihi,  non  perdidi  ex  eis  quentquam. 

PfeRE  NOUET. 

Meditations,. 


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\ 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


ON    THE    INCARNATION; 


1^ 


St.  Bernaju),  St.  Athanasius,  PAre  Louis  de  Grenada, 
and  St.  Jerome. 

"  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son,  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Emmanuel." 

—  ISAIAS  vii.  14. 


T.  BERNARD  was  one  of  the  most 
influential  ecclesiastics  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  He  was  born  at 
Fontaines,  in  Burgundy,  A.  D. 
logi.  In  the  year  1113,  he  be- 
came a  monk  at  Citeaux,  and  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-four  was 
elected  Abbot  of  Clairvaux.  At  that  time 
Clairvaoix  was  a  savage  desert,  but  St.  Bernard 
made  it  teem  with  fertility.  He  wished  that 
his  monks,  while  serving  God,  should  also  be 
useful  to  man,  and  he  prescribed  that  each  of 
them  in  his  turn,  and  according  to  his  capacity, 
should  attend  to  manual  labor  and  study. 

St.  Bernard  was  called  the  honeyed  teacher, 
and  his  writings  were  styled  a  stream  from 
Paradise. 

He  died  in  the  year  1 153,  and  was  canonized 
by  Alexander  HI.  a.  d.  1174. 

I  HAVE  often  thought  of,  and  meditated 
on,  the  holy  eagerness  of  the  patriarchs 
who  so  sighed  for  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah;  and  I  felt  confused,  and  was, 
moreover,  so  penetrated  with  grief,  that  I 
could  scarcely  refrain  from  weeping,  so 
much  was  I  ashamed  to  see  the  tepidity 
and  indifference  of  these  unhappy  days. 

SI 


For  who  amongst  us  is  filled  with  so 
much  joy  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  mystery, 
as  were  the  saints  of  the  Old  Testament,  at 
the  promises  which  so  called  forth  their 
longing  desires  ? 

Many,  it  is  true,  may  rejoice  at  the 
celebration  of  this  feast  ;  but  I  am  much 
afraid  that  it  is  less  on  account  of  the 
feast,  than  through  vanity. 

St.  Bernard. 
Sermon  on  Canticles. 


[St.  Athanasius,  Bishop  of  Alexandria, 
was  bom  in  that  city  about  the  year  296,  and 
died  A.  D.  373.  Forty-six  years  of  his  official 
life  he  spent  in  banishment  in  defending  the 
Nicene  Creed. 

The  best  edition  of  his  life  and  writings  is 
that  by  Montfau9on,  3  vols,  folio,  Paris, 
1698.] 

The  Son  of  God  has  taken  upon  Him- 
self our  poverty  and  miseries,  in  ordef 
that  we  may  participate  in  His  riches. 
His    sufferings    will   one   day   render  us 


52 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE   SAINTS,  ETC. 


impassible,    and   His   death  will  make  us 
immortal. 

We  should  find  our  joy  in  His  tears,  our 
resurrection  in  His  tomb,  our  sanctifica- 
tion  in  His  baptism,  in  accordance  with 
what  He  says  in  the  gospel :  "  I  sanctify 
myself  in  order  that  they  also  may  be 
sanctified  in  truth." 

There  is  not  a  phase  in  the  life  of  our 
Saviour,  which  does  not  refer  to  Calvary. 
The  good  Master  was  born  in  the  stable 
only  to  die  on  the  cross  ;  His  life,  which  I 
should  study  continually,  would  show  me 
all  the  riches  of  His  love;  I  should  see 
therein  all  the  profound  mysteries  of  His 
incarnation  and  redemption ;  I  should 
discover  what  I  have  cost ;  I  should  appre- 
ciate the  beauty  and  goodness  of  Jesus, 
and  I  shall  then  cry  out,  "  O  happy  fault 
which  has  procured  us  such  a  Redeemer  !" 
O  felix  culpa,  quce  tantunt  ac  talent  meruit 
habere  salvatoretn. 

St.  Athanasius. 


[Louis  DE  Grenada  was  born  in  the  year 
1505,  in  the  city  of  Grenada,  Spain.  He  took 
the  habit  of  St.  Dominic,  and  by  his  writings 
proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
of  his  order. 

This  saintly  religious  died  in  the  year  1588. 
His  writings  have  been  constantly  quoted  by 
SL  Charles  Borromeo,  in  his  instructions  to 
his  flock.  St.  Francis  de  Sales  was  never 
weary  of  studying  his  works,  and  often  recom- 
mended his  books  to  his  penitents.] 

In  order  that  nothing  should  be  want- 
ing to  heighten  the  glory  of  this  great 
mystery,  before  Jesus  was  born,  or  rather 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  and  from 


all  ages,  He  has  been  promised  to  the 
patriarchs.  He  has  been  announced  by 
the  prophets,  foretold  by  the  sybils,  rep- 
resented throughout  by  ancient  cere- 
monies, sacrifices,  and  every  sacrament 
of  the  old  law. 

And  when  He  deigned  to  descend  from 
heaven  to  earth,  by  what  circumstances, 
what  prodigies,  has  not  His  coming  been] 
accompanied,  which  were  but  reasonable| 
for  so  supreme  a  Majesty  } 

An  angel  sent  by  God  has  brought  thai 
glad  tidings  :  He  has  been  conceived  of| 
the  Holy  Ghost,  He  has  chosen  the 
most  pure  and  holy  of  virgins  to  become 
incarnate  in  her  womb,  and  the  body  He 
has  taken  has  been  united  to  the  Divinity 
from  the  very  first  moment  of  His  birth. 

Pagans  imagined  that  it  was  unworthy 
of  the  majesty  of  God  to  clothe  Himself 
with  a  substance  so  degrading  as  our  flesh ; 
but  it  is  easy  to  show  them  how  this 
humanity  has  been  glorified,  what  riches 
it  has  possessed,  and,  far  from  having  been 
a  thing  below  the  dignity  of  God,  it  has, 
on  the  contrary,  considerably  added  to 
His  glory,  by  uniting  these  two  natures 
into  one  person. 

It  is  in  such,  marvels  as  these  that  the 
wisdom  of  God  appears  more  apparent. 
It  shows,  also,  that  He  alone  is  capable  of 
elevating  lowliness,  of  aggrandizing  that 
which  is  nothing,  of  filling  with  honor  and 
dignity  that  which  was  contemptible. 
For  if,  by  an  effect  of  His  goodness,  He 
had  wished  to  humiliate  Himself  by 
becoming  man,  nevertheless,  having 
taken    the    nature   of    man,     instead    of 


THE   INCARNATION. 


53 


receiving  ignominy  therefrom,  He  has, 
on  the  contrary,  received  an  infinity  of 
glory,  since  it  was  in  His  power  to  do 
what  He  would  have  wished,  without 
making  use  of  anything  but  His  will  alone. 

But  what  words  can  describe  the 
immensity  of  the  various  gifts  with  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  has  endowed  this  sacred 
humanity,  the  first  and  foremost  being 
His  unspeakable  union  with  the  Divine 
Word,  which  is  the  greatest  of  all  the 
wonders  which  the  power  of  God  could 
make  ? 

Through  that  this  sacred  humanity  has 
been  raised  above  all  that  God  has  created, 
and  beyond  anything  that  His  infinite 
power  is  capable  of  creating ;  and  in  order 
that  this  supreme  dignity  may  correspond 
with  His  grandeur  and  magnificence,  it 
has  been  made  the  fountain  of  every  grace. 
The  grace   of   being  the  universal  Head 


of  all  mankind  has  been  given  to  Him,  in 
order  that  through  it  all  the  treasures  of 
heaven  should  be  communicated  to  the 
children  of  Adam. 

Grenada. 
Meditations  on  the  Love  of  God. 


Here  is  a  wonder  which  in  itself  is  out 
of  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  of  which 
experience  has  not  taught  us,  a  marvel 
which  reason  ignores,  of  which  the  human 
intellect  cannot  conceive,  which  astonishes 
heaven  and  earth,  which  creates  admira- 
tion even  among  the  celestial  choir ;  and 
this  mystery  is,  that  Gabriel,  the  archangel, 
announces  to  Mary  that  "  the  Lord  is 
with  thee,"  and  the  accomplishment 
thereof  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

St.  Jerome. 
Sermon  on  the  Assumption, 


^           ^            M            ^           ^           M: 
■5?|^           "^1^            ^W            "^           •^l^           ^1^ 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

••••• 

0n  tfie:  ©iuiRit^  ©f  |eg«g  ©Rrist- 

! 

Ha>iaiiiii>iiiiia.i>u<iiiiiaMaM>nari>i..i,i,,a,,a„.n.„..ii,i...i.......i.n.....,iM...a.<..i.iiiiaMaiiaMi.inn»i«n.ii.ii.M.it.n.n.iian.n.>,.n.ii.M.ii...iMiMa 

*"i 

, 

■>PP          '^           ^^          ^^          ^^         'W' 

Cardinal  B^rulle  and  P^re  Dozennes. 

"  I  adjure  thee  bj  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  if  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.    Jeso« 
saith  to  him,  Thou  hast  said  it." — Matthew  xxvi.  63,  64. 


|IERRE  BfiRULLE,  Cardinal  of 
the  holy  Roman  empire,  was 
born  in  1575,  at  the  Chateau  of 
Sdrilly,  near  Troyes,  in  Cham, 
pagjne.  He  early  distinguished 
himself  in  the  famous  conference 
of  Fontainebleau.  Henry  IV. 
appointed  him  as  his  Almoner,  and  sent 
him  to  Spain  to  bring  some  Carmelites 
to  Paris.  It  was  principally  through  his 
exertions  that  this  glorious  order  flourished 
in  Paris.  Some  time  after  his  return  to 
Spain  he  founded  the  Congregation  of  the 
French  Oratory,  of  which  he  was  the  first 
general.  This  institution,  founded  on  that 
of  St.  Philip's  Oratory,  is  nevertheless  so 
different  in  its  rules,  etc.,  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  make  it  a  separate  congregation. 
The  French  Oratory  was  sanctioned  by  Paul 
V.  in  1613,  and  it  brought  into  notice  many 
men  illustrious  for  their  learning  and  piety. 
Disputes  raised  by  a  powerful  party  did  much 
harm,  but  very  many  of  the  congregation 
remained  attached  to  the  church  and  to  the 
decrees  of  the  holy  Roman  pontiffs.  Urban 
VIII.  rewarded  Bdrulle's  merits  by  a  cardinal's 
hat.  Henry  IV.  and  Louis  XIII.  both  wished 
the  cardinal  to  accept  the  offers  of  important 
bishoprics,  but  nothing  could  induce  him  to 
alter  his  first  plan  of  life.  Simplicity,  modesty, 
poverty,  and  temperance  were  ever  his 
favorite   virtues.      It   is   said    that  he   never 

M 


passed  a  day  without  offering  up  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  he  died  of  apoplexy 
at  the  altar,  a  little  before  the  consecration,  on 
the  I  St  of  October,  1629,  aged  fifty-five  years. 
Among  his  friends  and  admirers  of  his  virtues 
may  be  named  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  Caesar  de 
Bus,  and  Cardinal  Bentivoglio. 

After  having  meditated  on  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  in  His  eternal  generation, 
should  we  not  then  take  into  consideration 
His  temporal  generation  ?  They  are  both 
ineffable.  Generationem  ejus  quis  enar- 
rabtt  {Isaias  liii.  8).  Who  shall  declare 
His  generation  } 

Jesus  is  equally  great  in  His  humilia- 
tions, because  He  is  always  God.  Admi- 
ration is  almost  our  sole  portion.  In  fact, 
how  wonderful  it  is,  that  Jesus  should  have 
united  the  privileges  of  His  divinity  to  the 
meanness  and  misery  of  our  human  nature, 
and  that,  without  ceasing  to  be  a  God 
infinite,  eternal,  immense,  immortal,  inde- 
pendent, He  should  have  become  a  God- 
man  enclosed  within  the  narrow  confines 
of  a  body,  of  a  stable,  and  of  the  swad- 
dling-clothes that  enveloped  Him  in  His 
infancy !      That   Jesus   should   have   per- 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 


55 


sonally  united  our  meanness  with  His 
grandeur,  our  mortality  with  His  immor- 
tality, His  divine  nature  with  our  human 
nature,  becoming  Son  of  Man  and  Son  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  for  all  eternity,  as  from 
all  eternity  He  is  Son  of  God  and  only 
Son  of  the  Eternal  Father !  We  must 
adore  Jesus  in  this  new  condition  and 
in  this  profound  mystery,  in  the  unity 
of  His  divine  person  and  in  the  diver- 
sity of  their  natures  —  the  one  divine  and 
eternal,  the  other  human  and  temporal. 

It  is  with  this  view  that,  raising  our 
hearts  to  You,  O  Jesus,  to  pay  You  our 
homage,  we  adore  You  as  receiving  Your 
everlasting  essence  from  the  Eternal 
Father,  and  as  giving  Your  essence  and 
substance  to  human  nature ;  that  You  have 
united  to  Yourself  forever  a  union  so  inti- 
mate, so  mighty,  so  glorious,  and  so  divine. 

O  adorable  state  !  O  ineffable  mys- 
tery !  O  happy  moment  of  the  Incar- 
nation, which  makes  man  God  and  God 
man,  which  gives  to  heaven  a  King  of 
glory,  to  earth  a  Sovereign,  to  the  angels 
a  Redeemer,  and  to  men  a  Saviour!  O 
God,  who  has  willed  that  Your  only-begot- 
ten Son,  who,  being  God  from  all  eternity 
in  You,  should  have  been  made  man  in 
time  and  eternity  for  us,  grant  us  the 
grace  of  ever  honoring  that  wondrous  life 
and  that  divine  Word,  in  order  that  we 
maybe  animated  with  His  Spirit  on  earth, 
and  that  we  may  rejoice  with  Him  in 
heaven  by  constantly  meditating  on  Him 
who  is  our  life  and  glory. 

Card,  de  Bj^rulle. 
On  the  Grandeurs  of  Jesus. 


Extracts  from  a  book  entitled  "  TTie  Divinity  oj 
Jesus  Christ"  by  Lb  P^re  Dozennes. 

To  convince  the  Jews  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  really  and  truly  the  Messiah  they 
expected  —  promised  by  the  law  and  fore- 
told by  the  prophets  —  miracles  were 
necessary  so  as  to  make  unbelief  inex- 
cusable, and  which  ought  to  have  com- 
pelled them  to  say  with  Nicodemus,  "  We 
know  that  Thou  art  come  a  teacher  from 
God,  for  no  man  can  do  these  signs  which 
Thou  dost  unless  God  be  with  him  "  {John 
iii.  2)  ;  for  if  the  Son  of  God  was  not 
manifested  by  means  of  miracles.  His 
divinity  would  not  have  been  acknowl- 
edged, inasmuch  as  the  humble  life  of  the 
Saviour  seemed  to  be  incompatible  with 
the  Supreme  Majesty. 

Jesus  Christ  himself,  has  He  not  said 
that  if  He  had  not  performed  works  which 
only  a  God-man  could  accomplish,  the 
Jews  might  have  had  some  reasonable 
excuse  for  rejecting  His  testimony,  and 
would  not  have  acknowledged  Him  as  the 
Messiah  }  His  miracles,  then,  had  author 
ized  His  mission  and  manifested  His 
divinity  ;  although  it  may  be  said  that,  in 
fact,  there  have  been  false  miracles  and 
wicked  impostors. 

The  miracles  of  the  Saviour  are 
attested  by  unimpeachable  witnesses  and 
by  authentic  testimonies ;  the  reputa- 
tion of  His  miracles  attracted  around 
Him  crowds  of  people  who  could  not 
all  be  deceived,  and  five  thousand  per- 
sons witnessed  the  multiplication  of 
barley  loaves,  with  which  they  were  fully 
satiated. 


56 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


I  am  aware  that  the  Pharisees  and 
scribes  wished  to  take  no  heed  of  facts 
which  they  attributed  to  the  illusions  of 
the  devil  or  to  the  agency  of  magic ;  but 
what  connection  can  there  be  between 
light  and  darkness  ? 

Have  there  never  been  professors  of  the 
black  art  who  performed  prodigies  ?  Have 
not  magicians  professed  to  cure  the  blind 
and  raise  the  dead  ? 

Besides,  a  man  so  incontcstably  holy  as 
Jesus  Christ  was,  was  it  meet  and  proper 
to  make  use  of  the  power  and  ministry  of 
the  devil  ?  And  the  devil,  on  his  part, 
would  he  have  made  use  of  a  man  who 
could  have  made  his  idols  powerless,  his 
oracles  mute  ?  How,  then,  could  you 
reconcile  with  the  magic  art,  works  which 
are  only  done  in  confirmation  of  a  doctrine 
which  abhors  all  diabolical  operations  ? 

More  than  this,  have  not  these  won- 
drous performances  been  examined  by  the 
severest  censors,  submitted  to  the  most 
rigorous  critics,  and  to  the  inquiries  of 
judges  far  from  being  favorable  to  Jesus  ? 

At  the  sight  of  these  miracles,  how 
many  persons  of  consequence  among  the 
Jews  have  acknowledged  Him  to  be  a 
Prophet  sent  from  God  ?  How  many 
others  who,  believing  in  their  hearts,  have 
not  dared  to  make  a  public  profession  of 
faith  for  fear  of  being  banished  from  the 
synagogue  ?  And  since  that  time,  have 
not  Celsus,  Porphyry,  Julian  the  Apostate, 
Mahomet  —  the  greatest  enemies  Jesus 
Christ  ever  had  in  the  world  —  have  they 
not  honestly  confessed  that  He  was  a 
man  of  miracles,  thereby  giving  testimony 


of   His   doctrine,    His   merit,   and  cons^ 
quently  of  His  Divinity  ? 

The  angels  have  honored  the  Worl 
Incarnate  on  His  entry  into  the  world,  and 
have  acknowledged  how  much  is  the  Son 
of  God  above  His  servants  :  "  Being  made 
so  much  better  than  the  angels,  as  He 
hath  inherited  a  more  excellent  name  than 
they  "  {Hebrews  i.  4).  They  have  served 
Him  during  His  mortal  and  suffering  life, 
as  also  in  the  sacred  position  of  Hia 
immortality.  This  is  what  the  following 
words  intend  to  convey:  "Amen  I  say  to 
you ;  you  shall  see  the  heaven  opened, 
and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and 
descending  upon  the  Son  of  Man  "  {John  i. 
51).  They  have  ministered  to  Him,  I  say, 
during  the  whole  course  of  His  life,  and 
you  know  the  service  they  gave  Him  in 
the  desert  after  the  devil  had  tempted 
Him ;  they  consoled  Him  in  His  agony, 
they  wept  for  His  death  in  a  manner 
which  angels  only  can  shed  tears:  "The 
angels  of  peace  shall  weep  bitterly  "  {Isaias 
xxxiii.  7).  They  joyfully  announced  His 
resurrection  to  His  disciples,  they  accom- 
panied Him  everywhere  whilst  He  dwelt 
visibly  on  earth,  they  formed  the  proces- 
sion and  joined  in  the  triumph  on  His 
entry  into  heaven,  they  will  be  His  escort 
on  the  day  of  the  last  judgment,  they  will 
gather  around  Him  in  heaven  for  ever  and 
ever  ;  the  noblest,  the  highest  in  the  choir 
will  esteem  themselves  happy  to  be 
beneath  His  feet,  and,  angels  as  they  are, 
they  will  gladly  acknowledge  a  man  as 
their  King  on  the  throne  of  God  itself. 


♦    CMAFnrER    XIX.    ♦ 


■r     +     +     + 


+   ■♦    +    ■♦ 


frl^g^lg[ll^^^ljl^.J<(lll^lll^l^^ 


m  0n  Relief  in  //  ^tiri^t  //  am  ^ctt[d. 


^^mmm^^mm  " 


Massillon,  Bishop  FROMENTifeRE,  and  St.  Jerome. 

"  Go  and  teach  ye  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  smd  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  —  Matthew  xxviii.  19. 


'NCREDULOUS  mortals  are 
still  to  be  met  with,  who,  after 
the  accomplishment  of  all  that 
has  been  foretold — after  having 
seen  the  consummation  of  the 
mysteries  of  Jesus  Christ  — 
the  excellence  of  His  gospels  —  the 
manifestation  of  His  miracles — the  wis- 
dom of  His  precepts  —  the  vanity  of  the 
pomp  of  ages — the  destruction  of  idols 
—  the  utter  confusion  of  the  Caesars  — 
the  plots  of  the  whole  world  against  Him  ; 
there  are,  I  say,  still  to  be  found  men  who 
doubt  of  the  truths  of  His  holy  religion, 
who  ask  for  fresh  miracles,  and  who 
encourage  those  who  try  to  confute  or  to 
ridicule  what  the  labors  of  the  apostles 
have  effected,  what  the  prudence  of  so 
many  missionaries  have  established — what 
innumerable  miracles  have  confirmed  — 
what  the  purity  of  so  many  virgins  have 
honored  —  what  the  austerity  of  hermits 
have  sealed  —  what  the  sacrifice  and  de- 
tachment  of  so  many   servants   of     God 

6T 


have  authorized,  and  what  the  example  of 
so  many  grand  saints  have  inspired. 

It  is  that  a  religion  of  seventeen 
centuries,  ever  the  same,  ever  consistent 
and  universally  accepted  by  the  world, 
seems  to  have  maintained  its  authority. 

For  in  the  midst  of  the  triumphs  of 
Christianity  there  have  continually  risen 
rebellious  children  against  it,  children 
whom  the  Almighty  has  given  over  to  the 
pride  of  their  self-conceit,  to  the  misguid- 
ance of  their  reason,  to  the  corruptions  of 
their  mind,  who  blaspheme  what  they 
ignore,  who  deny  what  they  do  not  under- 
stand ;  of  wicked  men  who  pervert  the 
grace  of  God,  convert  light  to  darkness  ; 
of  disobedient  men  who  despise  every  rule, 
who  reject  all  authority  not  their  own,  who 
defile  all  their  ways  like  unto  animals  with- 
out reason,  and  who  are  waiting  to  be  sum- 
moned to  suffer  the  punishment  for  their 
blasphemy  at  the  judgment  seat  of  God. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  has  found 
the  whole  universe   to  be  docile  and   sub- 


58 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


missive  to  its  precepts ;  the  Caesars,  to 
whom  she  forbade  luxury ;  nations,  on 
whom  she  enforced  obedience,  to  whom 
she  preached  suffering ;  to  the  rich,  to 
whom  she  recommended  poverty ;  to  the 
poor,  to  whom  she  enjoined  resignation ; 
to  all,  to  whom  she  preached  mortification, 
penance,  and  self-deniaL  This  faith,  how- 
ever, and  this  religion,  preached  by  twelve 
poor  sinners  without  science,  without 
talent,  without  support,  without  favor,  has 
overcome  the  world,  and  has  made  it 
acknowledge  the  truths  of  its  inscrutable 
mysteries ;  and  the  folly  of  the  cross  has 
proved  to  be  wiser  than  all  the  wisdom  of 
ages. 

What  more !  My  brother,  all  turn 
against  the  Church  ;  yet  that  only  serves 
to  increase  its  power.  To  be  loyal  and  to 
be  a  martyr  was  the  same  thing,  and  the 
more  violent  were  the  persecutions  the 
more  it  acquired  strength,  and  the  blood  of 
the   martyrs    became   a  fruitful    seed  of 

Christianity. 

•     Massillon. 


[Jean  Louis  de  FromentiI;re,  Bishop  of 
Aire,  was  born  in  1652  at  St.  Denis  of  Gas- 
tines.  In  the  year  1672  he  was  commissioned 
to  preach  the  Advent  sermons  before  Louis 
XIV.  He  died  in  1684,  universally  regretted 
by  his  flock.] 

It  was  not  the  eloquence  of  the  apostles 
that  confirmed  the  faith  ;  their  language 
was  simple  and  plain.  It  was  not  the  easy 
belief  of  their  doctrine ;  it  was  a  God 
crucified  they  preached.  It  was  not  the 
indulgence  of  their  morals ;  for  they 
spoke,  as   their  Master  did,   but   of    the 


cross,  poverty,  and  patience.  And  how  is 
it  that  the  whole  universe  has  surrendered 
to  a  preaching  so  novel  and  so  strange  ? 
How  could  have  so  many  clever  men  been 
able  to  submit  their  understanding  to 
truths  so  startling  "i  How  could  so  many, 
immersed  in  sensuality,  so  resolutely 
embrace  a  life  of  mortifications,  if  the 
apostles,  the  messengers  of  God,  had  not 
been  the  instruments  of  His  power,  and  if 
those  divine  clouds  had  not  astonished  the 
earth  by  their  brightness  before  watering 
it  with  their  rains  "i 

Do  you  not  wonder  at  the  boldness 
which  twelve  poor  sinners  displayed  when 
they  parcelled  out  the  world  among  them  ? 
It  is  said  that  the  successors  of  Alexander 
divided  it,  but  it  was  already  a  world  con- 
quered ;  instead  of  this,  the  apostles 
dispersed  to  conquer.  One  had  the  task 
of  subduing  Asia,  another  Egypt,  another 
Judea  and  those  countries  which  the 
conquest  of  nations  had  not  reached. 

What  is  more  surprising,  they  all  suc- 
ceeded, and  by  what  means  ?  And  this 
is  more  wondrous  still,  by  a  doctrine  con- 
trary to  sense  and  reason  ( at  least  in 
appearance ),  by  preaching  a  God  crucified. 

Bishop  FROMENXifeRE. 

The  Master  of  that  religion  has  been 
crucified.  His  servants  have  been  chained 
down  like  criminals,  and  yet,  for  all  that. 
His  religion  grows  and  flourishes  every 
day. 

St.  Jerome. 
Epistle,  No.  L. 


4t 


CHAPTER    XX. 


t^e  ^0ue:  ©f  Jesi^s  for  (^an. 


? 


PfeRE   EUSiBE  DE    NiEREMBERG. 

"  As  the  Father  hath  loved  me,  I  also  have  loved  you.     Abide  in  my  love." — ^John  xv.  9. 


'EAN  EUSEBE  DE  NIEREM- 
BERG was  of  German  extrac- 
tion, but  was  born  at  Madrid  in  the 
year  1590,  and  died  there  in  1658 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight.  He 
belonged  to  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
and  was  a  most  penitent  and 
mortified  priest,  and,  in  addition  to  this, 
a  hard-working  author ;  for  he  wrote  many 
learned  treatises  in  Spanish,  German,  and 
Latin. 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  little  work 
written  by  Le  Pfere  Eusfebe  Nieremberg, 
entitled  **Jesus  Amabilis.'"  This  book  was 
originally  written  in  German;  Le  P^re  Brig- 
non  translated  it  into  Latin,  now  rendered 
into  English. 

Can  we  have  any  conception  of  a 
greater  love  for  men  than  that  of  our 
Saviour,  since,  however  wicked  or  ungrate- 
ful we  may  have  been,  He  does  not  cease 
to  love  us  .''  He  forgives  us  our  trespasses 
so  readily  that  one  would  say  that  He  was 
under  an  obligation  to  us.  He  rewards 
us  for  our  good  works  liberally,  never 
revealing  how  much  He  has  contributed 
towards  their  performance.  He,  as  it 
were,  magnifies  the  little  services  we  pay 


Him,  without  letting  us  know  the 
immense  assistance  He  has  given  us. 

Although,  in  fact,  we  have  done  next  to 
nothing  for  Him,  He  does  not  cease  to  be 
grateful,  and  showers  down  graces  with 
profusion,  just  as  if  we  had  rendered  Him 
some  important  service. 

Ah !  Heart  of  Jesus  —  Heart  truly 
liberal  and  full  of  love  —  who  gives  us 
everything,  and  to  whom  we  owe  all,  and 
who  by  His  own  gifts  makes  Himself 
our  debtor !  After  that,  who  could  fail 
to  love  Him  with  all  their  heart,  with  all 
their  mind,  and  all  their  strength,  and  offer 
up  repeated  acts  of  thanksgiving  for  good- 
ness so  bountiful,  love  so  generous } 

If  we  ought  to  love  our  Saviour  for  the 
many  blessings  He  has  bestowed  upon  us, 
we  ought  no  less  to  love  Him  for  the 
many  misfortunes  from  which  He  has 
delivered  us,  and  from  which  only  He 
could  have  freed  us. 

It  is  He  who  has  had  compassion  on 
us,  and  who,  being  our  only  resource,  has 


6o 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


taken  upon  Himself  to  pay  all  our  debts, 
and  to  expiate,  by  a  cruel  and  bloody 
death,  all  our  sins  ;  it  is  He,  then,  who 
alone  has  redeemed  the  human  race  from 
misfortune  in  which  He  was  so  willingly 
engaged  ;  it  is  He  who  has  drawn  us  from 
hell,  who,  having  broken  our  chains,  has 
made  us  free.  Alas  !  without  Thee,  where 
should  we  be  now  ?  We  should  have 
been  cast  into  the  darkness  of  the  abyss. 
It  is  He  who  from  darkness  has  revealed 
to  us  the  light  of  day,  who,  from  this  dark 
abyss,  has  shown  us  the  way  to  heaven,  to 
which  we  are  entitled  to  aspire.  What 
should  we  be  without  Him  but  a  mass  of 
dust  and  corruption  }  It  is  He  who  has 
so  cleansed  us  that  we  are  like  unto  the 
angels  ;  in  one  word,  it  is  He  who,  making 
us  sharers  in  His  glory,  has  delivered  us 
from  every  kind  of  misery,  who  has 
replenished  us  with  blessings  without 
number. 

And  after  all  this,  can  we  possibly  be 
ungrateful .?  Can  we  have  but  little  love  for 
Him .'  We  ought  indeed  to  look  upon 
Him  as  our  greatest  benefactor. 

If  the  meanest  of  men  had  rescued  us 
from  perilous  danger,  although  without 
much  exertion,  should  we  not  take  a  liking 
to  him .?  What  feelings  of  gratitude 
ought  we  not  therefore  to  cherish  for  One 
who  has  rescued  us  from  dangers  without 
number  —  a  Saviour  who,  to  show  His 
love  so  generously,  shed  every  drop  of  His 
precious  blood  "i 


O  my  Saviour  and  my  God,  how  can  w* 
sufficiently  repay  You  for  Your  infinite 
goodness — You  who  have  delivered  us 
from  the  tyranny  of  the  evil  one,  from 
the  bondage  of  sin  }  y| 

For  let  us  try  to  realize,  if  we  can,  what 
is  the  extent  of  the  misery  from  which  the 
Saviour  has  delivered  us ;  meditate  seri- 
ously for  a  while  and  you  will  not  be 
surprised.  We  shall  wonder  at  His  bound- 
less love,  and  offer  up  repeated  acts  of 
thanksgiving  for  so  many  blessings. 

A  man  who  walks  in  his  sleep  and, 
without  knowing  where  he  goes,  passes 
over  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  is  seized  with 
a  shuddering  wonder  when  he  awakens 
and  sees  the  danger  he  has  escaped. 

Let  us  awaken,  and,  with  the  light  of 
faith,  look  down  the  precipice  from 
which  the  Saviour  has  withdrawn  us  — 
look  down  again,  and  its  depth  will 
astonish  us. 

Many  there  are  who  tremble  with  fear 
when  they  cast  their  glances  from  the 
extreme  point  of  a  very  lofty  mountainous 
rock  ;  how  ought  we  not  to  tremble  at  the 
sight  of  that  abyss  into  which  Adam  had 
thrown  us,  and  from  which  our  Saviour 
has  withdrawn  us  .? 

Nevertheless,  the  distance  from  heaven 
to  hell  is  not  so  far  removed  as  was  the 
state  of  sin  in  which  we  were,  to  the  state 
of  grace  in  which  we  are,  through  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Le    PArE    EustBE    NiEREMBERG. 


PfeRE  DU  Jarry  and  St.  Augustine. 

*'  And  she  brought  forth  her  first-born  Son,  and  wrapped  Him  in  swaddling-clothes,  and  laid  him  !■ 
a  manger."  —  St.  Lukk  ii.  7. 


AURENT  JUILLARD  -DU 
JARRY  was  born  in  the  year 
1658,  at  Jarry,  a  village  near  to 
Saintes. 

Soon  after  he  was  ordained,  he 
became  celebrated  as  a  preacher, 
and,  in  addition   to  this,  he  was 
acknowledged  to  be  an  excellent  poet. 

He  died  in  the  year  1730,  at  the  Priory  of 
Notre  Dame  du  Jarry,  in  the  diocese  of  Saintes. 

My  brethren,  let  us  gaze  upon  the  Son 
of  God  in  the  poverty  of  His  birth. 
What  does  He  not  say  to  us  there  }  Let 
ns  enter  in  spirit  into  the  stable ;  we  shall 
hear  a  voice  issuing  therefrom,  saying  — 

Blush  at  having  beautiful  houses  like 
unto  palaces,  such  grand  furniture,  so 
much  useless  apparel,  whilst  I  have  only  a 
crib  instead  of  a  bed,  and  two  vile  animals 
for  company.  Blush  in  those  magnificent 
rooms  wherein  you  try  to  be  sheltered 
from  the  least  inconveniences  of  the 
season,  whilst  a  half-exposed  stable  leaves 
Me  a  prey  to  all  the  hardships  of  a  cold 
seasoa 

SI 


Blush  at  the  aversion  you  have  for  every 
kind  of  humiliation,  at  the  precautions  you 
take  to  continue  in  a  condition  that  flatters 
your  vanity,  at  the  artifices  yoii  employ  to 
conceal  a  poverty  you  ought  to  be  proud 
of,  at  the  contempt  you  display  to  all  who 
are  not  within  the  pale  of  your  society. 

Blush  to  bear,  perchance,  the  insignia  of 
the  poverty  and  humiliations  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  your  state  of  life,  and  yet  fry  to 
aspire  to  the  pomp  and  luxury  of  the  world 
shining  around. 

Let  us  contemplate  this  scene  as  faith 
points  out ;  let  us  enter  this  manger  in 
spirit ;  let  us  see  this  hidden  Deity  who, 
in  the  darkness  of  night,  when  all 
creatures  are  silent  —  in  want  of  every 
necessary,  and  is  made  poor  to  enrich  us. 

This  Child  is  born  in  an  empty  stable, 
deserted  by  every  one ;  it  is  the  God  who 
created  them,  and  whom  they  obey  ;  it  is 
the  everlasting  Wisdom  which  assists  at 
all  the  councils  of  God,  and  which  it  has 
possessed  from  the  beginning  of  time. 


62 


HALF-HOURS .  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


This  divine  wisdom,  hidden  in  the  limbs 
of  an  infant,  was  begotten  in  the  bright- 
ness of  the  saints. 

Ungrateful,  deluded  man,  you  who  have 
not  wished  to  know  this  divine  wisdom  in 
the  richness  of  His  beauty,  see  Him  now 
in  the  poverty  of  a  stable  !  Laden  as  you 
have  been  with  so  many  benefits  and 
blessings,  you  have  not  recognized  the 
hand  which  has  spread  them  over  you  with 
such  profusion  ;  you  have  closed  your  ears 
to  that  striking  voice  which  appeals  to  you 
with  as  many  mouths  as  there  are 
creatures :  O  man,  adore  thy  God  !  His 
ingenious  love  has  suggested  another  voice 
to  persuade  you  :  He  teaches  you  through 
the  poverty  of  the  crib  :  "  Now,  therefore, 
my  children,  hear  me  "  {Prov.  viii). 

Ah,  my  brethren  !  what  does  not  this 
divine  Child  say,  that  eternal  Word  which 
is  now  so  silent  ? 

No  occasion  to  seek  for  rules  of  piety 
to  lead  us  on,  for  we  learn  all  that  we  need 
know  and  practice  in  this  adorable  book. 
All  the  prophets,  all  the  doctors,  all  the 
apostles  speak  through  the  mouth  of  Him 
who  has  opened  theirs.  The  stable  at 
Bethlehem  is  the  school  where  all  Chris- 
tians ought  to  study  the  science  of 
salvation.  All  the  ways  to  heaven,  every 
path  of  virtue,  begin  and  finish  through 
Him  who  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega, 
and  being  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life. 
He  has  opened  the  way  to  heaven  to  all. 

Providence  of  my  God,  exclaims  St. 
Bernard,  how  wonderful  art  thou  !  Carnal 
and  animal  creatures  have  no  conception 
of  the  works  of  God.     Even  wisdom  itself 


is  made  flesh  to  make  it  intelligible  to  men 
of  flesh. 

It  is  no  longer  through  men,  full  of  a  holy 
fear,  that  God  proclaims  His  oracles  ;  mys- 
terious messages  in  shrouded  language  no 
longer  issue  from  the  mountain  top  amidst 
thunder  and  lightning  ;  these  are  heard  no 
more.  It  is  from  the  farther  end  of  a 
grotto,  it  is  from  the  height  of  a  crib,  it  is 
in  the  silence  of  night,  it  is  the  mouth 
of  a  Child  wrapped  in  swaddling-clothes 
that  the  .  Incarnate  Wisdom  exclaims, 
"  Behold,  to  thee  wisdom  is  manifested  in 
the  flesh." 

Come,  ye  profound  philosophers,  ye 
refined  politicians,  ye  clever  men  —  enter 
into  the  stable  ;  there  is  your  lyceum,  your 
academy ;  deposit  your  proud  learning,  your 
studied  lessons,  your  captious  rhetoric  at 
the  feet  of  this  adorable  Doctor  who 
exposes  the  vanity,  errors,  and  littleness  of 
everything. 

Let  all  the  fire  of  eloquence,  all  the 
pride  of  wisdom,  all  the  subtlety  of  philoso- 
phy, all  the  refinements  of  policy,  disappear 
at  the  sight  of  this  divine  Child  :  Ecce  tibi 
in  came  exhibetur  sapientia. 

Preachers  of  the  Gospel,  happy  organs 
of  that  eternal  Word  who  sends  you  ;  you 
who,  as  well  as  St.  John  the  Baptist,  are 
only  voices  to  proclaim  the  glory  of  God 
in  every  temple,  kneel  before  this  Child 
and  acknowledge  the  Master  who  has 
loosened  the  tongues  of  the  prophets  and 
apostles,  who  has  inspired  the  martyrs  and 
young  virgins  with  words  that  astonished 
tyrants  and  confounded  pagan  philoso- 
phers ;   and  when  you  shall  have  adored 


THE  NATIVITY  OF  OUR  LORD. 


63 


Him  silently  and  humbly,  lost  in-  wonder, 
speak  and  consecrate  every  ornament  of 
eloquence  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  Him 
who  has  endowed  you  with  gifts. 

Happy  the  docile  listeners  who,  open- 
ing their  hearts  to  that  invisible  Preacher 
who  speaks  to  them  through  your  mouths, 
can  hear  the  voice  of  our  Lord  in  those  of 
men ! 

Teach  us,  then,  O  Child  divine !  We 
speak  in  Your  place  simply  to  exhort 
Christians  to  hear  You  instead  of  hearing 


Uft. 


DU   JARRY. 

On  Christmas-ticU. 


Would  you   wish  to  know  who  He  is, 

who  is  born  in  this  way  ?  Learn,  then, 
who  He  is,  and  how  mighty  is  He.  It  is 
the  Word  of  the  Eternal  Father,  the  Cre- 
ator of  the  universe,  the  Peace  of  the 
world,  the  Saviour  of  men,  He  who  is  the 
joy  and  hope  of  the  just. 

The  glory  of  this  Child  was,  that  a 
virgin  should  bring  Him  forth  into  the 
world,  and  the  glory  of  the  Virgin  Mother 
was,  that  she  should  have  for  a  Son,  a 
Man  who  was  at  the  same  time  God. 


St.  Augustine. 
Strmo.  d*  Ttmport. 


CHAPTKR  XXII. 


*  On  the  Circuicision  of  our  Lord.  « 


BouRDALOUE  and  Father  Faber- 

"  And  after  eight  days  were  accomplished  that  the  child  should  be  circumcised,  His    name  WM 
called  Jesus."  —  Luke  ii.  12. 

"  I  am  not  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets."  —  Matthew  v.  17. 


N  this  the  feast  of  the  Circum- 
cision, our  Saviour,  the  Son  of 
God,  teaches  us  how  we  should 
co-operate  in  the  great  work 
of  our  salvation,  and  He  gives 
us  a  means  as  divine  as  it  is 
indispensable  and  necessary,  namely,  that 
mysterious  but  real  circumcision  of  the 
will  and  heart  —  a  circumcision  for  which 
He  frames  a  law,  of  which  He  explains  the 
precept,  and  of  which  He  facilitates  the 
use. 

He  proposes  the  circumcision  of  the 
heart,  and  He  makes  it  necessary ;  for 
though  He  does  abolish  the  old  circum- 
cision, or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  the 
ancient  circumcision  finishes  with  Him 
only  because  He  established  the  new, 
and,  as  St.  Augustine  says,  He  makes  use 
of  the  shadow  and  figure  only  because  He 
brings  forward  the  light  and  the  truth  ; 
Suscepit  umbram  allaturus  lucent,  suscipit 
figuram     daturus    veritatem.     Now     this 

64 


light  and  truth  were,  that  we  should  all 
be  circumcised  of  heart,  as  the  Jews  were 
according  to  the  flesh. 

Circumcision  of  the  heart,  a  cutting  off 
of  useless  and  inordinate  desires,  uneasy 
and  fantastical  wishes,  immoderate  and 
ill-regulated  longings,  carnal  and  worldly 
desires,  criminal  and  unlawful  wishes  — 
all  of  which  take  root  in  the  heart  and 
corrupt  it.  This  is  how  St.  Paul  under- 
stood it ;  and  because  these  pernicious 
desires  are  excited  in  us  by  vain  objects 
which  delight  us,  by  false  interests  which 
blind  us,  by  dangerous  occasions  which 
drag  us  onward  and  pervert  us,  this 
circumcision  of  the  heart  ought  to  be 
an  entire  separation  from  such  objects, 
a  complete  renunciation  of  those  false 
interests,  a  wise  and  wholesome  with- 
drawal from  those  occasions ;  for  these 
are  what  was  typified  in  the  Judaic  cir- 
cumcision. This  is  how  God  prepared 
the  world,  when  He  compelled  Abraham 


THE   CIRCUMCISION  OF  OUR  LORD. 


65 


and    all    his   descendants   to   be   circum- 
cised. 

Now  our  Saviour  proposes  this  spiritual 
circumcision  as  an  indispensable  and 
requisite  means  to  procure  our  salvation  ; 
for  what  is  more  necessary  than  to  tear 
away,  stifle,  mortify,  and  destroy  all  that  is 
the  beginning  and  cause  of  damnation  ? 

This  spiritual  circumcision  is  a  circum- 
cision which  is  not  solely  exterior,  but 
which  penetrates,  so  to  speak,  into  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  soul :  Non  qua 
in  manifesto  est  circumcisio ;  a  circum- 
cision which  is  no  longer  from  the  hand  of 
man,  but  which  is  God's  work  and  sanc- 
tifies man  in  the  sight  of  God  —  a  circum- 
cision which  no  longer  consists  in  the 
cutting  of  the  flesh,  but  in  the  renounce- 
ment of  the  vices  and  the  concupiscence 
of  the  flesh — a  circumcision,  of  which 
the  mind  and  heart  are  the  two  principals 
as  well  as  the  two  subjects  ;  the  two  prin- 
cipals, because  it  is  carried  out  through 
them,  and  the  two  subjects,  because  it  is 
within  them  —  that  is  to  say,  it  is  a  cir- 
cumcision of  the  heart  which  is  made,  not 
only  literally,  but  in  the  fervor  of  the 
will :  Circumcisio  cordis  in  spiritu,  non 
litterA. 

These  are  the  animated  expressions  of 
the  apostle,  who  defines  what  may  be 
called  the  new  circumcision.  The  man 
of  the  world  and  a  religious  ought  both  to 
be  circumcised  at  heart ;  but  to  compare 
the  wants  of  the  one  with  the  other,  this 
circumcision  of  the  heart  is  in  one  sense 
more  indispensably  necessary  for  the  man 
of  the  world  than  for  the  religious,  who,  by 


the  vows  of  his  profession,  has  renounced 
everything ;  because  the  man  of  the  world 
has  stronger  passions  to  fight  against 
than  a  religious,  since  he  has  before  him 
more  opportunities  of  exciting  them ; 
because  the  man  of  the  world  is  much 
more  exposed  to  be  tempted  than  a 
religious,  consequently,  he  ought  to 
watch  over  himself,  and  should  continu- 
ally try  to  deny  himself  and  endeavor  to 
persevere. 

After  the  first  step  a  religious  has 
taken  —  after  that  first  sacrifice  which 
has  deprived  him  of  everything  —  it  would 
seem  that  there  was  nothing  more  to  be 
done ;  but  you  in  the  world,  what  have 
you  hitherto  given  to  God,  or  what  further 
sacrifices  have  you  not  to  make  and  offer 
to  God  ? 

BOURDALOUE. 
On  the  Circumcision, 

The  Child  Jesus'  bloodshedding  in  the 
circumcision  was  another  penance  of  His 
infancy,  which,  for  many  reasons,  may  be 
regarded  as  a  pattern  for  the  unnecessary 
mortifications  of  the  saints,  if,  indeed,  any 
mortification  can  be  strictly  deemed  un- 
necessary even  for  the  most  innocent  of 
the  sons  of  men.  He  needed  not  the  rite. 
He  required  no  ceremonial  covenant  with 
God,  who  was  God  Himself.  That  Flesh 
needed  no  consecration  which  was  already 
united  to  a  divine  Person. 

It  was   a  strange,  separate,  unaccount- 
able bloodshedding,  standing,  as  it  seems, 
in  a  peculiar  relation  to  the  other  blood- 
,  sheddings ;  as  it  was  not  only  no  part  of 


66 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


the  redemption  of  the  world,  but  was 
utterly  detached  from  the  Passion.* 

It  did  not  keep  the  compact  with  the 
Father,  which  was  death,  and  nothing 
short  of  death  ;  so  that  the  drops  that  were 
shed  were  not  shed  to  the  saving  of  souls. 

Was  it  the  homage  of  the  Infancy  to 
the  Passion }  Was  it,  like  the  bloody 
sweat  upon  Mount  Olivet,  an  outburst  of 
the  Sacred  Heart's  impatience  for  the 
plenitude  of  Calvary  } 

To  Himself  truly  it  was  pain,  to  His 
mother  sorrow,  to  Joseph  a  heavenly  per- 
plexity, to  the  angels  a  wonder,  to  the 
saints  a  pattern  and  a  mystery. 

Father  Faber.  (Orat.) 
Bethlehem. 


Jesus  Christ  is  circumcised  as  the  son 
of  Abraham  ;  He  is  called  Jesus  as  the 
Son  of  God. 

He  whom  no  one  can  convict  of  sin, 
He  who  had  no  necessity  to  be  circum- 
cised, nevertheless  makes  use  of  the  cure 
for  sin,  and  consents  to  suffer  a  shameful 
and  painful  remedy. 

We,  on  the  contrary,  who  do  not  blush 
at  the  hideousness  of  sin,  are  ashamed 
of  doing  penance ;  a  sign  of  extreme 
folly.  Thus  we  are  slaves  of  sin,  and 
we  blush  at  the  remedy  which  is  still  more 
criminal. 

St.  Bernard. 
Oh  the  Circumeisi*H. 


*  S«e  Treatise  on  the  Precious  Blood,  chaps,  i.  aad  r. 


•$         ti'.        A 


13  [lame  of  Je^n^.  * 


"  You  are  justified  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 


P^RE  NOUET,   S.  J. 

I  Cor.  vi.  11. 


Extracts  from   a  book  entitled  "  The  Man   of  Prayer,^*  written   by  that  servant  of  God, 

Le  P^re  Nouet,  S.  J. 


HERE  is  no  work,  says  St.  Paul, 
but  that  we  should  begin  by 
invoking  this  holy  Name : 
"  All  whatsoever  you  do  in 
word  or  in  work,  all  things  do 
ye  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus"  {Col.  iii.  17). 

Here,  then,  is  the  best  method  we  can 
adopt  in  our  work  and  in  the  whole 
conduct  of  our  life.  If,  to  make  our  life 
happy,  we  ought  to  bless  Jesus,  morning, 
noon,  and  night,  we  cannot  draw  down  His 
blessing  more  effectually  than  by  invoking 
His  holy  Name,  which  is  the  price  of  His 
blood  and  of  His  life. 

It  is  true,  to  do  this  worthily  we  have 
need  of  His  help  ;  but  He  is  too  jealous  of 
His  glory  to  refuse  even  this,  and  we  need 
not  fear  but  that  He  will  not  fail  to  assist 
us,  since  it  is  He  Himself  who  has 
inspired  us. 

Let  us,  then,  open  our  hearts  to  Him, 
in  order  that  He  may  engrave  thereon  His 
holy  Name  ;  and  if  you  earnestly  wish  to 
receive  His  divine  inspirations,  make  your- 
self worthy  of  His  promises. 


Let  us  be  thoroughly  convinced  that 
the  greatest  honor  we  can  pay  to  the 
Son  of  God,  in  His  quality  of  Redeemer, 
is  to  embrace  courageously  every  means 
which  He  holds  out  to  us  to  save  our 
souls.  Our  happiness  is  so  mixed  up  with 
His  glory,  that  we  cannot  be  lost  without 
doing  Him  an  injustice,  and  to  snatch 
from  Him  that  which  is  most  dear  to  Him, 
namely,  our  eternal  salvation. 

If  we  have  this  holy  Name  deeply 
engraven  on  our  hearts,  it  will  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  but  that  it  should  be  often 
on  our  lips ;  that  is  to  say,  that  we  should 
invoke  it  often  and  often,  and  that  we 
should  do  our  best  to  impress  it  upon  the 
hearts  of  others ;  for  it  is  so  sweet  a  per- 
fume that  it  seeks  only  to  be  spread  far 
and  wide;  it  is  a  spring  so  limpid  that 
nothing  makes  it  more  plentiful  and  clearer 
than  when  many  come  to  slake  their  thirst ; 
it  is  a  light  which  ought  to  illuminate  the 
universe. 

Oh  !  what  a  joy  to  be  able  to  contribute 
in  some  degree  to  the  glory  of  Jesus,  and 
to  the  veneration  of  His  most  holy  Name ! 


68 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC, 


Oh  !  that  I  could  induce  all  men  to  pay 
Him  homage,  and  that  I  could  hear  every 
tongue  proclaim  His  praises  ! 

Here  is  the  best  and  foremost  of  all  my 
desires,  that  at  the  holy  Name  of  Jesus 
every  knee  should  bow,  in  heaven,  on 
earth,  in  hell ;  and  that  every  tongue 
should  confess  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  in 
the  glory  of  His  Father.  Omnis  lingua 
confiteatur  quia  Dominiis  Jesus  Christus  in 
glorid  est  Dei  Patris  {Phil.  ii.). 

A  true  devotion  to  the  holy  Name  will 
help  to  obtain  our  own  sanctification  ;  for 
in  saving  our  own  souls,  we  accomplish  the 
greatest  desire  of  our  Saviour,  and  we  con- 
tribute on  our  part  to  do  that  which  adds 
an  additional  glory  to  Him,  which  is  our 
own  salvation. 

Our  salvation  depends,  on  the  one  part, 
on  Him ;  on  the  other,  on  ourselves.  On 
His  part  He  has  abundantly  supplied  us 
with  all  that  was  necessary  to  complete 
the  work  of  that  grand,  important,  and  sole 
hope  of  a  happy  eternity.  He  has  cured 
all  our  infirmities  ;  He  has  given  us  preserv- 
atives and  wholesome  remedies  against  all 
our  vicious  habits ;  He  has  delivered  us  from 
the  power  of  the  devil ;  He  has  reconciled 
us  with  His  Eternal  Father;  He  has  paid 
all  our  debts ;  He  has  surmounted  every 
obstacle  to  our  salvation,  and,  through 
excess  of  love,  He  has  shed  His  Blood, 
and  after  suffering  excruciating  pains  He 
expired  on  the  cross.  But,  after  all,  if  we 
do  not  make  a  good  use  of  His  graces,  all 
that  He  has  done  and  suffered  will  be  in 
vain,  inasmuch  as  we  deprive  Him  of  the 
glory  of  His  holy  Name. 


In  addition  to  this,  the  most  solid  devc 
tion  to  the  holy  Name  of  Jesus  is  to  love 
and  try  zealously  to  obtain  the  salvation  of 
our  neighbor.  Nothing  is  so  dear  to  the 
Sacred  Heart  as  the  salvation  of  a  soul. 
His  life  so  full  of  hardships.  His  death  so 
cruel,  are  evident  proofs  of  this. 

How  careful  ought  those  to  be  who  have 
been  called  to  the  ministry  of  God's  Word, 
and  to  other  functions  which  contribute  to 
the  salvation  of  souls  who  have  been  ran- 
somed by  His  precious  Blood. 

How  glorious  to  be  employed  in  His 
service — to  have  the  power  of  dispensing 
the  merits  of  His  sufferings  and  death  ! 

You  whose  vocation  it  is  to  work  contin- 
ually for  the  salvation  of  those  souls 
intrusted  to  your  care,  think  seriously 
how  sad  it  would  be  if  one  soul  should  per- 
ish through  your  negligence.  But  what 
would  it  be  if,  instead  of  saving  souls,  your 
conduct  through  life  should  be  a  cause  of 
scandal } 

Oh !  let  us  think  of  what  we  are  and 
what  we  ought  to  be.  We  ought  to  be  as 
so  many  saviors  of  men  in  our  intercourse 
with  the  world,  edifying  them  by  our 
example,  instructing  them,  succoring 
them,  praying  always  for  them,  and  by  our 
ardor  and  zeal  doing  our  best  to  secure 
their  salvation. 

Listen,  thqn,  to  the  voice  of  the  Blood 
of  that  Redeemer  who  beseeches  you,  by 
virtue  of  His  Name  and  the  excess  of  His 
love,  to  help  Him  to  make  His  Name  effi- 
cacious by  saving  souls,  and  by  making 
them  partakers  of  the  fruit  of  His  precious 
Blood. 


St.  Augustine,  St.  Chrysostom,  and  PfeRE  Montmorcl. 

"  All  they  from  Saba  shall  come,  bringing  gold  and  frankincense,  and  showing  forth  praises  to  the 
Lord." —  ISAiAS  Ix.  6. 


'T  will  readily  be  admitted  that 
the  lights  and  graces  which  the 
Magi  received  were  immense 
and  extraordinary,  since  they 
were  enlightened  outwardly  as 
well  as  inwardly. 
But,  truly,  could  less  have  been  done  to 
convince  the  Gentiles,  or  to  draw  them  to 
the  knowledge  of  a  God-man  whom  they 
had  not  as  yet  seen  command  the  waves  of 
the  sea,  or  raise  the  dead,  or  restore  sight 
to  the  blind — a  God  who  only  visibly 
showed  Himself  as  an  ordinary  child, 
silent,  poor,  and  weak  ? 

Nevertheless,  if  the  Magi  had  had  the 
same  indifference  which  the  majority  of 
Christians  have  for  heavenly  things,  they 
would  have  perhaps  looked  upon  the  star 
only  as  a  curiosity,  and  they  would  have 
met,  perchance,  to  seek  for  natural  causes 
to  account  for  its  appearance.  They  would 
not  have  hastened  to  set  out  on  so  long  a 
journey ;  and  in  delaying  to  obey  the 
secret   order    which    impelled    them    on- 


wards, they  would  have  lost  the  greatest  of 
blessings. 

St.  Augustine. 
StrfHOH  XXXV.  De  Temport. 

St.  Chrysostom  assures  us  that  God 
caused  the  star  to  appear  in  order  to  con- 
vince the  Jews  of  their  infidelity,  and  to 
show  them  that  their  ingratitude  was  inex- 
cusable. For  as  Jesus  Christ  came  upon 
earth  to  call  the  whole  world  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  His  name,  and  to  be  acknowledged 
and  adored  by  all  nations.  He  opens  the 
gate  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles,  and  He 
instructs  His  chosen  people  through  the 
medium  of  foreigners. 

God  seeing  the  indifference  with  which 
the  Jews  listened  to  all  the  prophecies 
which  promised  the  birth  of  the  Saviour, 
He  summoned  the  wise  men  from  the 
East  to  seek  for  the  King  of  the  Jews  in 
the  midst  of  the  Jews,  and  He  willed  that 
Persia  should  teach  the  former  what  they 


70 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


did  not  care  to  learn  from  the  oracles  of 
their  prophets  ;  in  order  that,  if  they  had 
amongst  them  any  men  of  good-will,  this 
visit  of  the  kings  might  lead  them  to 
believe,  and  if  they  wished  still  to  be 
obstinate  no  excuse  would  be  of  any  avail. 
For  what  could  they  think  or  say  when 
they  witnessed  these  Magi,  guided  only 
by  a  star,  seeking  and  adoring  Him  whom 
they  had  rejected  ? 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Oh  the  Second  Chapter  of  St.  Matthew. 

No  obstacle  seemed  to  be  too  formid- 
able for  the  Magi  to  overcome,  no  diffi- 
culty could  shake  their  resolution  ;  for 
as  soon  as  they  saw  the  star  they  felt 
an  inward  secret  inspiration,  and  imme- 
diately they  left  their  kingdoms  and  car- 
ried with  them  the  offerings  they  intended 
to  present  to  Him  whom  the  Scripture 
calls  "The  King  of  kings  and  the  Lord 
of  lords." 

They  generously  faced  danger  or  death 
by  asking  for  the  King  of  the  Jews  in  the 
capital  of  Judea. 

Happy  Magi !  exclaims  one  of  the 
Fathers,  who,  in  the  presence  of  a  cruel 
king,  boldly  proclaimed  themselves  to  be 
confessors  of  the  faith. 

The  same  grace  which  our  Lord  has 
given  to  pagans,  it  may  be  truly  said  that 
He  has  given  to  us  many  and  many  a 
time. 

For  example,  the  edifying  examples  we 
see,  the  sermons  we  hear,  the  good  books 


we  read,  the  holy  inspirations  we  feel, 
the  pious  reflections  we  make,  are  as  so 
many  stars  which  shine  and  guide  us  oq 
our  way. 

He  calls  us,  says  St.  Gregory,  through 
the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  through  the 
voice  of  pastors,  through  the  illnesses  which 
He  sends  us,  through  adversities  which 
well-nigh  overwhelm  us.  See,  continues 
this  holy  doctor,  by  how  many  stars  we 
are  invited  to  go  to  Jesus  Christ ! 

Now,  if  we  wish  to  imitate  our  holy 
kings  in  the  fidelity  which  they  displayed 
in  corresponding  to  the  grace  of  God,  let 
us  unhesitatingly  follow  the  star  that  is 
meant  to  guide  us  on  our  way. 

What  is  this  way,  if  it  be  not  the 
narrow  path  which  leads  to  eternal  life  ^ 

Let  us  hasten  to  enter  thereon,  and 
when  once  we  are  there,  let  nothing 
discourage  us  or  tempt  us  to  go  back, 
but  let  us  walk  on  steadily  and  persever- 
ingly,  until  we  have  found  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ. 

But,  alas  !  we  do  the  reverse  of  this. 
Far  from  paying  attention  to  the  work- 
ings of  grace,  far  from  having  our  eyes 
open  to  perceive  the  star,  far  from  having 
the  courage  to  follow  its  guidance  imme- 
diately, some  shut  their  eyes  on  purpose 
not  to  see  the  light,  and  others  put  off 
to  another  time  the  carrying  out  of  the 
good  resolutions  which  it  suggests  to 
them. 

PkRE   MONTMOREX.- 

Homilies. 


-OK     THE- 


INFANCY  AND  HIDDEN  LIFE  OF  ODR  SAVIOUR. 


PiRES  Croiset  and  Nouet,  S.  J. 
"He  went  down  with  them,  and  came  to  Nazareth,  and  was  subject  to  them." — Luke  ii.  51. 


*T  is  surprising  that  the  Son  of 
God,  having  come  on  earth 
simply  to  glorify  His  Father 
by  redeeming  mankind,  should 
have  passed  nearly  all  His  life 
in  obscurity. 
During  all  this  time  could  He  not  have 
travelled  through  the  world  to  teach  men 
by  His  doctrine,  to  edify  them  by  His 
example,  to  convince  them  by  His  miracles, 
and  draw  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  ? 

The  carpenter's  shop,  was  it  a  dwelling 
worthy  of  a  Saviour  ?  A  hidden  and 
unknown  life,  was  this  to  be  the  life  of  a 
Messiah  ?  And  so  long  a  retreat,  was  it 
necessary  for  a  God  made  man  ? 

It  must  be  so,  since  He  who  is  wisdom 
itself  and  does  all  things  with  consummate 
prudence  has  made  the  choice.  Who  is  it 
who  had  the  glory  of  His  Father  more  at 
heart  than  His  only-begotten  Son  ?  and 
who  knew  better  than  He  did  how  to  pro- 
mote it  ?  The  salvation  of  man,  was  not 
that  the  object  of   His   incarnation  ?   and 

n 


was  He  ignorant  that  the  conversion  o_ 
the  universe  ought  to  have  been  His  work  ? 

We  must,  therefore,  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  hidden  life  up  to  the  age  of 
thirty,  was  more  glorious  to  God  than  the 
most  striking  miracles,  and  that  the  work 
of  our  salvation  required  that  silence  and 
obscurity  during  all  that  time. 

What  more  glorious,  what  more  instruc- 
tive, than  the  mystery  of  this  hidden  life  ? 
The  Eternal  Father  wished  to  be  glorified 
by  the  hidden  life  of  His  Son  ;  the  Saviour 
prefers  this  obscurity  to  all  the  marvels  of 
an  active  life. 

Ah !  great  God,  when  shall  we  be  con- 
vinced that  perfection  and  merit  does  not 
consist  in  doing  or  in  suffering  great 
things  for  Your  glory,  but  in  wishing  and 
doing  all  that  pleases  You  ? 

The  Saviour  glorified  His  Father  quite 
as  much  in  the  poor  workshop  at  Nazareth 
as  He  afterwards  in  Judea  did  through  His 
preachings  and  miracles. 

O  my  God,  how  foolish  are  they  who 
feel  inclined  to  show  their  zeal  only  in  per- 


72 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


forming  mighty  works  of  charity !  Such 
as  these  would  say  that  a  hidden  life 
extinguishes  fervor. 

The  will  of  God  is  sought  for  by  those 
who  put  their  trust  in  Him  ;  but  how  many 
virtues  are  included  in  this  one !  The 
Son  of  God  was  strictly  obedient  to  Mary 
and  Joseph  ;  this  is  an  abridgement  of  His 
life,  from  the  age  of  twelve  to  thirty  years. 
Would  not  one  say  that  obedience  is  above 
every  other  virtue  ?  for  one  cannot  doubt 
but  that  during  that  time,  Jesus  Christ 
would  have  possessed  every  virtue. 

Scripture  seems  to  include  all  in  saying 
that  He  was  perfectly  obedient !  Ah  !  my 
God,  how  important  is  this  lesson,  but  it  is 
not  relished  !  How  consoling,  my  Lord, 
is  Your  example ;  but  it  is  not  followed ! 
I  have  only  to  obey,  and  I  am  sure  of 
pleasing  You. 

How  short  is  the  path  to  perfection  !  I 
have  only  to  obey,  and  from  that  time  I 
practise  every  virtue  !  A  complete  victory 
over  the  strongest  temptations  is  attached 
to  obedience :  we  are  humble,  we  are  solidly 
grounded  in  virtue,  when  we  are  obedient. 

As  for  the  other  wonders  which  Jesus 
worked  during  that  time,  He  has  kept 
them  so  hidden  that  we  can  but  have  a 
confused  knowledge  of  them.  The  finest 
paintings  are  faded  when  exposed  to  too 
much  light  and  air ;  but  a  hidden  life  is 
always  safe,  and  it  is  God  alone  who  can 
help  us  to  it. 

To  be  talked  of  by  the  world,  to  be 
successful,  to  be  praised,  is,  for  those  who 
seek  it,  the  reward  for  purely  exterior 
good  works.     If  we  wish  to  possess  God 


as  a  reward,  let  us  remember  that  He  alor 

must  be  our  witness. 

Le  PfeRE  Croiset,  S.  J. 

Retreats. 

The  love  of  solitude  and  the  love  of 
silence  are  two  virtues,  of  which  the  Son 
of  God  gives  us  the  example  in  His 
hidden  life.  There  are  two  kinds  of 
solitude  ;  the  first  is,  that  of  the  heart, 
which  can  be  practised,  even  among  the 
talk  and  hum  of  a  busy  world,  by  a  holy, 
contemplative  mind  not  affected  by  out- 
ward observances ;  the  second  is,  that  of 
the  body,  which  effectually  separates  us 
from  the  conversation  and  sight  of  men ; 
but  this  will  be  of  little  use  to  us  if 
separated  from  the  first. 

Our  Saviour  has  so  practised  both  the 
one  and  the  other  that  it  ought  to  induce  us 
to  follow  His  example.  See  Him  in  Naza- 
reth, where  He  leads  a  hidden  life  ;  He  is 
content  with  a  village,  a  mean-looking 
house,  a  vile  employment.  What  conver- 
sions could  He  not  effect  by  the  mere  effi- 
cacy of  His  word !  nevertheless.  He  lives 
silently,  to  teach  us  to  love  retreat ;  and  this 
we  should  never  shrink  from,  when  the 
glory  of  God,  or  the  salvation  of  our  neigh- 
bor, or  any  pressing  want,  is  concerned. 

Try  to  be  fond  of  retirement,  so  that 
you  may  examine  your  conscience  effect- 
ually. You  need  not  be  afraid  of  losing 
your  time  or  of  burying  your  talents. 

Jesus  did  not  lose  the  fruit  of  the  least 
of  His  labors  when  He  began  His  public 
life,  from  having  been  a  recluse  until  He 
was  thirty  years  of  age.       p^Rg  nouet. 
From  "  The  Man  of  Prayer.^ 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


On  the  Tran^figufation  of  oui'  Lofd. 


I^ 


Father  Du  Pont,  S.  J. 

"And  after  six  days  Jesus  taketh  unto  him  Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  bringeth  them  up  into 
%  high  mountain  apart.     And  he  was  transfigured  before  them." — Matthew  xvii.  i,  2.  , 


fOUIS  DU  PONT  was  bom  at  Val- 
ladolid  on  November  11,  1554. 
He  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  In 
Spain,  he  is  justly  considered  to 
be  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
masters  of  the  spiritual  life,  and 
his  Meditations  are  models  of  piety  and 
devotion.  After  a  life  spent  in  the  perform- 
ance of  good  works  and  mortification,  he  died 
in  his  native  city  on  the  i6th  of  February, 
1624,  aged  sixty-one,  fifty  of  which  he  passed 
in  the  Society  of  Jesus.  His  life  has  been 
written  in  Spanish  by  the  Jesuit  Father 
Cachupin.  His  Meditations  on  the  Mysteries, 
published  in  1612  at  Cologne,  is  a  book  full 
of  unction  and  instruction.  His  life  of 
Balthasar  Alvarez,  one  of  the  saintly  directors 
of  the  glorious  St.  Theresa,  is  intensely 
interesting. 

The  primary  intention  of  the  Saviour  in 
showing  Himself  clothed  with  glory,  and 
His  face  shining  as  the  sun,  was  to  man- 
ifest a  ray  of  that  glory  which  He  had 
concealed  under  the  veil  of  His  human 
body — a  happiness  He  had  prepared  in 
His  kingdom  for  all  those  who  should  be 
faithful  in  His  service. 

He  wished  also  to  urge  them  to  carry 
the  cross,  and  to  teach  them  that  God 
gives  to  His  saints,  even  in  this  world,  a 
foretaste  of  the   delights  and  joys  of  the 


next.  Also,  that  the  life  of  those  who 
follow  Jesus  is  indeed  a  cross,  but  a  cross 
accompanied  with  heavenly  consolations 
and  interior  joys  so  sweet  that  it  corres- 
ponds with  what  He  himself  said,  that  His 
yoke  is  easy  and  His  burden  light.  After 
that,  should  we  hesitate  to  enter  into  the 
service  of  so  liberal  a  Master  —  we  who 
know  that  we  shall  one  day  partake  of  His 
glory,  and  that  perhaps  He  will  give  us 
henceforth  a  merciful  foretaste  of  the 
happiness  He  has  prepared  for  us  ? 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  how  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  was  transfigured.  It 
was  by  allowing  the  beauty  of  His  soul, 
which  He  had  always  concealed,  to  irradi- 
ate and  spread  itself  over  His  body.  No 
sooner  had  it  appeared  than  His  face  did 
shine  as  the  sun,  and  His  garments 
became  white  as  snow.  The  evangelist 
would  have  said  more  brilliant  than  the 
sun,  had  there  been  anything  more  lumi- 
nous to  which  he  could  have  compared  it. 

But  let  us  offer  up  a  thousand  acts  of 
thanksgiving  to  that  Divine  Redeemer 
who,  for  love  of  us,  has  up  to  now  deprived 
Himself  of  that  glory  so  justly  His  due  on 
this  day  of  his  transfiguration.  He  deemecJ 
it   right    and  just  to  manifest    His  glory, 


74 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


though  only  for  a  short  time,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  finish  the  work  of  our  salvation. 

Could  You,  my  Saviour,  have  shown  me 
a  greater  love  by  depriving  Your  sacred 
body  of  a  glory  so  just,  so  grand,  so  legit- 
imate, with  the  sole  view  of  sacrificing  it 
for  me  upon  the  cross  ? 

Oh  !  why  could  I  not  give  up  every 
earthly  joy  for  the  love  of  You  ?  for  then 
I  should  one  day  be  rewarded  in  Thy 
abode  of  glory. 

The  holy  prophets,  Moses  and  Elias, 
appeared  on  Mount  Thabor  clothed  in 
glory  and  majesty.  It  may  be  that  their 
luminous  presence  contributed  to  increase 
the  glory  of  a  Saviour  whom  they  acknowl- 
edged as  their  Redeemer,  or  it  may  have 
been  to  show  that  the  saints  should  one 
day  share  in  the  happiness  of  their  Mas- 
ter, inasmuch  as  they  participated  in  His 
labors  and  sufferings  on  earth. 

Who  can  describe  the  joy  which  filled 
their  hearts  when  they  saw  before  their 
eyes  Him  for  whom  they  sighed  for  so 
many  ages ;  with  what  humility  and  defer- 
ence they  adored  Him  as  their  God,  and 
what  thanksgivings  did  they  not  offer  to 
Him  as  their  Redeemer  > 

These  holy  prophets  spoke,  says  the 
evangelist,  of  the  excess  which  He  was  to 
accomplish  in  Jerusalem  ;  that  is  to  say, 
of  the  passion  which  He  had  to  endure  on 
Mount  Calvary,  the  theatre  of  His  suffer- 
ings. Redeemer  of  mankind,  what  are 
You  saying  to  them  on  this  joyful 
occasion }  What  connection  can  there 
be  between  Your  passion  and  Your  glory } 


If  music  in  mourning  is  disagreeable 
{Eccles.  xxii.),  are  sad  discourses  bearable 
in  a  time  of  joy  .^ 

But  I  see  now  what  it  is.  Your  sweet 
music  is  in  reference  to  Your  death, 
because  the  love  You  feel  for  us  impels 
You  to  find  a  pleasure  in  the  greatest 
suffering,  and  that  you  wish  to  teach  us 
by  that,  that  You  have  never  had  a 
moment  of  repose  without  some  mixture 
of  pain,  and  that  the  joys  of  this  life 
which  You  have  implanted  in  the  hearts 
of  Your  faithful  servants,  are  intended  to 
prepare  them  for  many  crosses.  Again, 
as  he  who  ardently  loves  willingly  speaks 
of  the  object  of  his  affection,  so  because 
You,  O  Lord,  loved  nothing  so  much  as 
crosses,  You  experienced  no  greater  plea- 
sure than  to  converse  on  that  cross  whereon 
You  would  soon  be  nailed  for  love  of  us. 

The  place  on  which  our  Saviour  was 
transfigured  was  a  retired  spot,  suitable  for 
prayer,  to  show  that  God  does  not  reveal 
His  glory  in  public  but  in  a  retreat,  when 
we  are  the  better  weaned  from  earthly  joys, 
and  are  the  more  likely  to  reach  perfection. 
Thus  Moses  and  Elias  had  the  happiness 
of  seeing  God,  not  in  a  crowded  city,  but 
on  the  top  of  a  deserted  mountain. 

How  true  it  is  that  it  is  most  important 
that  we  should  try  to  love  solitude  and 
retirement,  that  we  should  raise  up  our 
hearts  and  say  with  David,  "Who  will 
give  me  wings  like  a  dove,  and  I  will  fly 
and  be  at  rest  .> "  {Ps.  Iv.) 

Louis  du  Pont,  S.  J. 
Meditations. 


--^'^^'^^^'^^^^ 


^^^^fi^}<^^-^^ 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


■.•':  i?;  {•:  •!•>  i?i  {•>  *•«;  •!?;  iv  '.•:  i;:  i?;  i?:  i?;  •;•>  i?:  •;•;  %•':  i?i 

2  Fer  Maanda^  T^hursdaY.  t 

•Jtf   {jj  {ij  •!•;  •*•;  {Jj  {•}  {•;  {•*•  {•;  {•}  {•?  ••;  ••;  •  •;  •*•;  {jj  {jj  {•; 


*  W*  W  W' 


Rev.  PfeRE  HouDRY,  S.J. 

"  Before  the  festival  day  of  the  pasch,  Jesus,  knowing  that  his  hour-  was  come,  riseth  from  supper, 
and  laying  aside  his  garments,  and  having  taken  a  towel,  girded  himself.  After  that,  he  putteth  water 
into  a  basin,  and  began  to  wash  the  feet  of  his  disciples,  and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel  wherewith  h« 

was  girded." — John  xiii.  1,4,  5. 


'ERE  is,  my  brothers,  a  spectacle 
worthy  of  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  a  Christian,  and  to 
which  St.  Gregory  the  Great 
invites  heaven  and  earth  to 
be  a  witness  of  the  example 
which  a  Man-God  gives  to  all.  It  is  not 
a  light  capable  of  surprising  us  by  its 
grandeur  and  magnificence ;  the  pomp 
and  splendor  which  usually-  excite  our 
curiosity  and  attract  our  notice  have  no 
share  here ;  but  it  is  the  mighty  which  is 
abased,  it  is  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe 
who  is  willing  to  perform  the  meanest 
service  to  poor  sinners, —  a  Master  who 
bends  His  knee  to  His  disciples.  In  a 
word,  it  is  Jesus  at  the  feet  of  His  apos- 
tles, in  order  to  wash  them  with  those 
very  hands  which  had  created  heaven  and 
earth,  and  fixed  the  stars  in  the  firmament 
above. 

This  spectacle  deserves  our  admiration 
because  it  shows  us  something  grand, 
rare,  and  new,  on  which  we  should  gaze. 


and  reverently  meditate  on  a  ceremony 
which  is  this  day  carried  out  and  renewed 
year  after  year  on  this  day  and  in  every 
church. 

Surprising  sight,  which  shows  us  the 
Most  High  Majesty  of  the  world  in  the 
lowest  of  humiliations ! 

Oh !  wondrous  charity !  since  this  Sav- 
iour finds  nothing  better  calculated  to 
win  their  hearts  than  by  washing  of  their 
feet,  knowing  that  He  had  to  give  them 
His  own  Body  as  the  most  precious 
pledge  of  His  love ;  but  still  a  sight  full 
of  mystery  and  instruction,  as  the  Sav- 
iour says  Himself  to  the  first  of  His 
disciples,  "  What  I  do,  thou  knowest  not 
now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter " 
(yo/m  xiii.). 

In  fact,  He  gave  them  the  knowledge 
by  explaining  what  He  commanded  them 
to  do  hereafter ;  and  I  dare  to  say,  that 
it  required  no  less  than  His  example  to 
lead  them  to  the  practice  of  Christian 
humility,  of  which  they  were  as  yet  igno- 


76 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


rant  of  its  practice  and  value  :  "  For  I  have 
given  you  an  example,  that  as  I  have  done 
to  you,  so  you  do,  also  "  {John  xiii.  13). 

The  Son  of  God  had  already  given  a 
rule  of  conduct  to  His  disciples,  namely, 
to  take  the  last  place  without  disputing 
about  precedence  or  rank ;  but  in  this 
mystery  He  gives  us  an  example  of  a 
deeper  humility,  for  He  lowers  Himself  so 
as  to  wash  the  feet  of  those  who  were  not 
worthy  to  wash  His  own ;  and  it  would 
seem  that  He  took  upon  Himself,  as  a 
rule  for  His  humiliations,  the  eminence 
of  His  dignity  and  rank  which  He  retains 
over  all  His  creatures.  Ah!  I  will  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  after  that  this  last 
place  which  He  takes  has  really  become 
to  be  the  place  of  honor,  since  it  is  that 
of  a  God  made  man  ;  that  a  similar  humil- 
iation exalts  us,  since  it  makes  us  like 
unto  a  God  humiliated  ;  and  that  those 
acts  of  humility  we  practise  in  imitation 
of  Him  are  really  glorious  actions,  since 
they  attract  the  attention  of  God  and 
deserve  His  praise. 

After  that,  a  Christian  who  ought  to  be 
convinced  of  this  truth,  will  he  be  scrupu- 
lous on  a  point  of  honor,  and  will  he 
believe  that  it  is  dishonorable  to  practise 
Christian  humility  ?  Will  he  be  able  to 
excuse  himself  from  performing  duties  so 
essential  to  Christianity  on  the  ground 
or  plea  of  his  merit,  his  position,  his 
character,  or  his  reputation  ?  Will  he 
blush  to  serve  the  poor  or  visit  the  sick 


in  an  hospital  ?  Will  he  feel  ashamed  to 
perform  similar  humiliating  duties  to 
which  his  religion  calls  him,  duties  which 
the  example  of  his  God  obliges  him  to 
perform,  since  He  is  the  model  we  ought 
to  imitate  ? 

What  a  shame,  rather,  for  a  Christian  to 
be  always  scrupulous  on  a  point  of  honor  ; 
always  ready  to  wrangle  for  precedence  of 
rank  or  honor,  resolved  to  yield  to  no  one, 
and  to  hold  in  contempt  those  who  are 
beneath  him,  and  thus,  at  last  he  will  fear 
to  lose  his  reputation,  if  he  were  to  follow 
the  example  of  his  Saviour  by  practising 
any  act  of  humility.  Ah !  unworthy  pre- 
text of  a  Christian,  and  most  hurtful  to 
Christianity  itself,  which  is  grounded  on 
humility  and  self-abasement. 

PfeRE  HOUDRY,  S.  J. 
On  Christian  Morals,  6r*c. 

Moses  and  Elias,  that  is  to  say,  the  Law 
and  the  Prophets,  appeared  conversing 
with  Jesus,  in  order  that  by  the  presence 
of  these  persons  should  be  accomplished 
what  is  said  in  Deuteronomy :  "  In  the 
mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses,  every 
word  shall  stand  "  (chap.  xix.  15). 

Peter,  emboldened  by  the  revelation  of 
so  many  mysteries,  full  of  contempt  for  all 
wordly  things,  raises  up  his  desires  and 
heart  to  heaven,  and,  in  a  holy  transport 
of  joy,  exclaims,  "  It  is  good,  O  Lord,  to 
be  here." 

St.  Leo. 
On  the  Transfiguration. 


^ik.    .j^    .^    ^^^    .^.    .^ 
^^   ^^    w^    ^f^   ^^   ^^ 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

* 
* 
* 

* 

^fie:  (3g0Hi^  (3ind  PetssioR  of  ©wr  ^ord. 

« 
* 
•*•*• 

* 

1 ' 

j^      ^fc       ^.       ^.       j^      ^^ 

""-         ^^^          ■^"          ■^^          ^5^         ^^ 

PfeRE   DE   LA   COLOMBlfeRE,   S.  J.,   and   P*RE   NOUET. 

•♦  He  humbled  himself,  becoming  obedient  unto  death,  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross." 

— Philippians  ii.  8. 


N  inward  grief  seized  the  heart 
of  the  Saviour  of  the  world  ; 
He  walked  in  silence  to  the 
place  called  Gethsemane,  where, 
finding  that  His  mortal  strength 
succumbed  to  the  extreme 
anguish  of  His  soul,  He  was  perforce  con- 
strained to  appeal  to  His  apostles,  as  if  to 
ask  them  for  some  relief.  "  My  soul  is 
sorrowful  unto  death,  "  said  He,  and  I  feel 
that  I  must  give  way  to  the  sadness  com- 
ing over  Me. 

But  receiving  no  consolation  from  them. 
He  again  withdrew  apart,  not  so  much  to 
hide  His  trouble  and  His  fear,  as  to  retreat 
within  HimselC 

See  Him  now  in  a  corner  of  this  garden  ; 
how  pale  He  is !  how  He  staggers !  how 
He  trembles  and  falls  upon  His  face ! 
See  His  face  quite  wet  with  tears ;  His 
very  clothes  are  saturated  with  a  bloody 
sweat,  which  flows  in  streams  upon  the 
ground ! 

He  lifts  up  His  hands  and  raises  His 
voice   to  heaven ;  He  twice  goes  back  to 

7T 


His  disciples  to  complain  how  little  He  is 
assisted,  and  twice  returns  to  His  retreat ; 
but  no  rest,  no  calm  succeeds. 

I  know  not,  my  brethren,  what  is  youi 
idea,  but  I  confess  that  this  mystery  aston- 
ishes me,  and  is  beyond  all  comprehension. 
When  I  look  upon  a  God  humiliated,  a 
God  sorrowful  even  unto  death,  my  mind, 
shallow  as  it  is,  has  no  difficulty  in 
unravelling  this  enigma ;  but  a  God  troubled 
in  His  soul,  struck  with  fear,  and  sad  ever 
unto  death,  troubles  me  exceedingly,  and  I 
am  lost  in  thought. 

What  !  this  Messiah  which  God  sent 
down  on  earth  to  be  our  Master  and 
example,  this  Saviour  who  has  come  into 
the  world  to  suffer  ;  this  Saviour  who  has 
shown  so  much  impatience  to  shed  His 
blood  for  love  of  us,  —  now  that  His  hour 
has  come,  seems  to  be  wanting  in  reso- 
lution. See  Him  extended  full  length 
upon  the  earth,  bathed  in  His  blood, 
suffering  for  three  hours  a  cruel  agony, 
and  unceasingly  repeating  those  words, 
"  Let  this  chalice  pass  away." 


78 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC, 


O  my  Saviour  and  my  God,  the  support 
of  *ihe  weak,  the  strength  even  of  the 
strong,  —  mighty  soul  whose  generous 
feelings  are  so  raised  above  every  infirmity 
of  man,  —  tell  us,  I  beseech  Thee,  what 
may  be  the  cause  of  so  keen,  so  deep  a 
grief  ;  for  I  cannot  really  believe  that  fear 
alone  of  that  death  which  You  have 
taught  us  to  despise  could  have  caused 
You  so  great  an  agony. 

Le   P^RE   DE   la   COLOMBlfeRE,    S.   J. 

In  your  mind's  eye  draw  a  lively  picture 
of  the  Passion  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  this 
sketch,  you  can  represent  the  lance  which 
has  pierced  His  heart,  the  thongs  and  cords 
which  are  so  embedded  into  His  flesh  that 
the  thorns  and  nails  are  steeped  in  blood. 

Surely,  if  you  think  of  these  sad  cir- 
cumstances of  His  death,  and  gaze  atten- 
tively, you  must  indeed  be  moved. 

Gratitude  would  compel  you  to  be  so  ; 
for,  having  endured  so  many  tortures  for 
your  sake,  the  least  you  can  do  is  to 
compassionate  His  sufferings.  Justice 
requires  it  ;  for  if  you  feel  compassion  for 
any  of  your  brethren,  what  do  you  not 
owe  to  the  Son  of  God,  who,  through 
excess  of  love,  was  made  man  and  took 
His  place  as  your  friend  and  brother  ? 
Humanity  alone  would  prompt  you  ;  for  if 
you  saw  the  lowest  of  your  fellow-creatures 
in  the  condition  to  which  his  love  for  you 
had  reduced  him,  you  surely  would  have 
pitied  him. 

St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa  could  never  see 
the  painting  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac 
without  shedding  tears  of  compassion  and 


tenderness ;  for  he  thought  of  that  inno« 
cent  victim  who  laid  bare  his  neck  and 
awaited  the  death-blow  from  the  hands  of 
his  own  father.  If  this  so  moved  his 
pity,  is  not  the  sight  of  Jesus  dying  on  the 
cross  infinitely  more  pitiable  ?  O  quantum 
laboravit  sustinens !  exclaims  St  Bernard 
{Serm.  ii.). 

Oh,  what  sufferings  has  He  not  endured  ! 
Who  could  sufficiently  appreciate  the 
excessive  goodness  and  mercy  which 
induced  Him  to  bear  such  a  heavy  weight 
of  dolours  ?  Cast  your  eye  on  His  many 
wounds ;  see  the  streams  of  blood  which 
trickle  down;  look  at  His  face,  so  dis- 
figured with  spittle,  mud,  and  blood  ;  taste 
the  bitterness  of  the  gall  they  gave  Him 
to  drink  ;  listen  to  the  blows  of  the  heavy 
hammer  as  it  drives  the  nail  through  His 
tender  feet ;  listen  to  those  loving  com- 
plaints He  sends  up  to  heaven  :  "  My  God, 
my  God  !  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ? " 
{Matt,  xxvii.)  to  teach  you  the  excess  of 
those  interior  griefs  which  you  cannot  see 
or  understand  ! 

Remember  that  He  is  innocent,  that  He 
is  the  Son  of  a  God  who  is  the  God  of 
glory  ;  and  if  you  can  gaze  on  this,  His 
bed  of  suffering,  without  weeping  for  your 
sins,  you  must  confess  that  you  are 
unfeeling  and  hard-hearted. 

However  great  may  be  our  miseries, 
however  painful  may  be  the  misfortunes 
we  may  have  to  endure,  whether  deserved 
or  not,  the  remedy  we  find  in  the  cross 
and  sufferings  of  our  Saviour  is  infinitely 
greater  and  more  powerful. 


THE  AGONY  AND  PASSION  OF  OUR  LORD. 


79 


One  single  drop  of  the  blood  He  shed 
for  us  was  capable  of  paying  all  our  debts, 
sufficient  to  blot  out  all  our  sins,  and 
powerful  enough  to  extinguish  all  the 
flames  of  hell.  What  would  be  the  value 
of  that  deluge  of  blood  which  He  has 
poured  over  us  with  such  profusion  ?  If 
each  drop  can  save  a  million  of  worlds, 
the  whole  mass  of  that  precious  blood, 
will  it  not  be  able  to  save  a  sinner  ? 

You  cannot  doubt  the  efficacy  of  so 
potent  a  remedy,  since  it  is  of  inestimable 
value,  nor  of  the  sufficiency  of  your  ransom, 
since  what  He  has  given  is  beyond  all 
price.  Every  river,  when  it  flows  into  the 
sea,  loses  its  name,  because,  when  com- 
pared to  the  mighty  ocean,  it  is  as  nothing 
in  comparison ;  and  so  the  greatest  sins 
vanish  and  disappear  when  they  are 
drowned  in  the  ocean  of  divine  mercy. 
And  if  you  doubt  this  still,  you  are  igno- 
rant of  the  value  of  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Do  you  not  know  that  the  apostle  says, 
His  blood  calls  for  mercy  for  every  sinner, 


even  to  those  who  have  been  put  to  death, 
and  it  cries  out  with  so  loud  and  powerful 
a  voice  that  it  drowns  the  noise  and 
clamor  of  our  sins  t  Do  you  not  know, 
in  fine,  that  He  "  gave  Himself  a  redemp- 
tion for  all"  {Timothy  ii.),  and  consequently 
that  His  blood.  His  sufferings.  His  death, 
and  His  satisfactions  are  all  yours  ? 

Put,  then,  your  trust  in  Him  without 
troubling  yourself  about  your  miseries ; 
avail  yourself  of  His  blood,  more  powerful 
than  that  of  Abel's  ;  make  good  use  of  so 
powerful  a  voice,  and  do  not  fear  that  His 
Father  will  reject  you,  but  only  fear  that 
you  yourself  will  refuse.  "  See  that  you 
refuse  Him  not  that  speaketh  "  {Hebrews 
xii.  25). 

For  if  those  who  rejected  Him,  when 
He  spoke  on  earth,  have  not  been  able  to 
avoid  being  punished,  so  we  who  reject 
Him,  when  He  speaks  to  us  of  heaven, 
will  have  a  lesser  chance  of  being  saved. 

Le   PfeRE   NOUET. 

Sur  la  Passion. 


I 
1 


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CHAPTKR    XXIX. 


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*-»@J^^^P<^ 


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BOURDALOUE. 


"  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  men ;  and  they  shall  kill  him,  and  the  third 
day  he  shall  rise  again."  —  Matthew  xvii.  21,  22. 

"  He  is  risen ;  he  is  not  here." —  Mark  xvi.  6. 


HE  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
fully  confirms  the  fact  of  His 
divinity. 

You  will  say,  perhaps,  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  during 
His  mortal  life,  surely  worked 
a  sufficient  number  of  miracles  to  prove 
that  He  was  the  Son  of  God. 

Devils  cast  out,  those  born  blind  cured, 
those,  after  a  death  of  four  days,  raised 
again  to  life  —  were  not  these  so  many 
manifest  demonstrations,  so  many  palpable 
proofs,  of  the  divine  power  which  dwelt 
within  Him?  What  need,  then,  of  the 
more  striking  proof  in  His  resurrection  to 
confirm  this  belief.? 

I  say  that  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  especially  attached  to  His  resurrec- 
tion :  "  Who  was  predestinated  the  Son  of 
God  by  His  resurrection  from  the  dead  " 
{Rom.  i.  4).  Why  ?  Because  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Saviour  was  the  proof  which 
rhis  God-man  had  expressly  given  to  the 


Jews  to  make  them  acknowledge  His 
divinity;  because  this  proof  was  in  fact 
the  most  natural,  the  most  convincing  of 
His  divinity  ;  because  of  all  the  miracles  of 
Jesus  Christ  worked  by  virtue  of  His 
divinity,  there  was  not  one  which  had  been 
so  incontestably  evident  as  that  of  His 
resurrection  of  His  body;  and  because  it  is 
that  of  all  which  has  most  contributed  to 
the  propagation  of  the  faith  and  to  the 
establishment  of  the  gospel,  the  substance 
and  main  point  of  which  is  to  believe 
in  Jesus  Christ  and  to  confess  His 
divinity. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  without  a  reason 
that  Jesus  Christ  especially  insisted  on 
this  sign,  to  make  it  appear  that  He  was 
God  and  the  Son  of  God.  In  fact,  it  only 
appertains  to  a  God  to  say,  as  He  does, 
"  I  have  power  to  lay  down  my  life,  and 
I  have  power  to  take  it  up  again  "  {John 
X.  18).  A  God  alone,  I  say,  would  express 
Himself  in  this  way. 


ON  JESUS  RISEN. 


8i 


Before  Christ  came  into  the  world,  men 
were  seen  who  had  been  raised  from 
death  to  life,  but  these  were  recalled  to 
life  by  other  men,  Eliseus,  by  the  mere 
breath  of  his  mouth,  reanimated  the  dead 
body  of  the  Shunamite's  son,  and  through 
the  fervent  prayer  of  Eliseus,  the  child 
of  the  widow  of  Sarepta,  who  died  of 
exhaustion  and  a  decay  of  nature,  was 
restored  to  his  sorrowing  mother  full  of 
rigor  and  health. 

But,  as  St.  Ambrose  remarks,  they  who 
were  restored  to  life,  were  so  restored 
through  the  means  of  extraordinary 
virtues ;  and  those  who  worked  these 
miracles,  performed  them  solely  by  virtue 
of  given  graces. 

The  unheard  of  miracle  was,  that  the 
same  man  should  have  worked  a  double 
miracle,  namely,  that  not  only  of  rising 
from  the  dead,  but  of  raising  Himself  from 
the  tomb  ;  and  this  is  what  had  never  been 
seen  or  heard  of.  And  this  was  the 
miracle  which  God  reserved  for  His  Son, 
in  order  to  proclaim  to  the  world  that 
He  was  at  one  and  at  the  same  time 
both    God   and   man ;    man,   because  He 

I  had  risen  from  the  dead,  and  God, 
inasmuch  as  He  had  raised  Himself 
from    death   to   life.      TJt   ostenderet  quo- 

\    niam  erat  in  ipso,  et  resuscitatus  homo,  et 

\    resuscitans  Deus,  says  that  holy  doctor,  St. 

i     Ambrose. 

It  is  true  that  we  shall  rise  again  from 
the  dead,  because  Jesus  Christ  is  risen 
again ;  and  in  order  to  crown  our  hopes, 
I  add,  that  we  shall  rise  like  unto  Jesus 


and  that  His  resurrection  is  the  model  of 
our  own. 

For,  asks  St.  Augustine,  why  had  God 
willed  that  the  resurrection  of  His  Son 
should  have  been  so  obvious,  and  why  was 
the  Son  of  God  so  desirous  to  make  it 
known  and  to  make  it  public  ^  Ah ! 
answers  the  holy  doctor,  it  was  in  order  to 
show  us  clearly  and  evidently,  in  His  own 
person,  the  just  extent  of  our  pretensions  ; 
it  is  in  order  to  show  us  what  He  is,  what 
we  ought  to  be,  or  what  we  can  become. 
I  have,  then,  only  to  represent  to  myself 
whatever  is  most  striking,  great,  and 
admirable,  in  the  triumph  of  my  Saviour. 
I  have  only  to  contemplate  that  glorified 
humanity,  that  body,  material  as  it  is, 
invested  with  every  spiritual  essence, 
emitting  beams  of  living  light,  and 
crowned  with  an  everlasting  splendor. 
Such,  then,  is  the  happy  state  to  which  I 
shall  one  day  be  raised,  and  such  is  the 
consolatory  promise  which  faith  makes 
me. 

Now,  our  bodies  are  subject  to  corrup- 
tion and  rottenness ;  now,  they  are  bodies 
subject  to  suffering  and  grief ;  now,  they 
are  weak  bodies,  and  subject  to  death ; 
now,  it  is  only  a  lump  of  flesh,  vile  and 
contemptible. 

But  then,  by  a  quick  and  most  marvel- 
lous change,  they  will  have,  if  I  may 
venture  so  to  speak,  the  same  incorrupti- 
bility as  a  God,  the  same  impassibility, 
the  same  immortality,  the  same  subtlety, 
the  same  brightness :  "  Who  will  reform 
the  body  of  our  lowness,  made  like  to  the 
body  of  His  glory  "  {Pkil.  iiL  21). 


82 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


All  that,  nevertheless,  on  one  condition, 
and  that  is,  that  we  should  so  labor  in  the 
present  life,  to  sanctify  them  by  mortifi- 
cation and  Christian  penitence.  For,  if 
we  have  indulged  these  bodies,  and 
afforded  them  whatever  a  sensual  appetite 
demanded,  and  thereby  made  them  bodies 


of  sin,  they  will  rise,  but  how  ?  As 
objects  of  horror,  to  the  confusion  and 
shame  of  the  soul,  to  share  in  her 
torment,  after  having  participated  in  her 
crimes. 

BOURDALOUE. 

On  the  Resurrection, 


JITRE  nVE  SAGREB  VOdNBS  BE  GfelR  LORD 


T 


T 


Cardinal  Peter  Damien,  PfeRE  Biroat,  and  St.  Bernard. 
"You  shall  draw  waters  with  joy  out  of  the  Saviour's  fountains." — Isaias  xii.  3. 


HE  Blessed  Peter  Damien  was 
born  at  Ravenna  in  the  year  988. 
From  his  childhood  he  mani- 
fested a  great  love  of  prayer, 
which  increased  with  his  age. 
After  some  years  which  he  de- 
voted to  teaching,  he  retired  to 
the  monastery  of  Sainte-Croix  d'Avellane, 
near  to  Eugubio,  and  here  he  was  elected 
prior,  and  subsequently  abbot,  of  the  com- 
munity. Pope  Stephen  X.,  hearing  of  his 
saintly  reputation,  called  him  to  Rome,  and 
created  him  Cardinal  Bishop  of  Ostia  in  1057, 
and  employed  him  in  important  offices  at  the 
Sacred  Colleges.  These  offices  Peter  Damien 
continued  to  fulfil  during  the  reigns  of  the 
three  succeeding  pontiffs,  and  on  the  23d  of 
February,  1073,  he  entered  a  holy  life  by  a 
holy  death,  and  is  now  ranked  among  the 
blessed  in  heaven.  Besides  Letters,  Sermons, 
&c.,  he  has  left  us  Lives  of  SS.  Odilon, 
Romuald,  and  Dominic.  An  edition  of  his 
works  was  published  in  Paris  in  1663. 

It  is  in  the  adorable  heart  of  Jesus 
that  we  shall  find  every  help  for  our 
necessities,  every  remedy  for  the  cure  of 
our  ills,  the  most  powerful  assistance 
against  the  assaults  of  our  enemies,  the 
sweetest  consolation  to  soothe  our  suffcr- 

S3 


ings,  the  purest  delight  to  fill  our  souls 
with  joy. 

Are  you  in  sorrow  ?  Do  your  enemies 
persecute  you  ?  Does  the  recollection  of 
your  past  sins  disturb  you  ?  Is  your  heart 
troubled  or  full  of  fear  ? 

Throw  yourself,  so  to  speak,  in  the 
wounds  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  into  His 
Sacred  Heart,  —  it  is  a  sanctuary,  it  is 
the  retreat  for  holy  souls,  and  a  place  of 
refuge  wherein  your  soul  is  safe. 

It  is  to  Him  and  through  Him  that  we 
should  ask  for  all  we  require  ;  it  is  through 
Him  and  in  Him  that  we  should  offer  to 
the  Eternal  Father  all  we  do,  because  this 
Sacred  Heart  is  the  treasury  of  every 
supernatural  gift,  the  source  of  every 
grace. 

It  is  the  channel  through  which  we 
unite  ourselves  more  intimately  to  God, 
and  through  which  God  communicates 
Himself  more  freely. 

It  is,  in  fine,  to  this  Sacred  Heart  we 
should  continually  strive  to  unite  ours  — 
no  longer  wishing  to   have  other  desires 


84 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


or  sentiments  than  those  of  Jesus  —  and 
then  we  may  be  sure  that  His  will  and 
His  Sacred  Heart  may,  so  to  speak, 
merge  into  our  heart,  and  that  the  two 
will  be  as  one.  Draw  waters  at  leisure 
out  of  the  Saviour's  fountains  :  you  will 
never  exhaust  them. 

Cardinal  Peter  Damien. 


[Jaques  Biroat  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Bordeaux.  He  first  entered  into  the  Company 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  but  passed  from  thence 
to  the  contemplative  order  of  Cluny.  He 
became  Prior  of  Beussan,  and  died  in  the 
year  1666.] 

St,  Bernard  calls  the  wounds  of  our 
Saviour  fountains  of  mercy ;  not  only  to 
tell  us  that  He  has  received  them  through 
an  extraordinary  display  of  mercy  and 
goodness,  but  to  show  us  that  they  are 
a  fresh  motive  for  His  Heart  to  take 
compassion  on  us,  and  that,  since  He 
received  them,  He  is  more  alive  to  our 
misfortunes,  when  He  remembers  that  He 
died  for  us,  and  that  He  sees  in  the  scars 
of  His  wounds  the  proof  of  His  love  and 
the  price  of  our  salvation.  No !  He 
neither  wishes  to  lose  the  price  of  His 
precious  blood  nor  the  objects  of  His  love. 

Consequently,  what  more  powerful  and 
efficacious  motive  can  there  be  for  a 
sinner,  who  sincerely  wishes  to  repent, 
than  to  think  of  the  wounds  of  the 
Saviour } 

The  holy  Fathers  call  these  wounds  our 
eyes  and  our  tears  —  our  tears,  because 
they  impart  an  abiding  sorrow  for  sin  ; 
our  eyes,  because  we  see  in  these  scars, 


either  what  our  Saviour  has  done  for  us 
or  what  we  have  done  against  Him. 

I  see  a  Heart  wounded  for  us  and  a 
Heart  wounded  by  us ;  I  see,  O  God, 
the  wounds  which  You  have  received 
from  the  hands  of  the  executioners  ;  but 
I  also  see  the  wounds  I  have  made  by  my 
own  hands,  since  it  is  certain  every  sin 
I  commit  I  re-open  Your  wounds ;  for  so 
Your  prophet  makes  this  reproach  to 
sinners :  "  They  have  added  to  the  grief 
of  my  wounds  "  {Ps.  Ixviii.),  as  much  as  to 
say,  I  do  not  complain  of  My  nails  or  of 
My  thorns  ;  your  sins  have  added  new 
griefs  to  My  first  torments,  and  have 
made  wounds  which  renew  and  widen  the 
first. 

Can  we,  then,  be  astonished,  if  holy 
penitents  have  wept  bitterly  when  they 
looked  on  the  Sacred  Wounds  of  the 
Saviour  }  "  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy 
Spirit }  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy 
face  ? "  {Ps.  cxxxviii.)  This  is  what  the 
penitent  David  said  :  O  my  God  !  whither 
shall  I  flee  so  that  I  may  be  sheltered 
from  Thy  anger  and  safe  from  the  terror 
of  my  sins  "i  If  I  ascend  into  heaven. 
Thou  art  there  ;  if  I  descend  into  hell. 
Thou  art  there;  even  when  I  enter  into 
Your  Heart,  I  meet  the  reflection  of  Your 
justice  in  the  alarm  my  conscience  con- 
jures up. 

St.  Jerome  replies  to  this  question  and 
to  this  perplexity,  that  it  is  only  in  the 
wounds  of  the  Saviour  that  we  can  find 
this  hope  :  Ubi  tiita  firmaqiie  pcccatoris 
permansioy  in  vulneribus  Christi.  These 
are  the  sanctuaries  where  so  many  sinners 


THE  SACRED  HEART,  ETC.,   OF  OUR  LORD. 


85 


have  flown  for  refuge  from  the  just  anger 
of  God,  and  wherein  we  ought  to  shelter 
ourselves,  and  that  for  two  reasons  : 
firstly,  because  we  see  in  the  depth  of 
His  scars  a  loving  readiness  to  forgive  us 
and  give  us  comfort ;  secondly,  because 
we  find  in  these  sacred  sources  all- 
powerful  testimonies  of  His  mercy  and 
goodness  for  men,  in  which  we  may  easily 
participate  if  we  only  diligently  try  to 
make  ourselves  worthy  of  His  promises. 

Le  P6re  Biroat. 
From  Panegyric  on  St.  Thomas. 

The  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  has  been 
wounded  in  order-  that  by  means  of  the 
visible   wound  we  may  see   the   invisible 


wound  of  His  divine  love.  Who  would 
not  love  this  Heart  so  wounded  for  the 
love  of  us  "i  who  would  not  return  love  for 
love  to  a  Saviour  who  has  done  so  much 
for  us  .'' 

Thy  side,  O  Lord,  has  been  pierced  in 
order  that  we  should  find  an  entry  into 
Thy  Sacred  Heart.  Oh  !  how  sweet  and 
good  it  is  to  seek  repose  in  that  Heart 
divine. 

From  my  Saviour's  sacred  wounds,  I 
find  out  His  Heart's  secret :  I  now  can 
fathom  the  depths  of  God's  goodness,  for 
the  bowels  of  mercy  which  caused  Him 
to  come  down  from  heaven  to  dwell  with 
us  are  open  to  me. 

St.  Bernard. 
On  tht  P assign. 


»*r 


epy  of  the  Cfo^^.  * 


# 


St.  Chrysostom  and  St.  Augustine. 

"  And  bearing  his  own  cross,  he  went  forth  to  that  place  which  is  called  Calvary.' 

—  John  xix.  17. 


*ET  no  one,  my  brethren,  blush 
at  those  sacred  and  adorable 
marksof  our  redemption.  The 
cross  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
source  of  every  blessing ;  it  is 
through  that  we  live,  through 
that,  we  are  what  we  are.  Let  us  carry 
the  cross  of  Jesus,  and  adorn  ourselves 
with  so  glorious  a  crown.  It  is  the  zeal 
and  fulfilment  of  everything  which  apper- 
tains to  our  salvation. 

If  we  are  regenerated  in  the  waters  of 
baptism,  the  cross  is  there  present ;  if  we 
approach  the  table  of  the  Lord  to  receive 
His  holy  Body,  it  there  appears ;  if  we 
receive  the  imposition  of  hands  to  conse- 
crate us  as  ministers  of  God,  it  is  still 
there ;  in  fact,  we  see  in  everything  that 
adorable  sign  which  is,  at  once,  the  cause 
and  emblem  of  our  victory. 

We  have  it  in  our  houses,  we  hang  it 
and  paint  it  on  our  walls,  we  engrave  it  on 
our  doors,  and  we  should  ever  carry  it  in 
our  hearts  ;  for  the  cross  is  a  sacred  monu- 
ment which  recalls  to  memory  the  work  of 
our  salvation,  the  regaining  of  our  ancient 


freedom,  and  the  infinite   mercy  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

When,  then,  you  make  the  sign  of  the 
cross  on  the  forehead,  arm  yourself  with  a 
saintly  boldness,  and  reinstall  your  soul  in 
its  old  liberty;  for  you  are  not  ignorant  that 
the  cross  is  a  prize  beyond  all  price. 

Consider  what  is  the  price  given  for 
your  ransom,  and  you  will  never  more  be 
slave  to  any  man  on  earth.  This  reward 
and  ransom  is  the  cross.  You  should  not, 
then,  carelessly  make  the  sign  of  the  fore- 
head, but  you  should  impress  it  on  your 
heart  with  the  love  of  a  fervent  faith. 
Nothing  impure  will  dare  to  molest  you  on 
seeing  the  weapon  which  overcometh  all 
things. 

Be  not,  then,  ashamed  of  the  cross,  in 
order  that  Jesus  Christ  be  not  ashamed  of 
you,  when  He  will  come,  clothed  in  the 
Majesty  of  His  glory,  accompanied  by  thisi 
sign  of  our  redemption,  which  will  then] 
shine  more  brilliant  than  the  sun.| 
Engrave  it  in  your  heart;  lovingly  embrace  i 
that  which  procured  the  salvation  of  our| 
souls  ;  for  it  is  the  cross  which  has  saved 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE   CROSS. 


87 


and  converted  all  the  world — it  is  that 
which  has  banished  heresy  and  unbelief, 
which  has  re-established  truth,  which  has 
made  a  heaven  on  earth,  and  which  has 
transformed  men  into  angels.  It  is  by 
means  of  the  cross  that  the  devils  have 
ceased  to  appear  formidable,  and  are  now 
only  to  be  despised;  it  is  through  that, 
that  death  is  now  no  longer  death,  but 
only  a  long  sleep.  In  fine,  it  is  through 
the  cross  that  all  our  enemies  have  been 
conquered. 

If  you  find,  then,  any  one  who  says, 
What !  you  worship  the  cross  }  answer  him 
with  a  tone  of  voice  that  betokens  firm- 
ness. Yes,  I  do  worship  it,  and  shall  never 
cease  to  do  so.  If  he  laugh  at  you,  pity 
him,  and  shed  tears  for  his  blindness  ;  and 
say  boldly,  We  protest  before  heaven  and 
earth  that  our  glory  is  in  the  cross,  that  it 
is  the  source  of  all  our  blessings,  our  every 
hope,  and  that  it  is  that  which  has  crowned 

tvery  saint. 

St.  Chrysostom. 

On  Sixteenth  Chapter  of  St.  Matthew. 

All  those  who  belong  to  Jesus  Christ 
are  fastened  with  Him  to  the  cross.  .  . 
A  Christian  during  the  whole  course  of 
his  life  should,  like  unto  Jesus,  be  on  the 
cross.  It  would  be  an  act  of  rashness  to 
descend  therefrom,  since  Jesus  Christ  did 
not  descend,  even  when  the  Jews  offered 
to  believe  in  Him.  The  time  for  driving 
out  the  nails  of  His  cross  was  only  after 
death  ;  there  is,  then,  no  time  to  extract  the 
nails  whilst  we  live, — we  must  wait  until 
our  sacrifice  is  consummated  :  Non  est 
tempus  evellendi  clavos  {Aug.  205). 


This  cross  to  which  the  servant  of  God 
is  attached,  is  his  glory,  as  the  apostle 
said,  "  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  {Gal.  vi.  14). 

This  cross,  I  say,  to  which  the  servant 
of  God  should  be  fastened,  not  for  forty 
days,  but  for  life ;  therefore  he  who  looks, 
piously  upon  it  should  consider  it  as  a 
treasure,  because  it  teaches  him  Christ 
crucified,  and  he  will  despise  everthing  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  which  is  only  to  be 
learned  in  the  school  of  the  cross. 

Formerly,  it  was  looked  upon  as  an 
object  of  horror,  but  Jesus  Christ  has 
made  it  so  worthy  of  respect  and  venera- 
tion, that  kings  and  princes  have  forbid- 
den the  punishment  of  crucifixion  to  be 
continued,  in  order  to  do  honor  to  those 
faithful  servants,  who  gloried  in  a 
punishment  which  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
has  so  ennobled.  And  this  wood  to 
which  the  Jews  had  nailed  our  Lord, 
accompanied  as  it  was  by  so  many  out- 
rages and  insults,  has  become  so  worthy 
of  honor,  that  kings  have  imprinted  it  on 
their  foreheads,  and  in  union  with  the 
lowest  of  their  subjects  they  look  upon 
the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ship  which 
will  guide  and  carry  them  safely  into 
harbor. 

So  strong  sometimes  are  the  storms  of 
life  that  strength  of  arm  is  of  no  avail,  and 
there  is  no  other  means  to  save  us  from 
shipwreck  than  trusting  in  the  cross  of 
Jesus  Christ  by  which  we  are  consecrated. 

St.  Augustine. 
From  Sermons  Ixxv.  and  Ixxxviii. 


PfeRE  DE  LA  COLOMBlfeRE,  PfeRE  LE  VALOIS,  and  St.  BERNARD. 

"  And  the  Lord  Jesus,  after  he  had  spoken  to  them,  was  taken  up  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the 
right  hand  of  God."  —  Mark  xvi.  19. 


'N  STEAD  of  saying  what  was 
uppermost  in  my  mind,  why 
cannot  I  repeat  the  discourse 
which  Jesus  Christ  made  to 
His  disciples  before  His  ascen- 
sion ?  It  would  give  you  more 
pleasure,  and  would  doubtless  be  useful 
for  you  to  hear. 

Although  I  leave  you,  My  dear  dis- 
ciples, to  go  to  My  Father,  it  is,  never- 
theless, not  without  pain  that  I  leave  you ; 
whatever  glory  may  await  Me  in  heaven, 
if  your  interests  were  not  allied  to  My 
own,  I  could  not  so  readily  resolve  to  sep- 
arate Myself  from  you.  I  came  down 
upon  earth  when  I  thought  that  My 
presence  was  necessary ;  if  I  ascend  to 
heaven,  it  is  because  I  know  that  hence- 
forth I  shall  be  more  useful  to  you  when 
away ;  independently  of  this,  the  Holy 
Ghost  will  soon  descend  and  take  my 
place,  and  you  will  not  long  remain 
unconsoled. 

Go,  My  apostles,  go  and  teach  all  nations 
the  truths   I   have   taught  you;    go   and 


undeceive  so  many  poor  unfortunates  who 
are  steeped  in  vice  and  ignorance  ;  do  this 
so  effectually,  that  of  all  the  souls  I  have 
redeemed  there  shall  not  be  found  one 
lost  one ;  fear  neither  the  boasted 
knowledge  of  doctors  and  philosophers, 
nor  the  power  of  the  great  ones  of  the 
world ;  I  will  give  you  wherewith  to 
confound  the  pride  of  both  one  and  the 
other ;  it  is  true  you  will  have  to  suffer 
much,  but  the  helps  you  will  receive  from 
Me  will  soften  and  sweeten  every  pain. 
Go,  then,  and  merit  the  rich  crowns  I  am 
going  to  prepare  for  you. 

The  apostles  and  disciples  did  not  long 
enjoy  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Him  ;  for 
the  Saviour,  having  raised  His  hand  to 
give  them  His  final  blessing.  He  began 
to  rise,  and  soon  was  lost  among  the 
clouds. 

If  the  father  of  the  prodigal  son  testified 
so  much  joy  and  made  so  grand  a  feast 
for  a  son  who  had  not  only  dishonored 
him  but  had  been  the  disgrace  of  all  his 


ON  THE  ASCENSION. 


«Q 


kindred,  by  having  squandered  his  prop- 
erty in  shameful  debaucheries,  what  must 
have  been  the  welcome  which  the  Eternal 
Father  gave  to  His  only  Son,  who,  to 
please  Him,  was  worn  out  with  the 
fatigues  of  a  poor  and  suffering  life ;  a 
Son,  who,  to  increase  the  glory  of  His 
Father,  zealously  bore  the  most  cruel 
torments  ;  an  innocent  Son,  who  has  saved 
so  many  sinners  and  who,  by  His  death, 
has  opened  the  way  to  heaven  to  all 
mankind  ? 

It  was  then  that  this  God  of  Majesty 
acknowledged  Him  for  His  Son,  that  He 
announced  to  all  the  celestial  choir  that 
He  was  their  King,  that  all  should  bend  to 
His  authority  and  be  submissive  to  His 
power,  that  He  should  be  the  Master  of 
the  heaven  He  had  opened,  of  the  hell  that 
He  had  overcome,  and  of  the  earth  that 
He  had  sanctified. 

We  can  easily  believe  that  all  the  happy 
spirits  cried  out,  "The  Lamb  that  was 
slain  is  worthy  to  receive  power,  and 
divinity,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  benediction " 
{Apoc.  v.). 

The  Lamb  who  has  suffered  death  is 
worthy  to  receive  divine  honors,  to  rule 
with  strength,  with  wisdom,  with  absolute 
authority  ;  it  is  right  that  we  should  treat 
Him  with  homage  and  respect,  that  He 
should  be  raised  to  the  highest  pinnacle 
of  glory,  and  that  all  heaven  should  ring 
and  re-echo  His  praises  for  ever  and  for 
ever. 

It  was  at  the  sound  of  this  welcome 
that  the  Son  of  Man  was  introduced  into 


heaven  where  no  man  had  before  been 
seen,  and  where  that  numerous  band  of 
saints  He  had  delivered  from  Limbo 
followed  Him,  and  were  received  with  all 
the  honors  that  were  due  to  the  merits  of 
their  Redeemer  and  to  their  own  merits, 
too, 

Le   PfeRE   DE    LA    C0L0MBI±RE. 

Sermon  on  the  Ascension. 


[Louis  LB  Valois  was  born  at  Melun  in 
1639,  He  was  appointed  confessor  and 
director  of  the  grandsons  of  Louis  XIV.,  and 
was  always  esteemed  as  a  true  servant  of 
God.  He  died  in  Paris,  1700.  His  Spiritual 
Works  were  published  in  Paris,  1785,  in  three 
volumes.  His  ascetical  treatises  are  full  of 
instruction  and  devotion.] 

It  is  not  solely  for  Yourself,  Lord,  that 
You  re-enter  into  Your  kingdom ;  it  is 
for  us  You  ascend,  as  our  Chief,  and  You 
go,  according  to  the  promise  You  have 
made,  to  prepare  for  Your  elect  the  man- 
sions which  are  destined  for  them  ;  You 
ascend  as  our  Mediator  and  for  us.  You 
present  to  Your  Father  the  fruits  of  that 
superabundant  redemption  which  has 
reconciled  heaven  and  earth  ;  You  ascend 
as  our  Guide,  and,  in  showing  us  the 
boundary  to  which  we  ought  to  reach, 
You  trace  the  road  on  which  we  ought  to 
walk. 

Adorable  Master  of  that  militant  Church 
which  You  have  established  on  earth,  by 
the  labors  of  Your  mortal  life,  give  us  a 
share  in  the  glory  of  that  Church  trium. 
phant  which  You  begin  to  collect  in 
heaven,  and  of  which  You  will  be  the 
everlasting     happiness.      We     are    Your 


90 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


members,  and  wheresoever  the  general  is 
to  be  found,  there  also  should  be  his 
soldiers. 

Without  You,  without  the  hope  and  hap- 
piness of  possessing  and  seeing  You,  what 
peace  could  we  enjoy  in  this  valley  of  tears 
wherein  we  dwell?  And  what  can  the 
world  offer  in  comparison  with  that 
heavenly  beatitude,  which  reigns  in  You 
and  with  You  ? 

Ah !  dear  Lord,  when  will  the  day  come, 
when  I  shall  bid  farewell  to  this  place  of 
banishment?  When  will  You  appear  to 
me  in  all  Your  glory  ?  I  languish  in  expec- 
tation ;  the  world  to  me  is  now  as  nothing, 


and   my   heart   is    already  with   You    in 

heaven. 

Le  Pere  le  Valois. 

Entretien  sur  P  Ascension. 

The  Ascension  is  the  glorious  terminus 
of  the  voyage  of  the  Son  of  God. 

My  brethren,  let  us  follow  the  Lamb 
wheresoever  He  goes ;  let  us  follow  Him 
suffering  with  patience ;  let  us  follow  Him 
rising;  let  us  follow  Him  still  more 
eagerly  when  He  ascends  to  heaven  ;  and 
let  us  raise  up  our  hearts  to  God  the 
Father,  in  whom  His  glory  reigns. 

St.  Bernard. 
Om  tht  Assumfium. 


Copyright,  1889. 


Murpby  &  McCarthy. 


2Dej6fcent  of  tfje  Jpolp  oBfjo^t, 


St  Chrysostom  and  L'Abb^  Flechier. 

"  But  the  Paraclete,  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  will  teach  you  all 
things."  —  John  xiv.  26. 


HE  apostles  left  the  supper-room 
in  Jerusalem  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  They  had  within 
them  a  treasury  of  knowledge 
—  stores  of  graces  and  spiritual 
gifts,  which  they  could  distri- 
bute throughout  the  land  ;  and  they  went 
to  preach  to  all  nations,  having  become  a 
living  faith,  and  like  so  many  books,  ani- 
mated by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

This  is  why  they  announce,  with  such  a 
marvellous  certainty,  mysteries  of  which 
the  old  philosophers  had  no  conception, 
and  they  publish  them  not  to  fifteen  or 
twenty  persons,  but  to  cities  and  to  the 
entire  populace,  to  Greeks,  to  barbarians, 
in  inhabited  towns  and  in  the  middle  of 
the  deserts. 

But  more  than  this,  they  announce  and 
preach  to  men  a  doctrine  far  above  human 
intelligence.  They  speak  of  nothing  ter- 
restrial, but  only  of  the  things  of  heaven. 
They  preach  a  state  and  kingdom  of  which 
they  never  heard  before.  They  disclose 
other  riches  and  another  poverty,  another 

91 


liberty  and  another  slavery,  another  life 
and  another  death,  a  new  world  and  quite 
a  new  mode  of  life  —  m  fact,  a  complete 
change  and  renewal  of  everything. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
On  St.  Matthew's  Gospel. 

Scarcely  had  the  Saviour  opened  heaven 
to  take  His  place  at  the  right  hand  of  His 
Father  than  He  re-opens  it,  to  give  a 
share  to  His  disciples  —  if  not  of  His 
majesty  and  glory,  at  least  a  share  of  the 
abundance  of  His  graces. 

Being  unable  to  descend  to  them,  and 
unwilling  that  they  should  ascend  to  Him, 
He  sends  them  another  Self  to  console  and 
instruct  them,  to  protect  and  sanctify 
them. 

Thus  the  Church  finds  itself  happily 
situated  between  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  drawn  by  the  one,  conducted 
by  the  other.  They  divide  between  them, 
says  St.  Bernard,  the  office  and  employ- 
ment of  their  love  for  our  salvation. 
Jesus  dwells  in  the  abode  of   His   glory. 


92 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


and  acts  as  our  Intercessor  and  everlasting 
Mediator  near  His  Father ;  the  Holy- 
Ghost  dwells  in  our  midst,  to  be  our 
consoler  and  ruler.  One  prepares  in 
heaven  the  crowns  He  has  destined  for 
the  elect  ;  the  other  encourages  them  and 
gives  them  strength  to  fight  bravely. 

The  one  has  entered  into  the  depth  of 
the  sanctuary,  to  consummate  the  functions 
of  His  priesthood ;  the  other  fashions 
here  below  spiritual  and  holy  victims. 
The  one,  high  in  heaven,  carries  man  to 
the  bosom  of  God,  to  give  him  a  certain 
pledge  of  his  glory  and  of  his  blessed 
immortality  ;  the  other,  sent  from  heaven, 
brings  God  down  to  the  bosom  of  man,  in 
order  to  cleanse  him  and  fill  him  with 
light  and  grace  :  this  is  the  mystery  which 
the  Church  celebrates  on  this,  our  Whit- 
suntide. 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  sent  to  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  person,  divinity,  and  doctrine 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  He  bears  testimony  of 
His  birth,  for  by  virtue  of  His  power  He 
formed  His  admirable  body  in  the  womb 
of  a  Virgin. 


He  bears  testimony  of  His  death,  by 
manifesting  its  efficacy ;  of  His  glory.  He 
is  the  pledge ;  of  His  charity,  He  is  the 
dispenser  ;  of  His  truth,  He  is  the  witness 
par  excellence.  "It  is  the  Spirit,"  says  St. 
John, "  which  testifieth  that  Christ  is  the 
truth,"  and  that  everything,  excepting 
Jesus,  is  falsehood,  adds  St.  Augustine, 

What  is  this  world  which  the  Gospels 
so  often  condemn,  but  a  union  of  vanity 
and  falsehood  1  Its  pleasures  are  illusions  ; 
its  promises  are  trifling  amusements ;  its 
caresses,  treasons  ;  its  joys,  mere  follies  ; 
its  sadness,  despair ;  its  maxims,  nought 
but  errors ;  its  laws,  unruly ;  its  good 
works,  hypocrisy. 

Such  is  the  spirit  of  the  world ;  but  the 

Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  is  truth  itself.     Its 

promises  are  faithful,  its  hopes  are  certain, 

its  laws  are  just,  its  works   are  holy,  its 

joys  are  solid ;  and  all  that  He  is,  all  that 

He  says,  all  that    He   does,  all  that    He 

ordains,    forms   a  body   immutable,    holy, 

and   everlastingly   true,    and    of   this   the 

Holy  Spirit  testifieth  as  well   as  that  of 

His  doctrine. 

Flechier. 

Sermon  on  Feast. 


=  * 


__i^r^  j^!^  1^1^  ^^  ^^  ^'f'^  ^w  ^^  ^<?  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^f^  ^w  ' 


i     CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


# 


(3n  t^e  ({lost  ^<^I^  ^rmit^. 


# 


#      0 


PfcRE   HOUDRY  and   PfeRE  DE   LA    COLOMBlfcRE. 

"And  there  are  three  who  give  testimony  in  heaven  —  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
;*nd  these  three  are  one."  —  i  John  v.  7. 


LL  the  passages  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament where  the  divinity  of 
the  Son  of  God  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  established 
equally,  teach  the  truth  of  the 
mystery  of  the  most  Holy 
Trinity. 

In  Isaiah,  the  Son  of  God,  does  He  not 
bear,  even  after  His  Incarnation,  the  name 
of  God  strong  and  powerful,  the  Father 
of  Eternity  ?  In  the  Psalms  the  Lord 
has  said,  "  This  day  have  I  begotten  thee  " 
{Ps.  ii.).  "The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord, 
sit  thou  at  my  right  hand"  (Ps.  ex.), 
words  which  the  Saviour  Himself  made 
use  of,  in  order  to  confound  the  Jews,  and 
from  which  He  has  extracted  from  them 
a  proof  of  His  divinity.  With  regard  to* 
the  Holy  Ghost,  is  not  His  divinity  also 
declared  in  several  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament,  where  He  is  called  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord,  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  which 
make  Him  appear  at  one  time  as  the 
author  of  the  fertility  of  all  nature  :   "  And 


the  Spirit  of  God  moved  over  the  waters'* 
(Gen.  i. ) ;  at  another  time  as  the  author 
of  all  the  grandeurs  and  beauty  which  is 
seen  in  the  heavens  ? 

God,  says  the  holy  man  Job  (/o/f  xxvi.), 
has  ornamented  the  heavens  by  His  Spirit ; 
and  at  another  time  as  the  author  of  the 
sanctification  of  men,  and  the  source  of 
grace,  and  their  salvation. 

But  with  all  that,  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  revelation  made  of  the  mystery  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  in  the  Old  Testament,  is 
obscure  in  comparison  with  what  has  been 
revealed  to  us  in  the  New,  where  the 
Three  Divine  Persons  have  been  so  dis- 
tinctly traced  out,  and  so  clearly  proposed 
to  our  faith,  as  being  not  only  the  chief 
end,  but  the  principal  object  of  our  ado- 
ration. 

First  of  all,  what  is  more  clear  than  the 
manifestation  which  was  made  at  the 
baptism  of  the  Saviour,  where  the 
heavens  opened  to  make  us  notice  and 
distinguish  at  the  same  time  these  Three 


94 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC, 


Divine  Persons  :  the  Father  in  this  voice  : 
"This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased "  {Matt.  xvii. ) ;  the  Son  in 
that  Man-God  marked  and  pointed  out  in 
that  voice ;  the  Holy  Ghost  under  the 
form  of  a  dove  visibly  descends  on  the 
Saviour. 

Secondly.  Are  not  the  heavens  opened 
for  us  in  giving  testimonies,  and  to  make 
us  acknowledge  with  St.  John,  that  there 
are  Three  who  give  testimony  in  heaven, 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  that  these  Three  are  One  (ijohn  vi.)  ? 
The  Father,  has  He  not  opened  the 
heavens,  and  has  He  not  made  His  voice 
heard  both  on  Mount  Thabor  and  on  the 
River  Jordan  :  Paierna  vox  audita  est  ? 
The  Son,  has  He  not  opened  the  heavens, 
to  show  Himself  at  the  stoning  of  St. 
Stephen  1  and  this  proto-martyr,  has  he 
not  had  the  joy  and  happiness  of  seeing 
Him  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  His 
Father,  and  this,  too,  when  he  was  in 
bodily  suffering.?  The  Holy  Ghost,  has 
He  not  also  opened  the  heavens  to  man- 
ifest Himself  to  men,  when  He  descended 
brilliantly  and  visibly  in  the  form  of 
parted  tongues  as  it  were  of  fire,  and  sat 
upon  every  one  of  the  apostles  ;  and  then 
to  the  Gentiles  even,  and  that  for  several 
times,  and  "the  apostles  began  to  speak 
with  divers  tongues,"  and  accompanying 
this  with  the  gift  of  working  many 
miracles } 

Besides  these,  to  be  convinced  that 
these  witnesses  from  heaven  are  only  One, 
we  need  only  read  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  striking  proofs  of  the  divinity  of 


the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  often,  so 
clearly  expounded  ;  in  addition  to  this,  those 
three  words  of  Jesus  in  the  Gospel  include 
the  whole  of  this  doctrine  :  Ego  ct  Pater 
unum  sumus  {John  x.). 

Le  P^re  Houdry,  S.  J. 

Does  the  darkness  of  this  mystery 
weaken  our  faith  1  Can  we  question  or 
doubt  what  God  teaches  us,  because  we 
cannot  understand  it  ?  This  is  not  the 
opinion  of  the  holy  fathers,  nor  of  the 
doctors,  who  sustain  that  there  can  be  no 
faith  without  obscurity. 

What  would  be  the  merit  and  Virtue  of 
faith,  says  St.  Leo,  if  it  merely  consisted 
of  believing  self-evident  truths  ?  Would 
it  be  making  a  great  sacrifice  to  God  if, 
by  following  His  judgment,  it  would  agree 
with  our  own ;  or  if  we  recognize  truths 
which  it  would  be  folly  to  deny  .?  Would  it 
not  be  treating  our  Lord  in  the  most  inso- 
lent and  unworthy  manner,  even  in  a 
worldly  point  of  view,  were  we  to  ask  Him 
for  a  reason  for  all  He  said,  and  rather  than 
wishing  to  believe  His  word,  we  should 
defy  Him,  or  rather  require  Him  to  give 
palpable  proofs  of  all  that  He  has  deigned 
to  reveal } 

What  rashness  and  boldness,  to  deter- 
mine to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  reason 
only,  thus  wishing  to  place  that  weak  ray 
of  intelligence,  which  God  has  given  us, 
in  opposition  to  that  infinite  abyss  of 
splendor,  which  enlightens  everything,  and 
which  cannot  be  fathomed. 

O  eternal  and  immutable  Truth,  You 
have  revealed  to  your  church  the  adorable 


THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY. 


95 


mystery  of  the  Trinity,  and  have  com- 
manded all  the  faithful  to  believe  what 
You  have  revealed ;  and  a  petty  mind, 
whose  views  are  so  narrow  and  confined, 
ignorant  of  the  commonest  things,  easily 
disturbed,  daily  deceived  in  the  discussion 
of  trifling  affairs,  ever  in  want  of  being 
led,  redressed,  and  corrected  daily  —  this 
poor,  weak  mind,  I  say,  will  dare  to  exam- 
ine into  the  decrees  of  his  Creator,  and  will 
deliberate  if  he  ought  to  add  faith  to  his 
opinions,  because  he  cannot  comprehend  it! 
O  my  God  !  I  confess  that  I  can  under- 
stand nothing  of  this  gjreat  mystery,  that 


it  far  surpasses  my  intelligence ;  but  never- 
theless I  firmly  believe  all  that  You  have 
said,  although  my  senses  are  opposed  to 
my  belief,  although  my  weak  reason  seems 
to  fight  against  it,  although  I  have  no  other 
proof  than  Your  word. 

I  feel  so  certain  of  the  truth  of  this 
divine  mystery  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
found  on  this  belief  every  hope  of  my 
eternal  happiness. 

This  mystery  is  incomprehensible,  and 
must  be  adored  with  an  unreasoning 
belief. 

LK    P&RE   DE   la    COLOMBlkRE,  S.  J. 


CHAPXKR    XXXV. 


On  Devotion  to  00^  Ble^^ed  Lad^. 


l^ 


Henri-Marie  Boudon,  Archdeacon  of  Evreux,  and  St.  Bernard. 

"  From  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed." —  Luke  i.  48. 

Extracts  from  the  saintly  Henri-Marie  Boudon,  Archdeacon  of  Evreux.     See  his  work  on  thi 

"  Devotion  to  Our  Immaculate  Mother.'' 


HERE  is  no  nation,  no  state  or 
condition,  which  has  not  called 
Mary  "  Blessed. "  Pagans, 
Greeks,  barbarians — the  noble, 
the  rich,  and  the  poor  —  have 
honored  her,  have  invoked  her 
aid.  Angels,  men,  heaven,  and  earth  have 
striven  to  show  her  their  respect  and 
homage. 

Certainly  a  devotion  must  be  good, 
when  it  is  so  universal  a  practice  among 
the  faithful ;  and  if  St.  Augustine  makes 
use  of  the  uniformity  and  extent  of  the 
belief  of  all  Catholic  nations  as  a  proof 
that  they  must  belong  to  the  true  Church, 
it  is  also  an  evident  proof  of  the  solidity 
and  holiness  of  devotion  to  our  Blessed 
Lady  to  see  the  universal  piety  of  the 
faithful. 

There  are  millions  who  daily  implore 
her  motherly  protection  ;  an  innumerable 
number  of  zealous  voices  call  upon  us  to 
share  in  their  devotion ;  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God  encourages  men  of  every  condition 
of  life  in  every  nation. 

96 


We  may  safely  say  that  heaven  resounds 
with  her  glory,  and  the  universe  re-echoes 
its  praises.  All  nations  who  adore  God, 
pay  honors  to  the  wonders  done  to  her : 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  America,  have  all 
been  struck  with  astonishment  at  the 
"  great  things  that  He  that  is  mighty  hath 
done  to  her." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  devo- 
tion to  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  merely  a 
devotion  practised  by  simple  or  ignorant 
people  ;  crowned  heads  have  considered  it 
a  great  honor  to  be  devoted  to  her,  and 
to  acknowledge  her  as  their  Lady  and 
their  Queen. 

The  canticle,  which  says  in  a  general 
way,  "  All  generations  shall  call  me 
blessed,"  does  not  seek  any  blind  submis- 
sion to  our  faith ;  to  believe  it  does  not 
call  for  any  stretch  of  imagination ;  it 
needs  only  to  be  seen.  Even  at  first  sight, 
it  is  apparent  that  what  the  Blessed  Virgin 
foretold  has  long  been  accomplished.  So 
many  monuments  raised  to  her  honor,  so 
many  churches  consecrated  in  her  name, 


DEVOTION   TO   OUR  BLESSED  LADY. 


97 


SO  many  hands  busy  in  writing  her 
praises,  so  many  preachers  glad  to  eulo- 
gize her  virtues  —  all  these  form  so  many 
authentic  testimonies  to  the  truth  of  her 
prophecy. 

Here  you  see  the  happiness  of  the  ever 
Blessed  Virgin  universally  acknowledged. 

Oh !  what  a  consolation  it  is  for  me, 
when  I  think  of  the  many  honors  you,  my 
dearest  Mother,  have  received  in  every 
part  of  the  world,  where  the  Gospel  has 
been  preached,  or  where  your  Son  is 
adored !  What  a  joy  it  is,  when  I  read  of 
the  many  sanctuaries  that  have  been 
consecrated  to  your  honor  and  glory !  of 
the  many  feasts  that  the  Church  has  set 
apart  for  you !  of  the  many  holy  fraterni- 
ties, military  orders,  and  religious  commun- 
ities that  honor  you  with  an  especial 
worship  and  are  consecrated  to  your 
service  ! 

Since  we  have  spoken  of  monarch s  who 
have  done  much  to  spread  the  devotion 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  do  not  let  us  forget 
that  glorious  St.  Louis  the  Just,  who 
solemnly  consecrated  himself,  his  kingdom, 
and  his  subjects  to  this  Queen  of  Heaven, 
and  who,  to  give  a  striking  proof  of  his 
love  for  her,  placed  his  crown  and  sceptre 
on  the  altar  of  Notre-Dame  in  Paris,  and 
left  especial  directions  that  an  annual 
commemoration  of  this  event  should  be 
made  in  all  the  churches  of  France  on  the 
feast  of  her  glorious  Assumption.  This 
his  successor,  Louis  the  Great,  ratified 
and  confirmed  by  an  additional  decree,  in 
which  he  beseeches  every  prelate  of  his 
kingdom  to  exhort  his  people  to  cherish  a 


fervent  love  for,  and  to  practise  ar 
especial  devotion  to,  the  holy  Mother  of 
God. 

The  whole  Christian  world  has,  through- 
out all  ages,  shown  its  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin ;  and  this  devotion  has 
been  authorized  by  a  great  number  of 
miracles,  which  are  so  many  illustrious 
and  striking  testimonies  which  God 
permits,  approves,  and  draws  from  it  His 
own  glory.  Not  only  the  holy  fathers  and 
doctors,  but  the  whole  Church  have 
exerted  themselves  to  pay  her  due  honor 
and  proclaim  aloud  her  praises,  and  this 
the  Church  has  always  done  ;  whilst,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  baneful  spirit  of 
heresy  has  ever  tried  to  cloud  the  glory  of 
Mary.  So  many  grand  and  glorious 
treatises  have  been  written  on  this 
subject,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
enumerate  the  books  that  have  been 
published  respecting  this  devotion. 

The  holy  fathers,  and  St,  Bernard  in 
particular,  reply  to  those  who  complain  of 
these  multitudes  of  books,  that  were  all 
men  forced  to  speak  or  write  of  this  devo- 
tion they  never  could  say  enough. 

From  this  we  must  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  is 
really  the  devotion  of  the  Church  ;  and 
this  is  nevertheless  certified  by  the  partic-  ' 
ular  care  it  takes  to  honor  her,  and  by  the 
praises  it  bestows  upon  her.  In  fact,  its 
attention  is  quite  pointed  in  this  respect : 
it  not  only  does  honor  to  her  mysteries, 
and  celebrates  her  feasts  with  great 
solemnity,  but,  as  if  all  these  solemnities 
were  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  its  devotion. 


98 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


it  sets  apart  one  day  in  the  week  to  be 
consecrated  to  her  memory. 

But  above  all,  the  miracles  which  God 
has  worked  and  still  works  daily,  in  favor 
of  this  devotion,  evidently  proves  that 
Mary  should  be  honored  in  every  age  and 
by  all  the  faithful,  God  being  unable  to  work 
miracles  to  authorize  error  or  impiety. 

Besides,  when  I  speak  of  miracles,  I 
speak  of  incontestable  miracles,  supported 
by  an  authority  which  it  would  be  rash 
to  challenge,  such  as  those  which  are 
approved  by  ecclesiastical  powers  after  a 
careful  and  strict  examination,  or  those 
which  we  gather  from  the  testimony  of 
authors  celebrated  for  their  wonderful 
learning  and  rare  sanctity. 

Some  have  been  related  even  in  councils, 
as  in  the  Second  Council  of  Nicsea.     This 


sufficiently  denotes  that  it  is  very  useful 
to  speak  of  them,  to  write  about  them,  to 
preach  about  them,  when  they  are  legiti- 
mately approved  of ;  and  this  the  Church 
has  done  in  general  councils. 

Henri-Marie  Boudon. 
On  the  Devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God. 

If  you  follow  Mary  you  will  not  swerve 
from  the  right  path ;  if  you  pray  to  her, 
you  will  not  fall  into  despair  ;  if  she  holds 
you,  you  will  not  fall ;  if  she  protects  you, 
you  need  not  fear ;  if  she  leads  you,  you 
will  never  weary ;  and  if  she  befriends 
you,  you  will  be  safe. 

St.  Bernard. 
D*  Aqua  Ductu. 


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IflQflQQeylert^    QQn(Be.f>i\on. 


PfeRES  HouDRY  and  De  la  CoLOMBifeRE,  S.  J.,  and  St.  Bernard. 

"  The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  his  ways,  before  he  made  anything  from  the  begin- 
ning." —  Proverbs  viii.  2. 


'N  this  mystery  it  seems  to  me  to 
be  fitting  and  proper  to  apply 
those  words  of  the  prophet, 
"The  unspotted  mirror  of 
God's  majesty  "  ( Wisdom  vii. 
26),  to  our  Lady's  Immaculate 
Conception. 

These  words  have  been  applied  to  the 
Uncreated  Wisdom,  that  is  to  say,  to  the 
Word  Incarnate,  who  is  the  substantial 
image  of  His  Father  and  the  mirror  of 
His  divine  perfections,  because  He  is 
begotten  in  a  splendor  more  pure  and  bril- 
liant than  the  light.  They,  however,  can 
be  applied  in  a  just  proportion  to  the 
glorious  Virgin,  since  Mary  was  conceived 
without  sin,  exempt  from  its  original  stain, 
destined  to  be  the  Mother  of  a  Son  who  is 
as  far  removed  from  sin  as  light  is  from 
darkness ;  consequently,  Mary  can  be 
rightly  called  an  unspotted  mirror.  Her 
conception  also  corresponds  with  the  eter- 
nal and  temporal  conception  of  that  God- 
man  who  is  to  be  her  Son,  and  also 
represents   perfectly  the   sanctity,  purity, 


majesty,  and  the  noblest  attributes  of  God 
Himself. 

To  show  that  the  conception  of  Mary  is 
this  unspotted  mirror  which  the  wise  man 
has  pictured  in  the  eternal  conception  of 
the  Divine  Word,  the  following  reasoning 
would  suffice  : —  God  was  not  willing  nor 
would  He  allow  that  the  body  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  should  be  more  pure  or  more 
exempt  from  every  stain  than  her  soul.  Now 
the  purity  of  her  body  has  been  the  most 
perfect  that  can  be  imagined  ;  it  equalled, 
nay,  surpassed,  those  of  the  angels,  and,  if 
we  may  believe  some  of  the  early  Fathers, 
it  reached  even  to  the  infinite.  Then,  far 
from  having  contracted  the  least  stain  of 
sin,  she  was  truly  an  unspotted  mirror. 

That  God  should  have  willed  that  Mary's 
body  should  not  be  endowed  with  a  more 
excellent  purity  than  that  of  her  soul,  is 
not  what  could  reasonably  be  expected  of 
His  wisdom,  since  the  soul  is  the  noblest 
part  of  man. 

If  the  body,  according  to  the  expression 
of  the  apostle,  is  a  beautiful  vase,  the  soul 


99 


lOO 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


is  the  most  precious  of  liquors  which 
ought  to  fill  it  ;  and  consequently  the 
virginal  body  of  Mary,  whose  purity  sur- 
passed that  of  angels  and  near  unto  God, 
as  St.  Bernard  says,  had  to  contain  a 
soul  still  more  pure,  inasmuch  as  the 
purity  of  the  body,  without  the  purity  of 
the  soul,  can  have  no  value  or  considera- 
tion with  God. 

O  great  God,  could  it  have  been 
indeed  possible  that  You,  who  had  taken 
so  much  pains  to  endow  a  purity  of  body 
to  her  whom  You  had  chosen  to  be  Your 
Mother,  and  at  the  same  time  allowed  her 
soul  to  be  soiled  with  a  stain  as  infamous 
as  that  of  original  sin  ;  that  the  one  should 
be  purer  than  the  light  of  the  stars,  and 
the  other  more  vile  than  the  slime  of  which 
the  first  man  was  formed  ;  that  the  purity 
of  the  one  should  have  been  capable  of 
bringing  You  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  that 
the  defilement  of  the  other  would  have 
discouraged  You  from  coming  down ;  and, 
in  conclusion,  that  the  woman  whom  You 
had  chosen  for  Your  Mother  should  have 
been,  even  for  a  moment,  a  slave  of  the 
devil } 

No,  I  cannot  believe  it.  You  have  too 
great  a  horror  of  sin,  even  to  tolerate  the 
shadow  ;  You  love  innocence  and  holiness 
too  much  to  consent  to  be  born  of  a  sinner, 
and  to  give  an  apparent  opportunity  of 
accusing  You  on  a  subject  of  which  You 
are  so  sensitive. 

LE    P]fcRE    HOUDRY,    S.   J. 

There  is  something  in  Mary  which 
moves   and  affects   me  much  more  than 


this  privilege  of  having  been  exempt  from 
original  sin  —  something  which  adds 
additional  lustre  to  this  first  prerogative. 
Mary  received  this  grace  from  the  very 
first  moment  of  her  conception  ;  it  was  a 
wondrous  gift ;  but  what  appears  to  me 
to  be  still  more  wonderful  is  that  she 
kept  this  grace  until  the  last  moment  of 
her  life,  as  pure,  as  entire,  as  when  she 
first  received  it  —  no  sin,  no  imperfection, 
no  weakness,  no  surprise,  have  ever  done 
her  harm. 

It  is  a  wonder  to  see  water  springing 
from  the  bosom  of  the  earth  as  clear,  as 
fresh,  as  if  it  fell  from  heaven  ;  but  it  is  a 
thing  unheard  of  that  this  same  water 
from  the  well,  after  having  bedewed  the 
fields  and  dirty  places,  should  flow  at  last 
into  the  sea  without  a  taint  of  smell,  as 
unpolluted  as  when  it  issued  from  the 
spring. 

This  is,  however,  what  our  Blessed 
Lady  has  done.  She  lived  in  this  valley 
of  tears  for  more  than  sixty  years  —  this, 
too,  in  the  midst  of  the  same  sins  and 
occasions  of  sins  which  corrupt  daily 
even  innocent  souls  —  without  ever  losing 
the  purity  of  her  heart.  Her  humility  and 
patience  were  put  to  proofs  without  a 
parallel,  and  she  gained  fresh  lustre  from 
every  trial.  The  Holy  Ghost  gave  her 
the  preference  among  the  many  virgins 
without  losing  her  honor  ;  she  had  her  joys, 
but  she  had  her  dolours  too,  and  through 
these  she  never  lost  for  a  single  moment 
the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  her  soul. 

Let  us  contrast  ourselves  with  this  holy 
and   immaculate   Mother.      She   received 


THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION. 


lOI 


grace  with  life,  and,  what  is  more  glorious 
still,  she  kept  it  intact  until  she  died. 

And  we,  alas  !  have  been  conceived  and 
brought  into  the  world  in  sin  ;  and  we 
have  received  the  grace  of  the  Sacrament 
of  Baptism  which  made  us  friends  of  God. 

But,  what  is  more  lamentable,  we  lose 
the  benefit  of  this  grace  almost  as  soon  as 
we  have  received  it,  and  then  pass  the 
remainder  of  our  days  in  the  dread  uncer- 
tainty of  forgiveness.  For  it  must  be 
confessed,  to  our  shame,  that  we,  for  the 
most  part,  remain  in  a  state  of  grace  so 
long  as  we  are  unacquainted  with  sin. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  may  be  a 
contradiction     between     innocence     and 


reason,  and  that  they  may  clash  together 
unless  they  are  kept  asunder. 

Le   PfeRE  DE   LA   COLOMBltRE,    S.  J, 

All  men  are  conceived  in  sin,  and  we 
do  not  read  of  any  one  who  was  sanctified 
in  his  mother's  womb  excepting  Jeremias 
and  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  although  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
enclosed  in  her  mother's  womb,  should 
have  been  purified  by  a  much  more 
sublime  degree  of  sanctification,  seeing 
that  she  was  to  be  the  sanctuary  where 
God  the  Son  was  to  be  made  Flesh. 

St.  Bernard. 
On  Nativity  of  St.  John  tht  Baptist. 


%TMT^W^ 


--'-*^^>^^->^>^;!^ 


%^^^%^:5^s^^ 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


•.•i  i»i  '.*:  V!  w 


'.*:  '.*!  '.*!  '.*!  \*:  '.*! 


S  On  the  [laMvitg  of  Marg.  S 


\*;  '.*!  •-•-•  \*i 


w  •>.*  w  w 


PfeRE  VerJUS. 

"  And  there  shall  come  £orth  a  rod  out  of  the  root  of  Jesse,  and  a  flower  shall  rise  up  out  of  hi* 
root."  —  IsAiAS  xi.  I. 


NTOINE  VERJUS  descended  from 
a  rich  and  noble  family  ;  he  was 
brother  of  the  Count  of  Crecy, 
and  was  born  in  Paris  in  1652. 
Despising  all  the  world's  honors 
and  dignities,  he  joined  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  and  this  zealous 
missionary  died  in  1706.  He  wrote  a  life  of 
St.  Francis  Borgia,  which,  although  considered 
a  little  diffuse,  is  nevertheless  esteemed.  He 
translated  the  Catechism  of  the  Blessed 
Canisius,  S.  J.,  and  also  wrote  a  life  of 
Nobletz,  a  Breton  missionary.  Pfere  Verjus 
had  another  brother,  who  was  Bishop  of 
Grasse. 

It  seems  to  be  just  and  reasonable  that 
the  Church  should  celebrate  a  great  feast 
on  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin; 
for  one  may  say,  with  St.  Augustine,  that 
this  day  is  the  natal  day  of  the  Redemp- 
tion of  mankind.  The  Church  looks  upon 
this  Virgin  as  the  powerful  and  beneficial 
morning  star,  which  arises  for  the  benefit 
of  the  world  —  like  a  beautiful  orb  which 
begins  to  shine  in  the  midst  of  the 
dreadful  turmoil  of  the  universe,  which 
begins   to   calm  the   storm,  dissipate   the  ' 

102 


darkness,  and  promises  to  guide  us  safely 
into  port. 

She  looks  upon  her  as  the  blessed 
Aurora  which  is  to  be  soon  followed  by 
the  Sun  of  justice,  to  enlighten  every 
nation  by  the  glory  of  her  graces. 

In  reality,  the  birth  of  Mary  is  a  glorious 
pledge  of  the  reconciliation  of  the  Creatoi 
with  the  creature  ;  it  is  a  sure  sign  of 
God's  mercy  for  us ;  it  is  assuredly  a 
precious  omen  of  our  salvation. 

The  new-born  Virgin  is,  so  to  speak,  a 
mysterious  rainbow  formed  by  the  clouds 
of  nature  and  the  light  of  grace  which 
God  brings  forth  to  assure  us  that  hence- 
forth it  is  His  will  to  change  the  deluge 
of  His  wrath  into  the  gentle  rain  of  grace 
and  benediction. 

It  is,  then,  most  proper  that  the  Church 
should  rejoice  greatly  on  this  her  natal 
day,  and  she  wishes  that  we  should  render 
unto  Mary  due  honors  and  gratitude. 

It  was  the  birth  of  the  Holy  Virgin 
that   the  chosen  people  had  expected  for 


THE  NATIVITY  OF  MARY. 


103 


ages,  that  the  prophets  had  foretold  with 
joy,  for  which  the  saints  of  the  Old 
Testament  had  sighed  with  so  much  fer- 
vency. 

We  have  almost  a  light  to  believe  that 
the  angels  —  in  token  of  the  joy  of  heaven 
—  brought  down  the  news  to  Joachim  and 
St.  Anna,  since  the  parents  of  Isaac, 
Samson,  and  St.  John  the  Baptist  had 
received  a  similar  favor. 

It  need  not  be  doubted  but  that  the 
news  may  have  been  accompanied  by 
numerous  marvels  throughout  the  land, 
that  in  a  short  time  there  would  be  a 
mighty  and  glorious  change.  What  a 
motive  for  joy  for  the  world  when  it  sees 
that  come  forth  which  was  to  give  it  its 
Saviour,  Redeemer,  and  its  King !  What 
a  subject  for  wrath  for  the  devils  when 
they  see  that  beautiful  star  of  Jacob  arise, 
of  which  one  of  their  prophets  had  even 
threatened  them.  "  A  star  shall  rise  out 
of  Jacob,"  says  Balaam  in  the  book  of 
Numbers,  xxiv.  17. 

They  took  her  for  a  fatal  comet  which 
foretold  the  ruin  of  their  empire  and  the 
end  of  their  tyranny. 

It  is  true  that  Mary  is  still  a  weak  child, 
to  whom  nature  has  but  given  sobs  and 
tears,  in  order  to  bewail  the  miseries  of  a 
life  into  which  she  enters,  and  in  this 
respect  she  is  inferior  to  the  angels  who 
enjoy  eternal  happiness. 

But  she  is  destined  to  bear  in  her 
bosom  He  whom  the  heavens  and  earth 
cannot  contain ;  she  is  chosen  to  give 
birth  to  that  God  on  whom  the  Seraphim 


cannot  gaze  without  trembling.  It  is  this 
that  places  her  infinitely  higher  than  all  the 
choirs  of  angels,  and  it  can  be  said  of  her, 
as  was  said  of  her  Son  :  "  Being  made  so 
much  better  than  the  angels,  as  he  hath 
inherited  a  more  excellent  name  than 
they  "  {Hebrews  i.  4). 

Yes,  this  sacred  quality  of  Mother  of 
God  to  which  she  is  destined,  raises  her 
above  all  that  is  glorious  in  the  nature  of 
all  the  celestial  choir. 

Also,  it  is  from  this  beauteous  title  of 
Mother  of  God  that  she  derives  all  the 
advantages  and  inherits  the  grandeur  of 
being  above  all  other  creatures,  and  it  is 
with  this  view,  that  God  causes  her  to  be 
born  this  day. 

Of  every  outward  blessing  which  the 
world  calls  fortune,  the  Blessed  Virgin 
was  almost  entirely  destitute.  She  was 
not  born  in  a  fine  palace,  neither  was  she 
clothed  in  purple ;  she  did  not  make  her 
entry  into  the  world  under  a  canopy; 
around  her  bed  you  did  not  see  a  crowd 
of  officers  and  servants. 

She  was  born  lowly  and  obscure.  She 
begins  the  lessons  which  her  divine  Son 
would  finish  in  the  crib  at  Bethlehem. 
She  teaches  us  to  despise  the  vanities 
of  the  world,  since  man  in  his*  cradle 
is  more  miserable  and  prouder  than  all 
animals.  She  plainly  tells  us  that  out- 
ward pomp  and  fine  clothing  serve  only  to 
feed  our  pride  without  decreasing  our 
misery. 

Oh  !  how  well  does  poverty  sit  on 
the  Mother  of  that  God-man,  who  by  His 
humility    will  overthrow  the  pride  of  the 


I04 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


devil;  who  by  His  nakedness,  weakness, 
and  poverty  will  shame  the  vanity  of 
the  world,  with  its  luxuries  and  super- 
fluities ! 

The  riches  of  our  Lady  are  all  in    her 
soul.     "All     the    glory    of    the    King's 


daughter  is  within"  {Psalm  xliv.  14). 
It  is  within  her  that  God  shows  His  gen- 
erosity; it  is  therein  He  has  displayed 
all  the  treasures  of  His  grace. 

Vkrjus. 
Pmnd^riques. 


VN^  6c)'<K<l9  to  c)^s\3) 


CHAPTER  XXXVIIl. 


K;M.  ^Mi^MiM:M£M.^.X  M.  .M,  M.  X  X  ,X  X!  X  X.'JC  «3^.,  X.  X  X  X.  X-X  X,  X;-4 


inTiTriTnTrmiTMiriiTiTiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 

0pi  t^e:  ^ol^  Kame:  of  ({)eir^.  1; 


iJlLILLllllJJJJlLUUlUIJ.IIII 


-  ■'-^.     .s^--..    ..^■i.     ,<r-i.     i^-i.     ii^'i,     .<">.     .<y<i'..    ■s'^^,      >■»■/.     .<«>.     ■■>»,.     ..^A     .-■«>.     A»^.     .<«>.     ^^,.     .s«>.   ^«,.     .♦^^■A^y.     ^^. -S<»,.     ■^^.     .»*-■,..  ^  ^♦■>.     .i.*/,.      ,■». 


f 


*->-j^mf?|^-^* 


"  And  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary." —  Luke  i.  27." 


PfeRE  d'Argentan. 


jHO  is  it  who  having  loved  and 
honored  the  holy  name  of 
Mary,  has  not  experienced 
what  St.  Ephrem  has  written 
on  it  with  so  much  fervor  ? 
That  it  is  really  the  heav- 
enly star  which  shines  through  the  sur- 
rounding darkness ;  how  often  has  it  not 
made  us  think  more  of  God  and  our  duties  ; 
that  it  is  truly  the  harbor  of  refuge, 
wherein  those  who  are  threatened  with 
danger  can  take  shelter  therein.  How 
often,  when  violently  tempted  by  the 
evil  one,  have  we  not  been  strengthened 
by  invoking  the  name  of  Mary ;  for  is 
not  Mary  the  Federis  Area  and  our  Medi- 
atrix ? 

Many  and  many  a  time  has  not  Mary, 
through  her  powerful  intercession,  made 
our  peace  with  God,  whom  we  have  so 
often  offended  by  our  repeated  falls,  that 
she  is  the  help  of  the  afflicted  and  the 
consolation  of  the  wretched  } 

We  could  fill  volumes,  were  we  to  quote 
instances  of  all  those  who,  finding  them- 

105 


selves  well  nigh  wrecked  with  sadness  and 
grief,  have  found  a  safe  port  by  invoking 
the  name  of  Mary.  Would  you  see  people 
constantly  crowding  to  places  which  are 
consecrated  to  God  under  this  holy  name, 
if  they  did  not  find  that  those  who  invoke 
it  are  relieved  from  all  human  miseries } 

And  why  should  not  this  holy  name  be 
so  salutary  since  it  is  so  nearly  allied  to 
the  Saviour  }  Whosoever  speaks  of  Mary 
speaks  of  the  Mother  of  the  Redeemer, 
speaks  of  a  priceless  treasure  which 
encloses  within  itself  the  infinite  wealth 
of  the  Father  of  mercies  and  the  remedy 
for  every  ill. 

God  wishes  that  these  graces  should 
come  through  Mary,  and  He  has  made  her 
Mediatrix  Nostra,  our  Mediatrix. 

Would  you,  then,  know  what  a  host  of 
graces  are  enclosed  in  the  name  of  Mary, 
look  what  a  treasure  of  heavenly  riches 
God  has  enclosed  in  her  chaste  womb. 

Who  amongst  us,  if  he  could  see  the 
sacred    persons   of    Jesus    and   His   holy 


io6 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Mother,  would  not  immediately  throw 
himself  at  their  feet,  and,  after  embracing 
them,  would  not  pour  out  his  heart  to 
them  ? 

It  is  true  that  we  can  have  no  longer 
their  bodily  presence,  now  that  death  has 
deprived  us  of  both  one  and  the  other, 
but  have  we  not  a  consolation  near  at 
hand  ?  Can  we  not,  in  the  place  of  their 
visible  presence,  invoke  their  names, 
impress  them  on  our  memory,  engrave 
them  in  our  hearts,  pronounce  them  often 
with  respect  and  love  ? 

Indeed,  we  know  that  the  old  philoso- 
phers believed  that  names  were  but  the 
representation  of  things,  that  they  recalled 
to  mind  the  idea  and  form,  and  that  men 
had  invented  their  use  in  order  that  we 
might,  in  a  certain  way,  place  persons 
before  our  eyes,  discuss  with  them  on 
matters  we  know,  or  have  known,  not- 
withstanding the  length  of  distance  or  the 
question  of  time. 

By  this  innocent  artifice,  means  have 
been  found  of  producing  everything  by 
means  of  words  and  phrases  in  imitation 
of  the  first  being,  which  brought  forth 
His  own  image,  that  is  to  say,  His  Word. 

We  also  give  to  things  a  new  being ; 
we  recall  persons  who  are  near  or  who 
are  far  off.  The  tongue  and  speech  form 
a  picture  to  the  ears  of  things  which  we 
cannot  see ;  we  draw  them  from  the 
tomb ;  we  recall  them  from  ages  long 
passed  away ;  we  summon  them  to  life 
when  we  will. 


In  a  word,  by  the  means  of  names,  we 
have  found  out  the  way  of  immortalizing 
everything ;  we  give  them  a  species  of 
being,  over  which  memory  or  death  have 
no  empire. 

Who  will,  then,  prevent  you  from 
making  use  of  this  holy  artifice  with 
regard  to  two  persons  whose  names  ought 
to  be  dearer  to  us  than  anything  else  in 
this  world,  I  mean  those  of  Jesus  and 
Mary  > 

Should  we  not  have  their  blessed  names 
ever  on  our  lips  ^  Such  would  be  the  case 
if  we  had  them  deeply  engraven  on  our 
hearts. 

Fill  us.  Holy  Mary,  with  the  love  of 
your  holy  name ;  fill  us  with  the  fire 
of  divine  love.  At  the  sound  of  your 
name  my  conscience  will  awaken,  my  love 
will  be  set  on  fire. 

Mary !  O  name  so  many  times 
attacked,  but  always  victorious,  ever  glo- 
rious !  Mary !  O  name  always  beneficial 
to  my  soul,  which  tranquillizes  my  fears, 
which  helps  me  in  my  trouble  !  Every 
day  will  I  pronounce  it,  and  to  it  I  will 
add  the  sacred  name  of  Jesus.  The  Son 
will  remind  me  of  the  Mother,  and  the 
Mother  will  remind  me  of  the  Son. 

Those  sacred  names  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
I  will  engrave  upon  my  heart,  and  when 
I  breathe  my  last  sigh  those  names  will 
be  ever  on  my  lips,  and  will  be  names  of 
blessing  and  salvation. 

Lb  PfeRE  d'Argentan  (Capuchin). 
Grandeurs  dt  la  Vierge- 


^^       ^^       ^^       -j^       -^.       .^ 

'W-'               'W^                ^^               W^               ^^              "'v^-' 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

' ^ r^-r-'--     1 

On  the  ppe^eniiatioii  of  fflaf^  in  the  Temple.    I 

,.„..,.-„.„.,..„....,..„;-."....„.,;-.„.„ .„.„.„.„.„.„.„. .„.„.„.„.,..„..n.„.„..,.MM...M....M.,..„.„.„..,.H.„.„.„.„.„.,„„..,..,.„.  ^;> 

■^      ^.       ^^       .^       .^      ^^ 

^^^           ^^             ■'7^            "J^             ^^           ^W 

P^RB   HOUDKY,    S.   J. 

**  Behold,  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God."  —  Hebrews  x.  9. 


'F  angels  and  men  could  have 
mingled  all  that  was  virtuous 
and  holy — if  they  could  have 
gathered  together  every  grace, 
merit,  and  perfection,  they 
could  not  have  given  to  God  a 
more  acceptable  offering  than  was  made 
on  the  Presentation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
to  the  Temple. 

Yes  !  it  must  be  confessed,  O  Lord, 
before  your  divine  Son  had  come  into  the 
world  and  was  made  a  victim  for  our  sins 
on  the  Cross,  Mary  alone  was  deemed 
worthy  of  being  an  acceptable  sacrifice. 

The  blood  of  oxen  and  sheep,  the  pour- 
ing out  of  liquors,  and  the  perfume  of 
spices,  were  things  too  material  to  please 
You  ;  the  sacrifices  of  Abel,  Noah,  and 
other  patriarchs ;  the  magnificence  of 
David,  and  the  holy  profusion  of  Solomon, 
well  deserved  your  favorable  notice ;  but 
all  these  were  incapable  of  fully  satisfying 
You. 

It  is  true  that  Abraham  and  Isaac 
gained  Your  affection,  the  one,  willingly 
to   sacrifice  his   only  son,    the  other  sub- 

w 


missively  agreeing  to  be  immolated  foi 
Your  glory.  I  know  that  You  graciously 
accepted  the  offering  which  Manuel  made 
to  You  of  Samson,  and  also  that  of  Anne 
when  she  presented  her  little  Samuel  to 
You. 

But  however  excellent  these  victims  may 
have  been,  they  nevertheless  have  slight 
blemishes,  and  failed  in  possessing  that 
perfect  purity,  without  which  they  could 
not  be  worthy  of  You. 

There  was  only  Mary,  in  whom  You 
found  no  stain  of  sin,  or,  rather,  there  was 
no  one  but  Mary  who  could  have  been  a 
victim  sufficiently  holy  and  pure  to 
supply  for  the  defects  of  others,  and  to  fill 
in  what  was  wanting  in  them  to  appease 
You,  namely,  the  anticipation  of  the 
glorious  sacrifice  of  the  cross. 

Receive,  then,  this  innocent  dove  which 
is  to  be  soon  followed  by  the  spotless 
Lamb.  Receive  the  lamentations  of  the 
one,  and  then  You  will  receive  the  blood 
of  the  other.  Receive  the  vows  of  the 
holiest  of  creatures  ;  receive  the  offering 
of  a  virgin  who  is  to  be  the  Mother  of  a 


io8 


HALF-HOURS    WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


God,   and    then    You    will     receive     the 
sacrifice  of  God  made  Man. 

We  ought  certainly  to  believe  that  Mary 
does  not  enter  into  the  Temple  by  com- 
pulsion, neither  should  we  imagine  that 
she  entered  therein  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  her  parents.  Charity  presses  her 
on  more  strongly  than  the  obligation  she 
was  under  to  fulfil  her  vows,  and  had  they 
not  presented  her,  she  would  have  been 
drawn  thither  solely  by  her  immense  love. 

She  had  long  sighed  for  this  happiness, 
and  in  the  transports  of  her  fervor  she 
said  repeatedly  to  herself :  When  shall  I 
be  enclosed  in  that  sacred  Temple  where 
God  has  fixed  His  dwelling,  and  where  He 
has  fixed  mine  >  Dear  Lord  !  do  not  delay 
to  grant  me  the  possession  of  that  hap- 
piness, the  postponement  of  which  causes 
me  such  painful  longing.  "  These  things 
I  remembered  and  poured  out  my  soul  in 
me  ;  for  I  shall  go  over  to  the  place  of  the 
wonderful  tabernacle,  even  to  the  house  of 
God  "  {Psalm  xli.  5). 

At  length  the  happy  day  having  arrived, 
do  not  ask  me  if  she  was  transported  with 
joy.  Far  from  waiting  for  the  commands 
of  her  parents  to  prepare  herself  for  the 
fulfilment  of  their  vows,  she  was  the  first 
to  warn  them  and  to  urge  them  onwards. 

It  was  wonderful,  indeed,  to  see  a  child 
of  three  years  endowed  with  so  firm  a 
resolve — to  see  her  leave  the  comforts  of 
home  without  a  sigh  —  to  forego  the 
caresses  of  her  relations  — -  to  bid  adieu  to 


her  dearest  companions  —  to  tear  herself 
away  from  the  arms  of  a  father  who  loved 
her  more  than  his  eyes,  and  of  a  mother 
for  whom  she  had  the  tenderest  affection  ; 
—  all  these  she  resigns  with  tears  of  joy. 

Picture  to  yourself  the  feelings  of  Joa- 
chim and  Anna  when  they  approached  the 
High  Priest  in  order  to  place  their 
daughter  in  his  arms ;  how  their  souls  are 
troubled  with  a  divided  love — one  a  love 
divine,  the  other  a  human  love.  Joachim, 
who  has  for  so  many  years  been  ignorant 
of  the  sweet  name  of  father,  and  who  now 
would  soon  be  deprived  of  his  darling  pet ; 
Anna,  she,  too,  venerable  in  age  and  piety, 
after  a  barrenness  of  years  had  now  become 
the  happiest  of  mothers — she,  too,  was  on 
the  point  of  losing  all  her  joy  and  comfort. 
Joachim  sighed  and  sobbed,  and  Anna 
shed  tears  of  grief. 

But  the  generous  Virgin  is  unmoved. 
She  sees  the  tears  her  parents  shed,  she 
hears  the  sighs  without  a  sign  of  weakness, 
their  sobs  she  listens  to  without  shaking 
her  courage.  She  knows  full  well  that 
these  dear  ones  are  well-nigh  heart-broken, 
but  grace  is  working  within  her,  and  a 
love  much  stronger  is  growing  now,  for 
God  calls  the  Blessed  Virgin  to  His  ser- 
vice. She  thinks  not  of  a  father's  tender- 
ness, she  heeds  not  a  mother's  love  ;  she 
knows  and  looks  to  God  alone,  to  whom 
she  wishes  to  sacrifice  herself. 

Le  P^re  Vincent  Houdry,  S.  J. 
From  his  MSS.  Discourses. 


ON    THE  ANNaNGIAtlON.  # 


T 


? 


c^jft^^^- 


BouRDALOUE  and  St.  Gregory. 
*  Hail,  Mary,  full  of  grace;  the  Lord  is  with  thee." —  Luke  i.  28. 
Extract  from  Bourdaloue' s   Two  Sermons  on  the  Annunciation. 


N  angel  presented  himself  to 
Mary,  and  she  was  troubled. 
Scarcely  had  he  begun  to  speak 
to  her  than  fear  seized  her,  so 
that  she  felt  within  her  a  host 
of  perplexing  thoughts  :  "  She 
was  troubled  at  his  saying,  and  thought 
within  herself,  what  manner  of  salutation 
this  should  be"  {Luke  i.  29). 

If  Mary  had  been  one  of  those  worldly 
persons,  who  are  only  virgins  in  body,  but 
not  so  in  spirit,  this  visit  she  received 
would  not  have  surprised  her  much,  and 
the  praises  bestowed  upon  her,  instead  of 
astonishing  her,  would  have  agreeably 
flattered  her.  But  the  profession  she  had 
made  as  a  virgin  was  undertaken  solely 
with  the  view  of  devoting  herself  entirely 
to  God  ;  the  rules  which  had  been  pre- 
scribed had  been  strictly  kept,  which  were 
to  renounce  the  manners  and  customs  of  a 
profane  age ;  her  exact  and  severe  regu- 
larity, her  attention  never  to  relax  in  the 
least  duty,  the  preservation  of  an  irre- 
proachable conduct  which  was  proof  against 

100 


the  slightest  censure,  the  modesty  and 
bashfulness  which  were  with  her  super- 
natural ;  the  opinion  she  had  formed  that 
praises  bestowed  on  her  sex  and  favorably 
received,  that  praises  even  tolerated  and 
quietly  listened  to,  were  to  her  a  secret 
and  contagious  poison  ; — all  these  caused 
her  a  trouble  which  she  was  not  ashamed 
of  showing  ;  because  being  troubled  in  that 
way,  she  manifested  the  true  character  of 
a  virgin  faithful  to  God. 

On  Mary's  answer  depended  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  glorious  mystery.  This 
consent  was,  in  the  order  of  the  eternal 
decrees  of  God,  one  of  the  conditions 
required  for  the  Incarnation  of  the  Word  ; 
and  this  is  the  essential  obligation  we  are 
under  to  this  Queen  of  virgins,  since  it  is 
of  faith  that  it  is  through  her  that  Jesus 
Christ  has  been  given  to  us,  and  it  is  to 
her  we  are  indebted  for  this  Divine  Sav- 
iour. For  if  the  Son,  even  of  God, 
descends  from  His  glory  in  heaven,  if  He 
enters  into  the  chaste  tabernacle  of  Mary 
to  be  made  flesh,  it  is  at  the  moment  she 


no 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


has  said,  and  because  she  has  said  it, 
"  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  ;  be 
it  done  to  me  according  to  Thy  word  " 
(Luke  i.  38). 

It  is  not  in  consequence  of  this  answer 
and  consent  of  Mary  that  the  Son  of  God 
came  down  from  heaven  and  became 
Incarnate.  Mary  conceived  the  Word 
first  through  the  humility  of  her  heart, 
and  secondly  through  the  purity  of  her 
body. 

It  is  humility,  says  St.  Augustine, 
which,  on  the  part  of  man,  should  be  the 
first  and  most  necessary  acquirement  when 
conferring  with  God.  If,  then,  God  chose 
Mary  to  be  His  mother,  it  was  that  she 
alone  appeared  to  Him  to  possess  that 
perfect  humility  which  He  required.  In 
fact,  as  St.  Bernard  remarks,  a  God  who 
was  on  the  point  of  humiliating  Himself, 
even  to  the  excess  of  clothing  Himself 
with  our  flesh,  ought  to  have  an  infinite 
liking  for  humility. 

But  what  is  there  so  peculiar  in  Mary's 
humility  .-*  Why,  first  of  all,  it  was  a 
humility  joined  to  a  fulness  of  grace  ;  she 
was  saluted  as  Gratia  plena,  full  of  grace  ; 
and  she  replies  that  she  is  the  handmaid 
of  the  Lord.  Secondly,  it  was  also  a 
humility  highly  honorable ;  an  angel 
comes  to  tell  her  that  she  will  be  Mother 
of  God,  and  she  gives  herself  the  title 
only  of  handmaid  of  the  Lord. 

This  is  what  delighted  Heaven  ;  this  it 
is  that  determined  the  Word  of  God  to 
leave  the  bosom  of  His  Father,  and 
enclose  Himself  in  the  womb  of  Mary. 


Whilst  she  humiliates  herself  before 
God,  the  Son  of  God  empties  Himself  in 
her.  "  Emptied  Himself,  taking  the  form 
of  a  servant  "  {Philip,  ii.  7). 

From  all  this  let  us  learn  to  be  humble. 
A  mother  of  God  humble,  a  God  emptied  ! 
What  a  lesson  for  us  !  Without  humility 
there  is  no  Christianity,  no  religion,  since 
without  humility,  we  should  not  have  had 
the  Incarnation  or  a  God  made  man. 

Secondly,  Mary  conceived  the  Word 
through  the  purity  of  her  body  and  through 
her  virginity.  The  prophet  had  foretold 
that  the  Messiah  should  be  born  of  a 
virgin  ;  and  it  was,  says  St.  Bernard, 
essential  that  a  God,  by  making  Himself 
man,  should  have  had  a  virgin  for  a 
mother,  since  any  other  conception  than 
that  would  not  have  suited  the  dignity 
of  God,  and  would  have  dimmed  the 
brightness  and  glory  of  His  divinity. 
Also,  according  to  the  beautiful  idea  of 
St.  Bernard,  the  whole  of  this  mystery 
passes  between  God,  an  angel,  and  Mary, 
which  traces  out  for  us  three  different 
characteristics  of  the  most  perfect  purity. 

From  this,  what  conclusion  can  we  come 
to  }  Why,  that  God  being  of  Himself  the 
essence  of  purity,  it  was  necessary  that  a 
union  so  wonderful  should  be  in  harmony, 
and  this  was  accomplished  when  the  Word 
was  made  flesh.  God,  in  this  mystery, 
even  gives  the  preference  to  virginal  purity 
by  choosing  a  virgin-mother,  and  by  deput- 
ing an  angel  to  be  His  ambassador. 

Do  not  be  astonished,  continues  St. 
Bernard,  since  the  purity  of  this  Virgin  was 
so  meritorious  that  it  raised  her  above  the 


THE  ANNUNCIATION. 


Ill 


level  of  angels.  The  angels  are  naturally 
pure,  by  a  privilege  of  beatitude  and  glory, 
but  Mary  was  so  by  election  and  virtue,  so 
much  so  that  she  was  troubled  at  the  sight 
of  an  angel ;  this  was  the  effect  of  her 
watchfulness  to  preserve  the  treasure  of 
her  purity.  She  was  also  ready  to  renounce 
the  dignity  of  divine  maternity  rather  than 
cease  to  be  a  virgin,  and  thus  it  was  that 
God  felt  induced  to  descend  into  her  in 
order  that  the  Word  should  be  made  flesh  : 
Verbum  caro  factum  est. 


You  see  from  this  what  care  we  should 
ever  take  to  preserve  our  bodies  from  any 
stain  of  impurity. 

Le   PfeRE   BOURDALOUE. 

Imagine  what  it  is  to  be  a  Son  of  God, 
and  you  can  have  some  idea  what  it  is  to 
be  His  mother;  the  excellence  of  the  one 
will  make  you  understand  the  excellence  of 
the  other. 

St.  Gregory. 
On  First  Book  of  Kings. 


ISITATION. 


PfeREs  DU  Jarry  and  d'Argentam. 
"  Whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother  of  my  Lord  should  come  to  me  ?  " —  Luke  i.  43. 


,  T.  AMBROSE  says  that  in  this 
mystery  there  are  two  visits  to 
be  thought  of  —  that  of  Jesus 
to  St.  John,  and  that  of  Mary 
to  St.  Elizabeth.  St.  John  was 
in  need  of  Jesus,  and  Elizabeth 
wanted  Mary. 

But  how  could  these  two  children  meet, 
enclosed,  as  they  both  were,  in  their 
mothers*  wombs?  How  could  two  preg- 
nant women,  separated  as  they  were  from 
each  other  by  a  road  almost  inaccessible 
—  how  could  they  see  each  other  during 
a  season  so  rigorous  } 

You  know  it  well,  my  brethren.  Jesus 
secretly  instils  into  the  heart  of  Mary  a 
wish  to  visit  her  cousin  Elizabeth — the 
greatness  of  her  new  dignity,  a  long, 
fatiguing  journey  delays  her  not  —  the 
precious  burden  she  begins  to  carry  reliev- 
ing, as  says  St.  Augustine,  instead  of 
incommoding  her.  Supported  by  this 
secret  movement  of  grace  which  helps  her 
on,  she  surmounts  every  obstacle,  and  at 
length  arrives  at  the  house  of  Zachary. 

The  presence  of  Jesus  causes  John  to 
leap  for  joy   in  his   mother's  womb,  and 

112 


Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
at  the  sight  of  Mary. 

Mary's  joy,  humility,  and  gratitude  shone 
forth  in  a  manner  quite  divine,  in  that 
wonderful  canticle  she  gave  in  answer  to  the 
blessings  of  Elizabeth.  What  mysteries, 
what  instructions,  are  included  in  this  our 
Gospel  history  ! 

St.  Ambrose  was  in  ecstasy  when  he 
meditated  on  this  celebrated  visit,  signal- 
ized as  it  was  by  so  many  mysteries,  proph- 
ecies, and  wonders.  This  holy  bishop 
seems  to  display  all  his  charming  elo- 
quence in  describing  what  took  place  at 
the  interview  of  those  illustrious  mothers, 
one  of  which  gave  birth  to  the  greatest 
among  the  children  of  men,  and  the  other 
to  a  God  made  man  for  the  salvation  of 
all.  Elizabeth,  says  this  Father,  is  the  first 
to  hear  the  voice  of  Mary,  but  John,  even 
before  that,  is  sensible  of  the  grace  of 
Jesus — the  one  rejoices  at  the  Blessed 
Virgin's  visit,  the  other  leaps  for  joy  at 
the  visit  of  his  Saviour. 

The  two  mothers  proclaim  aloud  the 
marvels  of  divine  grace,  and  the  two  chil- 
dren feel  or  produce  the  workings  of  the 


THE    VISITATION. 


113 


said  grace.    Jesus    Christ   fills   St.  John 

with  the  grace  attached  to  the  ministry  of 

the  Precursor,   and   St.   John   anticipates 

its     functions     in    a  wondrous    manner ; 

Elizabeth  and  Mary,  interiorly  animated  by 

the  spirit  of  their  children,  extract  from 

their  interview   a   series    of    oracles   and 

prophecies. 

L'Abb]£  du  Jarry. 

On  the  Visitation. 

\  Ponder  on  the  words  which  St.  Elizabeth 
utters,  and  judge  from  them  how  the  Holy 
Spirit  must  have  moved  her.  She  seems, 
as  it  were,  to  shout  with  rapture,  Unde  hoc 
mihi,  ut  veniat  mater  Domini  mei  ad  me? 
{Luke  i.  43) — Whence  is  this  to  me,  that 
the  mother  of  my  Lord  should  come  to 
me  "i  I  am  only  the  mother  of  the  servant 
and  behold,  the  mother  of  the  Almighty 
Monarch  comes  to  visit  me !  O  charity 
unequalled !  profound  humility  of  the 
mother  and  her  Son  to  visit  me,  their 
unworthy  servant !  Oh !  happy,  happy 
house,  which  is  so  filled  with  such  precious 
favors  from  heaven,  in  which  the  Saviour 
of  mankind  pays  His  first  visit  on  earth, 
and  that,  too,  through  the  hands  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  Whence  is  this  to  me  ? 
O  adorable  Providence,  which  has  so  gra- 
ciously given  me  this  happiness  1 


I  have  often  remarked  that  one  of  her 
best  precautions  was  to  prepare  for  the 
reception  of  this  abundance  of  grace,  by 
making  a  long  retreat  of  five  months,  thus 
hiding  herself  from  the  turmoil  of  the 
world.  The  Evangelist  would  not  have 
mentioned  this  without  a  purpose,  for  we 
read  in  the  first  chapter  of  St.  Luke : 
"  And  after  those  days  Elizabeth,  his 
wife,  conceived,  and  hid  herself  five 
months." 

If  that  great  saint  had  been  distracted 
with  the  cares  of  the  world,  if  she  had  not 
been  in  her  house,  when  the  Son  of  God, 
within  the  pure  body  of  His  holy  Mother, 
came  to  honor  her  with  a  visit,  she  would, 
perhaps,  have  been  deprived  of  all  His 
favors ;  but  she  received  graces  in  abund- 
ance, because  God  found  her  praying  in 
solitude. 

Happy  is  the  soul  who  loves  to  be  in 
retreat,  thus  flying  from  the  noise  and 
bustle  of  the  world. 

It  is  while  she  is  in  retreat  that  God 
visits  her,  and  that  she  rejoices  in  God : 
"  I  will  allure  her  and  will  lead  her  into 
the  wilderness,  and  I  will  speak  to  her 
heart "  {Osee  ii.  14). 

Lk  P±re  d'Argentan. 
C^n/^rence. 


BoURDALOUE  and  Father  Faber. 

"  And  after  the  days  of  her  purification,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses,  were  accomplished,  they 
carried  him  to  Jerusalem,  to  present  him  to  the  Lord."  —  Luke  ii.  22. 


'ARY,  in  obedience  to  the  law 
of  Moses,  sacrifices  even  her 
own  honor,  since  by  the  Puri- 
fication she  appears  in  the  same 
condition  as  that  of  other 
women.  Thus  the  brightness 
of  her  virginity  was  obscured ;  of  that 
virginity,  of  which  she  was  so  jealous  in 
the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation;  of  that 
virginity,  whose  glory  is  to  shine  outwardly 
and  not  show  the  least  stain.  She  con- 
sents to  risk  her  reputation  and  her  name, 
and  of  all  the  humiliations  that  one,  I  dare 
to  say,  was  the  most  difficult  to  bear  —  to 
be  pure  as  the  sun  before  God,  and  to 
appear  impure  before  the  eyes  of  men. 
Such  is,  nevertheless,  the  sacrifice  this 
most  holy  of  virgins  makes. 

Now  this  law  of  God,  my  brethren,  does 
not  compel  us  to  do  anything  so  humili- 
ating. It  wishes  that  we  should  appear 
as  we  are ;  that  being  essentially  sub- 
missive to  the  supreme  control  of  God, 
we  should  not  blush  at  duties  which  His 
/aw  requires  and  at  services  which  we  are 

114 


bound  to  perform ;  especially,  being  im- 
pure sinners,  we  should  not  be  ashamed  to 
perform  practices  of  penance  which  are  to 
cleanse,  to  reconcile  us  with  God,  and  help 
us  to  pay  off  the  debt  of  His  divine  justice. 

But  what  do  we  do  .-*  By  a  strange 
reversing,  we  wish  to  be  sinners,  and  yet 
appear  to  be  good.  Mary  gives  up  all 
desire  of  outside  show  provided  she  is 
assured  that  the  treasure  of  her  virginity 
is  preserved,  and  we,  often  even  in  the 
most  trifling  things,  are  but  too  anxious 
to  keep  up  appearances. 

Consider  the  many  virtues  she  practises 
in  this  mystery ;  she  hides  her  glory,  not 
wishing  to  appear  what  she  is ;  she 
emblazons  her  humility,  by  appearing  what 
she  is  not. 

She  is  Mother  of  God,  and  she  appears 
only  as  the  mother  of  a  man  ;  she  comes 
to  be  purified  in  company  with  other 
mothers,  although  she  is  the  purest  of 
virgins.  Dispensed  from  this  humiliating 
law,  she  nevertheless  carries  it  out  to  the 
very  letter. 


THE  PURIFICATION. 


115 


However  dear  that  adorable  Son  may 
be,  she  offers  Him  up  for  us,  even  unto 
death,  by  presenting  Him  to  the  Eternal 
Father,  as  a  propitiatory  victim.  It  costs 
her  much  to  hear  the  saddest  and  most 
heartrending  prediction  made  on  Him, 
and  with  what  resignation  did  she  not 
consent  ?  O  Lord,  how  conformed  is  the 
spirit  of  the  Mother  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Son,  and  how  both  are  different  from  ours. 
We  wish  to  appear  what  we  are  not ;  our 
pride  cannot  brook  the  idea  of  appearing 
as  we  are.  Luxury,  pomp,  ambition,  and 
vanity,  accompany  us  even  to  the  foot  of 
the  altar. 

We  are,  however,  charmed  with  the 
deep  humility  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
Shall  we  never  be  but  cold  and  indifferent 
admirers  of  the  sublimest  virtues  }  Does 
our  love  of  purity  inspire  us  with  a  great 
delicacy  of  conscience }  What  do  we  do 
to  acquire  and  cherish  so  necessary  and 
delicate  a  virtue.'  Only  those  who  are 
clean  of  heart  shall  see  God. 

BOURDALOUE. 

On  the  Purification. 

Mary  had  spent  twelve  years  of  her 
sinless  life  in  the  courts  of  the  Temple. 
It  was  there  that  she  had  outwardly  dedi- 
cated her  virginity  to  God,  which  she  had 
vowed  in  the  first  moment  of  her  Immacu- 
late Conception.  It  was  there  she  medi- 
tated over  the  ancient  Scriptures  and 
learned  the  secrets  of  the  Messias.  She 
was  coming  back  to  it  again,  still  virgin, 
yet,  mystery  of  grace !  a  mother  with  a 
child.     She  came  to  be  purified,  she  who 


was  purer  than  the  untrodden  snow  on 
Lebanon.  She  came  to  present  her  child 
to  God,  and  do  for  the  Creator  what  no 
creature  but  herself  could  do,  -^ive  Him  a 
gift  fully  equal  to  Himself. 

When  the  second  Temple  was  built,  the 
ancients  of  the  people  lifted  up  their 
voices  and  wept  because  its  glory  was  not 
equal  to  the  glory  of  the  first.  But  the 
first  Temple  had  never  seen  such  a  day 
as  that  which  was  now  dawning  on  the 
Temple  of  Herod.  The  glory  of  the  Holy 
of  Holies  was  but  a  symbol  of  the  real 
glory  which  Mary  was  now  bearing  thither- 
ward in  her  arms.  But  she  had  two  offer- 
ings with  her.  She  bore  one  and  Joseph 
the  other.  She  bore  her  child,  and  he  the 
pair  of  turtle-doves,  or  two  young  pigeons, 
for  her  purification.  Many  saw  them  pass. 
But  there  was  nothing  singular  in  them, 
nothing  especially  attractive  to  the  eyes 
of  the  beholders.  So  it  always  is  where 
God  is.  Now  that  He  is  visible.  He  is,  in 
truth,  except  to  faith  and  love,  just  as 
invisible  as  He  tver  was. 

Mary  made  her  offerings  and  "  per- 
formed all  things  according  to  the  law  of 
the  Lord."  For  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  was 
a  spirit  of  obedience ;  and,  although  the 
brightness  of  angelic  innocence  was  dull 
beside  the  whiteness  of  her  purity,  she 
obeyed  the  law  of  God  in  the  ceremony 
of  her  purification,  the  more  readily  as  it 
was  a  concealment  of  her  graces.  But  she 
bore  also  in  her  arms  her  true  turtle-dove, 
to  do  for  Him  likewise  "  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  law." 


ii6 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINT},,  ETC. 


She  placed  Him  in  the  arms  of  the  aged 
priest  Simeon,  as  she  has  done  since  in 
vision  to  so  many  of  the  saints,  and  the 
full  light  broke  on  Simeon's  soul.  Weak 
with  age,  he  threw  his  arms  around  his 
God.  He  bore  the  whole  weight  of  the 
Creator  and  yet  stood  upright.  The  sight 
of  that  infant  face  was  nothing  less  than 
the  glory  of  heaven.  The  Holy  Ghost  had 
kept  His  promise.  Simeon  had  seen,  nay, 
was  at  that  moment  handling,  "  the  Lord's 
Christ." 

O  blessed  priest !  worn  down  with  age, 
tvearied  with  thy  long  years  of  waiting 


for  the  "  Consolation  of  Israel,"  kept  alive 
in  days  which  were  out  of  harmony  with 
thy  spirit,  even  as  St.  John  the  Evangelist 
was  after  thee,  surely  He  who  made  thee, 
He  who  is  so  soon  to  judge  thee,  He 
whom  thou  art  folding  so  proudly  in  thine 
arms,  must  have  sent  the  strength  of  His 
omnipotence  into  thy  heart,  else  thou 
wouldst  never  have  been  able  to  stand  the 
flood  of  strong  gladness  which  at  that 
moment  broke  in  upon  thy  spirit. 

Father  Faber  (Orat) 
Foot  of  the  Cross. 


From  an  excellent  work  entitled  "  Essais  de  Strmons^'' 
and  Father  Faber. 


"  And  thy  own  soul  a  sword  shall  pierce."  —  Luke  ii.  35. 


'F  we  sincerely  wish  to  be  really 
and  truly  the  children  of  Mary, 
we  cannot  do  better  than  try 
to  imitate  our  Mother.  Let 
us  ascend  to  Calvary,  let  us 
constantly  remain  with  her  at 
the  foot  of  the  cross,  let  us  share  with  her 
in  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and  let  us 
impress  on  our  hearts  the  image  of  the 
Crucified  One. 

If  St.  John  had  not  ascended  Mount 
Calvary  the  Saviour  would  not  have  given 
Mary  to  us  in  so  marked  a  manner.  We 
cannot  hope  to  be  fervent  children  of  Mary 
if  we  are  not  to  be  found  with  her  on 
Mount  Calvary.  It  is  there  that  she  has 
adopted  us  —  it  is  there  only  that  she  will 
acknowledge  that  we  are  her  children. 

You  deceived  yourself,  O  great  apostle, 
when  you  said  on  Mount  Thabor  that  you 
wished  to  be  always  there, —  Bojium  est 
hie  esse  {Luke  ix.  33) — It  is  good  to  be 
here.  You  did  not  know  then  that  the 
dory  of  Thabor  is  reserved  for  a  happy 
eternity,  and  that  Calvary  is  the  sole 
inheritance  of  God's  children  on  earth. 

IIT 


It  is  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  that  Mary 
can  say,  "  Look,  and  make  it  according  to 
the  pattern  that  was  shown  thee  in  the 
mount"  {Exodus  xxv.  40).  If  you  wish  to 
be  my  children,  imitate  the  example  that  I 
give  you.  Be  firm  and  constant  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross  ;  and  know  that  if  you 
keep  away  or  stand  aloof,  you  can  neither 
be  children  of  God  nor  a  child  of  Mary. 

If  we  simply  were  compelled  to  com- 
passionate our  dying  Saviour,  we  should 
find  many  a  tender-hearted  Christian  who 
would  be  easily  led  to  practices  of  piety. 
But  it  is  not  merely  a  question  of  compas- 
sion ;  we  must  not  endeavor  to  imitate,  we 
must  be  crucified  with  Jesus  Christ.  If 
Mary  does  not  see  within  us  the  likeness 
of  her  dear  crucified  Son,  she  will  not 
acknowledge  us  as  her  children  :  "  For 
whom  He  foreknew,  He  also  predestinated 
to  be  made  conformable  to  the  image  of 
His  Son  "  {Romans  viii.  29). 

If  that  be  true,  can  we  believe  that  we 
are  children  of  Mary  }  Alas  !  very  far  from 
being  on  Calvary  and  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
we  are  at  the  feet  of  earthly  idols  to  whom 


ii8 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


we  offer  a  continual  sacrifice ;  and,  far 
from  being  an  image  of  Jesus  crucified,  we 
are  more  like  to  the  evil  one. 

Ah,  holy  Virgin !  since  you  have  suffered 
so  much  to  be  our  Mother,  obtain  for  us 
favors  from  your  Son,  so  that  He  may 
make  us  worthy  to  be  your  children  ;  and, 
after  having  accompanied  and  imitated  you 
oa  Calvary,  we  may,  through  your  power- 
ful intercession,  be  found  worthy  to  reign 
with  you  in  heaven. 

From  the  '■'■  Essais  de  Sermons.''^ 
Car^me. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  about 
our  Lady's  dolours  is  their  immensity,  not 
in  its  literal  meaning,  but  in  the  sense 
which  we  commonly  use  with  reference  to 
created  things.  It  is  to  her  sorrows  that 
the  Church  applies  those  words  of 
Jeremias  :  "  O  all  ye  that  pass  by  the  way, 
attend  and  see.if  there  be  any  sorrow  like 
to  my  sorrow.  To  what  shall  I  compare 
thee,  and  to  what  shall  I  liken  thee,  O 
daughter  of  Jerusalem  ?  To  what  shall 
I  equal  thee,  that  I  may  comfort  thee,  O 
virgin  daughter  of  Sion  }  for  great  as  the 
sea  is  thy  broken-heartedness  :  who  shall 
heal  thee  ?  " 

Mary's  love  is  spoken  of  as  that  which 
many  waters  could  not  quench.  In  like 
manner,  the  saints  and  doctors  of  the 
Church  have  spoken  of  the  greatness  of 
her  sorrows.  St.  Anselm  says,  whatever 
cruelty  was  exercised  upon  the  bodies  of 
the  martyrs  was  light,  or  rather  it  was  as 
nothing,  compared  to  the  cruelty  of  Mary's 
passion.       St.     Bernardin   of  Siena   says. 


that  so  great  was  the  dolour  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  that  if  it  was  subdivided 
and  parcelled  out  among  all  creatures 
capable  of  suffering,  they  would  perish 
instantly.  An  angel  revealed  to  St. 
Bridget,  that  if  our  Lord  had  not  miracu- 
lously supported  His  mother,  it  would  not 
have  been  possible  for  her  to  live  through 
her  martyrdom. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  similar 
passages,  both  from  the  revelations  of  the 
saints  and  the  writings  of  the  doctors  of 
the  Church. 

Where  is  Mary  to  look  with  her  soul's 
eye,  for  consolation  }  Nay,  her  soul's  eye 
must  look  where  her  body's  eye  is  fixad 
already.  It  is  bent  on  Jesus,  and  it  is  tha^ 
very  sight  which  is  her  torture.  She  sees 
His  Human  Nature,  and  she  is  the  Mother, 
the  Mother  beyond  all  other  mothers, 
loving  as  never  mother  loved  before,  as 
all  mothers  together  could  not  love,  if  they 
might  compact  their  myriad  loves  into  one 
intensest  nameless  act. 

He  is  her  Son,  and  such  a  Son,  and  in 
so  marvellous  a  way  her  Son.  He  is  her 
treasure  and  her  all.  What  a  fund  of 
misery  —  keen,  quick,  deadly,  unequalled 
—  was  there  in  that  sight  !  And  yet 
there  was  far  more  than  that.  There  was 
His  Divine  Nature. 

Yes  !  He  is  God.  She  saw  that,  through 
the  darkness  of  the  eclipse.  But  then  the 
blood,  the  spittings,  the  earth  stains,  the 
irnseemly  scars,  the  livid,  many-colored 
bruises,  what  did  all  that  mean  on  a 
Person  only   and  eternally  divme  ?     It  is 


THE  SEVEN  DOLOURS  OF  BLESSED    VIRGIN  MARY. 


119 


vain  to  think  of  giving  a  name  to  such 
misery  as  then  flooded  her  soul.  Jesus, 
the  joy  of  the  martyrs,  is  the  executioner 
of  His  Mother.  Twice  over,  to  say  the 
least,  if  not  a  third  time  also,  did  He 
crucify  her,  once  by  His  Human  Nature, 
once  by  His  Divine,  if  indeed  body  and 
soul  did  not  make  two  crucifixions  from 
the  Human  Nature  only.  No  martyrdom 
was  ever  like  to  this.  No  given  number 
of  martyrdoms  approach  to  a  comparison 
with  it. 


It  is  a  sum  of  sorrow  which  material 
units,  ever  so  many  added  together,  ever 
so  often  multiplied,  do  not  go  to  form.  It 
is  a  question  of  kind  as  well  as  of  degree ; 
and  hers  was  a  kind  of  sorrow  which  has 
only  certain  affinities  to  any  other  kinds  oi 
sorrow,  and  is  simply  without  a  name, 
except  the  name  which  the  simple  children 
of  the  Church  call  it  by  —  the  Dolours  of 
Mary. 

Father  Faber.  (Orat) 
Foot  of  the  Cross. 


A 
1 


r 


-^^^.■Mf^^ 


>   CHAPTER  XLIV.    < 


MW 


On  IshB  J^^^nmplsion  of  oup  Ble^^ed  Ladg. 


# 


#      # 


Le    PfeRE    NOUET. 


"  Who  is  she  that  cometh  forth  as  the  morning  rising,  fair  as  the  moon,  bright  as  the  sun  ?  " 

—  Canticle  vi.  9. 

Extracts  from  P^re  Nouet's  "  Vie  de Jesus  dans  les  Saints" 


HE  Holy  Ghost  had  enkindled 
so  ardent  a  flame  in  the  heart 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  that  it 
was  really  a  continuous  mira- 
cle that  she  sustained  so 
impetuous  a  heavenly  fire  with- 
out dying,  and  this  repeatedly  burst  forth 
from  her  breast.  For  if  St.  Ephrem  cried 
out  in  his  desert  cell,  and  placed  his  hands 
over  his  heart  lest  it  should  burst  and 
split ;  if  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  thought  that 
he  would  die  of  joy  when  he  heard  an 
angel  sing  a  strain  of  the  celestial  choir ; 
if  St.  Francis  Xavier,  laying  bare  his 
bosom  to  breathe  more  freely,  and  looking 
up  to  heaven,  beseeched  his  merciful  Lord 
and  Master  to  be  sparing  of  His  favors, 
and  to  remind  Him  that  a  human  heart 
could  not  endure  such  a  flood  of  consoling 
light ;  what  must  our  Blessed  Lady  have 
felt,  she  who  received  more  than  all  the 
saints  put  together }  How  was  it  that  she 
did  not  expire  at  every  moment  >  How 
was  It  that  she  was  not  consumed  with  the 

120 


flames  of  love  divine,  more  especially  as 
the  Son  of  God,  who  is  love  itself,  had 
willed  and  chosen  to  dwell  for  nine  long 
months  in  her  virginal  womb.?  Cannot 
we  say,  with  St.  Bernard,  that  her  chaste 
interior  was  laden  with  love,  that  she  had 
neither  heart  nor  life,  if  we  be  allowed  to 
say  so ;  but  that  love  was  her  heart,  and  to 
live  for  God  and  love  Him  too,  was  one 
and  the  same  thing  ? 

The  life  of  the  Seraphim  consists  in  see- 
ing God,  in  loving  Him  always,  in  enjoy- 
ing an  eternity  of  bliss  ;  and,  as  St.  Gregory 
observes,  wherever  they  go,  they  never  go 
out  of  God — they  fly  in  the  bosom  of  His 
immensity,  they  dwell  in  His  heart,  they 
exercise  their  divine  functions  in  the  sanc- 
tuary of  His  divinity. 

This  was  then  veritably  the  life  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  ;  she  shared  the  rank  of  the 
blessed  in  heaven,  far,  far  above  the  state 
of  mortals  who  lived  on  earth ;  her  heart 
was  ever  near  to  God,  and  God  was  always 
in  her  heart ;  her  sleep  was  one  continual 


THE  ASSUMPTION  OF  OUR  BLESSED   LADY. 


121 


dream  of  love,  and  she  could  say  with  the 
spouse  in  the  Canticle :  "  I  sleep  and  my 
heart  watcheth  "  {chap.  v.  2). 

Doubtless  the  death  of  Mary  was  a 
greater  miracle,  for  to  what  can  we  attrib- 
ute the  cause  ?  Who  can  tell  the  cause  of 
so  wonderful  a  death  ?  Can  we  attribute 
the  cause  to  sin  ?  Oh,  no ;  she  is  inno- 
cence itself ;  her  conception  is  immaculate, 
her  birth  was  stainless,  her  life  without 
reproach  ;  and  never  having  been  a  slave 
of  sin,  she  needed  not  to  pay  the  debt  of 
nature.  To  sickness  ?  No ;  she  was 
never  ill,  and  her  body  was  exempt  from 
the  gradual  decay  of  nature.  To  agony  ? 
No  ;  death  would  appear  to  be  too  welcome 
to  be  painful.  Is  it  to  the  shafts  of  divine 
love  ?  But  love  was  the  mainstay  of  her 
life ;  how  could  it  have  caused  her  death  ? 
To  her  Son's  cross  ?  But  if  she  was  to 
die,  why  did  she  not  die  on  Calvary  ? 

It  is  certain  that  never  a  mother  loved 
her  son  so  much,  because  no  mother  had  a 
son  who  was  hers  alone — no  mother  had  a 
son  so  loving,  so  perfect ;  there  never  was 
a  mother  who  had  a  heart  so  inflamed 
with  the  fire  of  divine  love.  Many  a  time 
and  oft,  many  mothers  have  died  either 
with  grief  at  seeing  their  children  die,  or 
with  fear  at  seeing  them  on  the  point  of 
dying. 

How  was  it,  then,  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin  did  not  die  at  the  death  of  her 
Son,  she  who  loved  Him  so,  she  who  saw 
Him  suffer  such  a  cruel  death  "i  You  will 
tell  me,  with  St.  Bernardin,  that  to  live 
without   Hitn  was   a   greater  martyrdom 


than  dying  with  Him  ;  because,  in  dying 
with  Him,  she  would  have  been  martyred 
only  once,  but  in  surviving  Him  every 
moment  of  her  life  was  simply  a  tor- 
ture. 

What  wonder,  then,  that  her  life  was  a 
species  of  death,  and  that  death,  thus 
reversing  the  order  of  nature,  was  a 
renewal  of  her  life  "i 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  describe 
the  excess  of  glory  and  the  sublimity  of 
the  ever  Blessed  Virgin's  throne.  We 
need  not  be  astonished,  as  Arnold  de 
Chartres  remarks,  because  her  glory 
exceeds  that,  of  all  others.  She  has  a 
rank  of  her  own ;  her  pedestal  is  raised 
considerably  higher  than  that  of  the 
angels ;  the  glory  she  possesses  is  not 
solely  a  glory  like  unto  that  of  the  Word 
Incarnate,  it  is  in  a  certain  way  similar  : 
Gloriatn  cum  mat  re,  non  tarn  communetn 
jiidico  quam.  eamden. 

O  King  of  glory,  it  is  certain  that  mag- 
nificence and  grandeur  are  inherent  to 
Your  holy  habitation ;  You  have  given 
striking  proofs  of  this  on  the  feast  of  the 
Assumption  of  Your  holy  Mother.  You 
have  crowned  her  Queen  of  all  saints ; 
there  is  no  one  but  the  King  who  precedes 
her.  She  is  so  glorious  that  one  would 
say  that  it  is  the  glory  of  God  itself,  or 
rather  that  God  had  her  with  His  own 
glory.  She  is  so  great  and  powerful  near 
You  that  she  herself  cannot  fathom  the 
extent  of  her  power. 

Le  PiRE  NOUET,  S.J- 


CHAPTER     XLV. 


^^    0FI  t^^  '^^^  Rosary.    ^ 


i^ 


Father  Faber  and  P^re  Nicholas  de  Dijon. 

"  It  is  better,  therefore,  that  two  should  be  together  than  one,  for  they  have  the  advantage  of  their 
society." —  Ecclesiastes  iv.  9. 


CANNOT  conceive  a  man  being 
spiritual  who  does  not  habitu- 
ally say  the  Rosary.  It  may 
be  called  the  queen  of  indul- 
genced  devotions.  First,  con- 
sider its  importance  as  a 
specially  Catholic  devotion,  as  so  pecul- 
iarly giving  us  a  Catholic  turn  of  mind 
by  keeping  Jesus  and  Mary  perpetually 
before  us,  and  as  a  singular  help  to  final 
perseverance,  if  we  continue  the  recital  of 
it,  as  various  revelations  show. 

Next  consider  its  institution,  by  St. 
Dominic  in  12 14,  by  revelation,  for  the 
purpose  of  combating  heresy,  and  the 
success  which  attended  it.  Its  matter  and 
form  are  no  less  striking.  Its  matter 
consists  of  the  Pater,  the  Ave,  and  the 
Gloria,  whose  authors  are  our  Blessed 
Lord  himself,  St.  Gabriel,  St.  Elizabeth, 
the  Council  of  Ephesus,  and  the  whole 
Church,  led  in  the  West  by  St.  Damasus, 
Its  form  is  a  complete  abridgement  of  the 
Gospel,  consisting  of  fifteen  mysteries  in 
decades,  expressing  the  three  great  phases 
of  the  work  of  redemption,  —  joy,  sorrow, 

12s 


and  glory.  Its  peculiarity  is  the  next 
attractive  feature  about  it.  It  unites 
mental  with  vocal  prayer.  It  is  a  devo- 
tional compendium  of  theology.  It  is  an 
efficacious  practice  of  the  presence  of  God. 
It  is  one  chief  channel  of  the  conditions  of 
the  Incarnation  among  the  faithful.  It 
shows  the  true  nature  of  devotion  to  our 
Blessed  Lady ;  and  is  a  means  of  realizing 
the  communion  of  saints. 

Its  ends  are  the  love  of  Jesus,  repara- 
tion to  the  Sacred  Humanity  for  the 
outrages  of  heresy,  and  a  continual 
affectionate  thanksgiving  to  the  most 
Holy  Trinity,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Incar- 
nation. 

It  is  sanctioned  by  the  Church,  by 
miracles,  by  indulgences,  by  the  conversion 
of  sinners,  and  by  the  usage  of  the  saints. 
See,  also,  how  much  the  method  of  reciting 
it  involves.  We  should  first  make  a 
picture  ot  the  mystery,  and  always  put 
our  Blessed  Lady  into  the  picture ;  for 
the  Rosary  is  hers.  We  should  couDI^ 
some  duty  or  virtue  with  each  mysterji, 
and  fix  beforehand  on  some  soul  in  pur- 


THE  HOLY  ROSARY, 


123 


gatory,  to  whom  to  apply   the  vast  indul- 
gences. 

Meanwhile,  we  must  not  strain  our 
minds,  or  be  scrupulous  ;  for  to  say  the 
Rosary  well,  is  quite  a  thing  which 
requires  learning.  Remember  always,  as 
the  Raccolta  teaches,  that  the  fifteenth 
is  the  coronation  of  Mary,  and  not  merely 
the  glory  of  the  saints. 

Father  Faber.  (  Orat. ) 
Growth  in  Holiness. 

The  first  founders  of  the  Holy  Rosary, 
filled  with  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  all  on  fire  with  divine  love,  made 
their  appearance  as  new  apostles  ready  to 
sacrifice  their  lives  and  shed  their  blood 
for  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  honor 
of  the  Church,  and  for  the  defence  of 
their  faith. 

It  is  a  truth  which  is  easy  of  proof  by  a 
fact  perhaps  the  most  memorable  that 
may  have  happened  in  France  since  God 
was  therein  known.  The  spirit  of  heresy, 
which  is  inseparable  from  the  spirit  of 
rebellion,  had  spread  far  and  wide  among 
the  Albigenses.  These  heretics,  not 
being  able  to  defend  themselves  by  argu- 
ment or  by  Holy  Scripture,  resolved  to 
support  their  errors  by  fire  and  sword. 
The  king  of  Arragon,  the  Counts  of 
Toulouse  and  Armagnac,  many  other 
sovereigns  and  great  lords  increased  this 
party,  and,  uniting  their  forces,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  collecting  a  force  of  one  hundred 
thousand  men.  Terror  spreads  around, 
and  the  storm  equally   threatens   religion 


and  the  state :  success  must  be  decided, 
on  one  side  or  the  other. 

Who  will  dare  to  oppose  this  tonent  } 
Who  will  disperse  the  tempest.'  Fear 
not ;  the  God  of  armies,  who  formerly 
sent  Simon  Machabee  to  protect  the  Jews 
and  to  save  the  synagogue,  raised  up  Simon 
de  Montfort,  the  Machabee  of  France,  for 
the  protection  of  the  Church  and  the 
Catholics. 

The  ever  blessed  Virgin,  on  the  other 
hand,  giving  the  Rosary  to  St.  Dom- 
inic, repeated  these  consoling  words : 
"Take  this  holy  sword,  a  gift  from  God, 
wherewith  thou  shalt  overthrow  the  adver- 
saries of  my  people"  ( 2  Machahccs  xv.  16), 

This  promise  was  not  fruitless ;  this 
Rosary  was  like  Gideon's  sword,  which, 
under  the  form  of  blades  of  barley,  caused 
such  havoc  in  the  camp  of  the  Midianites. 
In  fact,  it  may  be  said,  that  if  this  immense 
heretical  army  was  overthrown  and  cut 
to  pieces,  it  was  owing  more  to  the 
efficacy  of  the  Rosary  than  to  the  power 
of  the  crusade.  The  Count  de  Montfort's 
army  was  strong  in  numbers,  but  the 
piety  of  his  soldiers,  and  the  help  they 
received  from  above,  made  them  as  brave 
as  lions.  He  did  what  Judas  Machabeus 
did :  "  He  armed  every  one  of  them,  not 
with  defence  of  shield  and  spear,  but  with 
very  good  speeches  and  exhortations " 
(2  Machabees  xv.  11).  He  armed  them 
with  the  Rosary  too,  and  at  once  gave 
the  signal  to  charge.  Invoking  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  they  fearlessly  attacked  the 
enemy  ;  with  prayers  on  their  lips,  con- 
fident of  victory,  and  sword  in  hand,  they 


124 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS.  ETC. 


overthrew  the  enemy's  squadrons  one  after 
the  other,  galloped  over  the  bodies  of  the 
slain,  and  gained  one  of  the  most  famous 
of  victories  —  a  victory  which  saved  the 
kingdom,  and  was  the  triumph  of  religion. 
O  Holy  Virgin,  the  Church  is  indeed  in 
the  right  to  sing  your  praises  :  Cunctas 
Jiareses  sola  interemisti  in  universo  mundo, 
—  that  it  is  to  you  alone  that  we  can 
attribute  the  defeat  of  every  heresy. 

The  Rosary  is  the  most  powerful,  at  the 
same  time  the  most  efHcacious,  of  daily 


devotions,  since  all  kinds  of  favors  are 
granted  to  those  who  recite  it  devoutly 
and  regularly.  If  you  wish  to  know  what 
particular  graces  we  obtain  therefrom,  the 
following  are  those  which  the  Blessed 
Alain  de  la  Roche  learned  from  the 
Blessed  Virgin  herself :  Sanctitas  vitce, 
morum  honestas,  vtundi  contetnptus,  domo- 
rum  disciplina,  —  Holiness  of  life,  integ- 
rity of  purpose,  contempt  of  the  world, 
and  peace  of  Christian  homes. 

Le  PfeRE  Nicolas  de  Dijon. 
Oh  the  Rosary. 


On  onJ  LadJ  of  Mount  CaMel. 


Le   PfeRE  DE   LA   COLOMBlfeRE,   S.  J. 

"  All  her  domestics  are  clothed  with  double  garments."  —  Proverbs  xxxi.  21. 


KNOW  full  well  that  we  have 
within  ourselves  certain  signs 
of  our  predestination,  never- 
theless they  are  but  conjec- 
tures which  tend  to  strengthen 
our  hope,  but  do  not  entirely 
dissipate  the  just  fears  which  God  wills 
that  we  should  have  when  we  think  of  His 
impenetrable  judgments.  No  one,  says 
St  Gregory,  so  long  as  he  remains  on 
earth,  can  positively  know  what  is  decreed 
in  heaven  as  to  his  predestination  or  as  to 
his  eternal  loss.  This  is  the  sad  condition 
in  which  we  live  here  below ;  we  are 
certain  of  soon  finishing  our  career  in  this 
place  of  exile,  without  really  knowing  if 
we  shall  ever  see  our  own  true  country. 
We  must  not  lose  sight  of  this  tuition 
if  we  wish  to  prevent  faults  into  which  we 
are  sure  to  fall  without  that. 

Our  dear  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  has 
placed  no  limits  to  our  hope  in  becoming 
her  children  ;  the  promise  she  has  made  of 
protecting  us  is  not  limited  by  any  con- 
dition ;  she  has  engaged  that  she  will  not 
suffer  us  to  be  unhappy  for  all  eternity, 
that  is  to  say,  she  gives  us  every  hope  of 

126 


our  salvation  that  we  can  possibly  have  in 
this  life  ;  she  promises  by  that,  that  if  we 
persevere  in  her  service,  we  shall  infallibly 
persevere  in  grace. 

But  what  do  you  say  of  so  magnificent 
a  promise  ?  Has  the  Blessed  Virgin 
explained  it  to  your  satisfaction,  or  do  you 
cherish  some  scruple  ?  When,  to  calm 
the  anxiety  which  the  uncertainty  of  your 
salvation  causes  you,  you  would  have  dic- 
tated to  our  Blessed  Lady  the  promises 
she  has  made,  could  you  have  chosen  more 
formal  promises  ? 

The  holy  Fathers,  when  they  have 
spoken  in  general  terms  of  the  power  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  have  made  use  of 
expressions  quite  as  strong  and  quite  as 
favorable.  St.  Bonaventura  does  not  give 
any  other  limit  to  the  power  of  Mary  than 
to  the  almighty  power  of  God.  St. 
Antoninus  assures  us  that  God  does  not 
make  a  favor  when  He  listens  to  her 
prayers,  but  He  grants  them  as  an  indis- 
pensable duty,  and  that  she  would  not 
know  what  it  is  to  be  refused.  St.  Anselm 
asserts  that  a  true  servant  of  Mary  cannot 
be  lost. 


126 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE   SAINTS,   ETC. 


Here  you  have  opinions  sufficiently 
capable  of  inducing  you  to  place  entire 
confidence  in  the  Mother  of  Mercy ;  but 
however  learned  and  holy  these  men  may 
have  been  who  have  given  us  these 
splendid  testimonials,  they  fall  short  of  the 
promises  our  Blessed  Lady  made  to  St. 
Simon  Stock,  and  of  these  I  am  about  to 
speak. 

They  teach  me  that  I  have  nothing  to 
fear  if  the  Blessed  Virgin  takes  an  interest 
in  me,  but  that  is  not  sufficient  to  appease 
my  uneasiness  ;  I  wish  to  know  if  she 
does  so  really. 

She  gives  me  here  manifest  and  visible 
proots.  It  depends  upon  myself  to  take 
it  in  its  right  sense.  She  has  attached  to 
this  scapular  her  protection,  for  she  says, 
"  He  who  is  clothed  with  this  habit  shall 
not  endure  everlasting  fire." 

I  am  not,  then,  astonished  that  at  the 
first  report  of  so  magnificent  a  promise. 
Christians  from  all  parts  flocked  to  the  holy 
community  of  Mount  Carmel,  to  whom  she 
had  intrusted  so  precious  a  treasure. 

Noblemen,  princes,  kings  even,  who  have 
as  much  to  fear  for  their  salvation  as  the 
commonest  of  men,  eagerly  desired  to 
participate  in  the  privileges  of  these  holy 
religious  —  they  whose  grandeurs  exposed 
them  daily  to  so  many  dangers. 

Le    PfeRE  DE   LA    COLOMBlfeRE. 

This  scapular  imposes  upon  all  members 
of  the  Confraternity  of  Mount  Carmel 
the  obligation  of  leading  a  pious  and  truly 
Christian  life,  by  renouncing  the  maxims 
of  the  world,  as  did  the   early  Christians 


when  they  received  the  Sacrament  of 
Baptism,  and  were  clothed  in  a  habit 
appropriate  for  the  ceremony. 

But  many  never  think  of  this,  and  to  this 
may  be  attributed  the  cause  of  their  not 
fulfilling  the  duties  of  their  profession.  We 
must,  from  time  to  time,  call  to  mind  our 
engagements,  in  order  to  fulfil  the  prom- 
ises we  made  when  we  received  the  habit. 

Once  upon  a  time  a  powerful  monarch, 
when  he  was  urged  to  perform  some  action 
unworthy  of  his  high  rank,  immediately 
displayed  his  regal  tunic  to  those  who  had 
solicited  him :  "  Should  I  be  worthy  to 
wear  this  purple  robe,"  said  he,  "  if  I  had 
soiled  it  by  even  a  single  cowardly  deed  ? 
Would  it  not  make  me  blush  every  day  of 
my  life,  if  I  had  dishonored  it  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  death  "i  Could  I 
ever  look  upon  it  without  feeling  an 
inward  reproach,  that  even  for  one  day  I 
was  unworthy  to  wear  it }  "  Then  rising 
up,  he  wrapped  his  mantle  around  him,  and 
said  that  he  would  prefer  to  die  gloriously, 
rather  than  lower  his  dignity  by  perform- 
ing  an  unworthy  action. 

This,  my  dear  brothers,  ought  to  be  our 
sentiment  when  we  wear  so  holy  a  habit ; 
it  ought  to  distinguish  us  from  men  of  the 
world ;  it  ought  to  put  us  on  our  guard. 
Does  this  habit  reproach  me  ?  Will  it  not 
make  me  blush  at  the  awful  judgment-seat 
of  God  }  This  would  be  our  case  if, 
after  the  promises  we  made,  we  should 
relax  and  fall.  Let  us,  then,  keep  up  the 
holiness  of  this  habit  by  an  exact  observ- 
anc,e  of  all  the  duties  of  our  state  of  life. 
Sermons  on  every  Subject. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


mmmmmm.M'M.M 


^ 


i^-'SJf!  -h/ 


(S' 


H    3^    M    3^^^    M:  1^  '.jfe    ji>    Si^   M    3^    3^ 

iiiiriTiTiTriTnnTrrriTiiiTrrnTm^ 


^T'l?- 


On  the  Holy  CatMc  and  Apostolic  Clinrcli. 


W:"M. ■'M:'M"'M:''M.  '"MyyW^W,:"'^ "K 


PfeRES  Texier  and  Flechier. 

"  Behold  I  am  with  you  at  all  times,  even  to  the  consummation  o£  the  world." 

—  Matthew  xxviii.  20. 


LAUDE  TEXIER  was  one  of  the 
many  distinguished  preachers  who 
lived  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIV.  of  France.  Born  in  Poitou 
during  the  year  1610,  he  entered 
the  Society  of  Jesus  at  the  early 
age  of  eighteen.  After  the  com- 
pletion of  his  noviceship,  and  after  teaching 
theology  and  rhetoric  for  five  years,  he  pro- 
nounced his  four  vows,  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  direction  of  consciences  and  to  the  study 
of  preaching.  He  subsequently  was  appointed 
Rector  of  the  Colleges  of  Limoges,  Poitiers, 
and  Bordeaux,  and  finally  became  Provincial 
of  Aquitaine.  He  delivered  the  Lenten  Dis- 
courses before  the  court  of  Louis  XIV. 
in  the  year  1661.  Of  the  many  works  he 
had  published  in  Paris  from  1675  to  1678, 
perhaps  none  will  be  more  interesting  to  the 
general  reader  than  his  "  Pandgyrique  des 
Saints,"  1678.  He  died  at  the  Jesuit  College 
in  Bordeaux  on  the  24th  of  April,  1687,  aged 
seventy-seven. 

The  Christians  of  the  primitive  Church 
enticed  the  pagans,  not  only  by  their 
generous  and  unconquerable  patience,  but 
also  by  the  holiness  of  their  lives ;  and  the 
heretics,  as  corrupt  in  their  manners   as 

ur 


they  were  in  their  belief,  were  the  cause 
that  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  was  blas- 
phemed among  the  Gentiles,  and  that  the 
light  and  brightness  of  the  Church  was 
blackened  by  an  infinity  of  calumnies. 

Read  ecclesiastical  history  and  you  will 
not  find  an  age  in  which  hell  has  not 
vomited  forth  some  new  heresy,  and  where 
the  devil  has  not  succeeded  in  seducing 
some  one  member  of  the  Church  to  arm 
and  fight  against  the  body.  You  will  see 
that  there  is  not  a  single  article  of  the 
Creed  which  has  not  been  assailed,  not  one 
article  of  faith  for  the  destruction  of  which 
the  devil  has  not  even  distorted  the  words 
of  Holy  Scripture  and  the  power  of  the 
Word  of  God. 

As  for  myself,  I  confess  that  nothing 
demonstrates  the  goodness  and  miraculous 
protection  of  Almighty  God  so  much  as 
the  preservation  and  augmentation  of  the 
Church  in  the  midst  of  heresies. 

A  vast  number  of  heresies  have  attacked 
the  Church,  a  thousand  storms  have  raged 


128 


HALF-HOURS    WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


jver  it,  but  in  the  midst  of  tempests-  this 
ship,  though  battered  by  many  rolling  bil- 
lows, has  not  been  shattered  or  engulfed. 
Truth  remains,  errors  pass  away.  All 
these  heresies,  aided  by  the  eloquence, 
doctrine,  and  subtlety  of  their  authors, 
supported  by  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
great  and  noble,  sustained  by  the  armies 
of  emperors,  have  passed  away,  or  are 
passing  away.  All  these  heresies  have 
made  much  noise,  and  by  the  impetuosity 
of  the  infected  waters,  have  carried  away 
all  those  who  were  not  strongly  bound  to 
the  Church.  They  have  floated  with  the 
stream,  as  says  St.  Jerome:  Feruntur 
hcereses  prono  eloqiientia  cursu  ;  quemcum- 
qjie  obviiim  et  levem  invenerint,  secum  tra- 
hunt :  sed,  tanquam  torrentes,  velociter 
transierunt. 

And  this  is  the  reason  —  they  are  the 
muddy  waters  that  have  for  their  source 
the  invention  of  man,  and  not  the  pure  and 
limpid  stream  that  comes  from  God,  who 
is  the  Fountain  and  Source  of  all  sanctity. 

If  the  apostles,  and  those  apostolic  men 
who  were  eminent  for  their  sanctity,  had 
not  been  the  instruments  of  Almighty 
God,  but  in  reality  the  authors  of  the 
Church,  the  Church  would  have  failed  when 
those  apostolic  men  were  no  more. 

Besides  —  for  we  need  not  dissemble  — 
how  many  times  has  it  not  been  seen  that 
those  who  held  the  places  of  apostles  were 
not  inheritors  of  their  virtues,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  lived  in  a  way  totally  opposed  to 
the  lives  of  saints } 

Their  faults,  nevertheless,  have  never 
introduced  error  in  the  doctrine  of  which 


they  were  the  depositaries  and  oracles, 
and  the  corruption  of  their  manners  have 
never  tarnished  the  faith  which  had  been 
intrusted  to  them. 

It  is  strange,  but  true,  that  in  all  sects 
the  doctrine  is  congenial  to  the  hearts  of 
those  who  taught  it.  It  is  not  thus  in 
the  Christian  religion.  We  must,  then, 
acknowledge  that  its  preservation  does 
not  depend  on  men  ;  but  there  is  a  secret 
and  divine  virtue  which  sustains  it  in 
sanctity,  and  which  causes  it  to  last,  in 
spite  of  the  continual  efforts  of  those  who 
conspire  its  destruction,  whether  it  be 
from  within  or  without. 

Rev.  Father  Texier. 

What  blindness  !  that  each  heretic  forms 
his  own  idea  of  religion  according  to  his 
own  private  judgment,  by  refusing  to 
subscribe  to  the  tenets  of  the  Church  • 
that  each  one  becomes  the  judge  and 
umpire  of  eternal  truths  ;  that  from  some 
particular  tenet  they  frame  a  form  of 
worship  and  introduce  ceremonies  to 
adore  the  God  Almighty  or  to  appease 
His  justice ;  that  they  undertake  to 
reform,  interpret,  and  reverse  the  precepts 
of  the  law  and  Christian  morals  which 
God  has  revealed  to  His  Church,  and 
which  the  inspired  writers  have  left  us ! 

Heretics  have  understood  this  anomaly, 
for,  after  having  refused  to  obey  the 
legitimate  successor  of  St.  Peter  (for 
whom  Jesus  Christ  has  prayed  that  his 
faith  might  not  fail),  they  have  been  com- 
pelled to  establish  heads  of  their  sects,  so 
that  they  may  see  in  their  congresses  and 


THE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  AND  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH. 


129 


synods  (which,  by  the  by,  they  hold  with- 
out any  right  or  without  any  old  estab- 
lished form)  the  same  power  they  cannot 
endure  to  see  in  the  Catholic  Church  ; 
and,  after  having  the  Augustinians,  the 


Ambrosians,  &c.,  they  recognize  the  rebes 
and  heresiarchs  as  their  masters  and 
interpreters  of  their  religions. 

Flechier. 
Life  of  Cardinal  Commendon. 


^f^  ^^  7^ 


•  ^^  ^^  ^^.  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  .^j^^^■  ^^  -^  .^^_  ^1^  ^^  .^fe.  ^j^  = 
^'"  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  •^^  ■^^  ^^  ^^  ^^  ^w  ^^  ^^  ^^^  '^^  ■^"  j'i' 


i  ^(^  ^^  ^1^  ■^W  ■?n^  ■^i^  "'f^  ■^i^  ■^'1^  "^1^  "^i^  "^1^  "^  '^^  'w"  " 


###;ii 


^^            4^             ^^              ^i             ^^             ^^ 

^^        ^W         ^^         "^        ^W         'W 

CHAPTER    XIvVIII.      I 

..i,.n.M.M.M.M.n.,..li..,.i..n.ii.n.i..ii.,,.ii.,,.ii.n.nln.l.lM.il.i..il.n.il....i..M.n.M.il.il.n.,,.i,.M.ii....n.H.i,.n.,i.M.M.M.n.M.,..i,.,i.H.,,.,i.,|.  ^. jj  | 

i.inaiiaMiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiaiiaiiaiiaiiaiiinaii 

,^^          ^:           ^^           ^:           :^          .^i^ 
"^^          ^P           ^'P^           ^!^           ^5^          ^^^ 

Le   PiRE  TeXIER. 


"  A  dispensation  is  committed  to  me."  —  i  Cor.  ix.  1 7. 


'T  must  be  now  or  never  that  we 
must  imitate  the  Apostle,  and 
accomplish  by  penitential 
works  what  is  wanting  in  the 
passion  of  our  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour. 

We  must  implore  of  God  the  remission 
and  indulgence  of  our  sins  by  offering 
satisfactions  proportionate  to  the  offence, 
as  says  St.  Cyprian  :  Deum  plenis  satis- 
factionibus  deprecamur. 

A  jubilee  is  an  indulgence  made  up  of 
the  precious  Blood,  tears,  fasts,  prayers, 
and  alms  of  a  penitent  sinner ;  these 
exhaust  the  vengeance  of  God's  justice  and 
extinguish  the  fire  df  His  anger.  Now, 
there  are  two  ways  of  satisfying  the 
justice  of  Almighty  God  —  one  is  the 
ordinary  way,  the  other  is  the  extraor- 
dinary. 

The  ordinary  way  is  the  path  strewn 
with  penances,  fasts,  prayers,  and  alms- 
deeds  ;  there  is  nothing  too  guilty  which 
these  will  not  but  prove  useful  and  ser- 
viceable. But  there  is  an  extraordinary 
way,   a  path   of  grace   and  a  mixture  of 

130 


mercy  and  justice.  It  is  extraordinary, 
because  with  little  it  does  much,  and  the 
justice  of  God  is  satisfied  with  this  little. 

From  these  I  calculate  that  there  must 
be  a  great  distinction  between  ordinary 
penance  and  a  jubilee.  The  first  is,  that 
penance  works  slowly,  it  takes  time ; 
to-day  a  fast,  to-morrow  another,  as  one 
who  pays  his  debts  by  instalments.  Now, 
in  the  indulgences  of  a  jubilee,  we  have 
an  abridgment  of  God's  mercy.  It  makes 
quick  work  of  His  mercies  ;  it  is  a  way 
that  what  would  have  taken  years  of 
penance  in  the  ordinary  way  we  can 
expiate  and  satisfy  at  this  acceptable  time 
(the  indulgence  proclaimed)  in  a  day. 

Some  Fathers  of  the  Church,  in  speak- 
ing of  penance,  call  it  Compendium  pee- 
narum  cetertium  (a  shortening  of  eternal 
punishment),  because  what  we  owe  to  the 
justice  of  God  in  eternity,  we  expiate 
by  means  of  penance  in  a  few  days.  But 
we  venture  to  say  that  an  indulgence  is 
still  a  further  abridgment  of  penance, 
because  penance  costs  us  more  than  an 
indulgence.     Another  distinction   is,  that 


Cop3rrIgrht,  1889. 


Murphy  &  McCartliy. 


^r.  23riD0ct. 


THE   TREASURES  OF  THE   CHURCH. 


131 


it  is  difficult  and  harassing  to  expiate  our 
sins  by  sharp  penances,  but  it  becomes 
easy  of  satisfaction  through  indulgences ; 
one  is  as  a  rigorous  baptism,  the  other  a 
merciful  baptism. 

Thus,  we  can  distinguish  three  kinds  of 
baptism.  The  baptism  by  water  costs 
nothing  to  the  recipient,  the  baptism  of 
penance  costs  much,  and  the  baptism  of 
an  indulgence  is  between  the  two ;  we 
therein  find  a  full  remission  of  our  sins, 
but  at  very  little  cost. 

It  is  a  mingling  of  the  satisfactions  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  those  of  the  sinner,  and 
the  little  that  the  sinner  contributes  is 
worth  very  much.  It  is  not,  however,  on 
account  of  our  own  satisfactions  that 
jubilees  have  been  established,  it  is  chiefly 
on  those  of  our  Saviour,  because  He  has 
merited  that  indulgence  for  us  through 
His  precious  Blood,  and  that  He  has  left 
us  the  treasures  of  His  own  merits  to 
defray  all  costs. 

If  you  ask  me  why  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  has  given  the  power  of  applying 
the  merits  of  His  precious  Blood  by 
indulgences  and  jubilees  to  His  vicars, 
the  sovereign  pontiffs,  I  would  answer 
that  He  wishes  to  save  us  the  more  easily. 

It  was  not  sufficient  for  Him  to  have 
extinguished  the  eternal  flames  of  hell, 
but  He  wishes  further,  that  His  Blood 
should  serve  to  liquidate  the  debts  of 
temporal  punishment,  which  are  owing  to 
the  justice  of  God. 

In  the  primitive  Church,  when  Chris- 
tians were  full  of  zeal  and  fervor,  there 
was  not  so  much  occasion  for  jubilees  for 


expiating  their  past  sins  ;  they  cheerfully 
submitted  to  the  strictest  penances,  and 
had  no  other  wish  to  satisfy  divine  justice, 
than  by  practising  rigorous  austerities. 
But  because,  in  the  course  of  time,  charity 
grew  cold,  jubilees  and  indulgences  were 
needed,  in  order  we  might  be  able  to  be 
reconciled  to  God,  and  to  satisfy  fully  His 
justice. 

As  the  jubilee  was  given  to  Christians 
through  an  extraordinary  flow  of  divine 
mercy,  we  must  remark  that,  according  to 
Holy  Scripture,  there  is  in  God  a  mercy 
which,  on  account  of  its  grand  result,  is 
called  great :  Secundum  magnam  miseri- 
cordiam  tuam  —  According  to  Thy  great 
mercy. 

Now  this  great  mercy  of  our  Lord  and 
God  is  like  unto  one  of  those  grand  and 
noble  rivers  which  seem  to  be  ever  full, 
but  in  which,  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  the  tide  runs  so  high  that  the  water 
overflows  the  banks,  and  fertilizes  the 
fields  around. 

Thus  we  may  say  that  it  is  at  the  time 
of  a  jubilee  that  the  divine  mercy  inun- 
dates the  Christian  people,  and  over- 
whelms the  faithful  with  a  deluge  of 
graces.  This  abundant  stream  of  God's 
merciful  goodness  does  not  only  wash  the 
roots  of  those  trees  growing  on  its  banks, 
as  the  Psalmist  says,  that  is  to  say,  it  does 
not  communicate  itself  to  the  good  and 
fervent  alone,  but  it  is  intended  for  the 
greatest  of  sinners,  those  who  are  the 
furthest  removed  from  Him. 

Le  PfeRH  Texier. 
DominicaU. 


••!» 


I- I  I    I  !■  I  I   I  I   I  I   I  I   I  I 


0^  of  l|od'^  dkPcg. 


I   I    I  I   I  I   I  I    I  I-  I  I   I  I   1  n 


!■++++++++ 


,  Flechier  and  St.  Jerome. 

"  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth  me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  me." — Luke  x.  i6. 


JTi^N  the  first  book  of  Paralipomenon 

ilwM      [cJiap.    XV.     14),     it    mentions 

ylkW     that    the  priests   and    Levites 

were     sanctified    to  carry   the 

ark   of  the  Lord,  the  God    of 

Israel. 

If  the  priests  of  the  Old  Testament, 
who  offered  up  the  incense  and  common 
bread,  were  required  to  be  holy,  if  they 
were  to  be  sanctified  to  carry  the  ark  of 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  ought  not  the 
priests  of  the  New  Testament  to  be  truly 
sanctified  \  for  do  they  not  offer  up  the 
Heavenly  bread,  the  bread  of  Life,  the  only 
Son  of  God,  and  have  they  not  the  honor 
of  carrying  daily  the  Lord  of  the  ark, 
even  the  very  God  of  Israel }  In  another 
place  it  is  said,  "  Purify  yourselves,  you 
who  have  charge  of  the  vessels  of  the 
sanctuary." 

You  do  not  carry  solely  the  vessels  of 
the  Lord,  ray  brethren ;  you  carry  the 
Lord  Himself,  you  bear  Him  in  your 
hands,  you  carry  Him  on  your  tongues, 
you  enclose  Him  in  your  hearts.  How, 
then,   dare   you   carry  Him  with  unclean 

132 


hands,  on  indiscreet  tongues,  in  corrupted 
hearts.?  How  can  you  be  so  cruel  as  to 
carry  Him  with  you  in  the  world,  which 
is  His  enemy,  and  wherein  sin  and  abom- 
ination dwell .'' 

The  High  Priest  said  one  day  :  "As  I 
have  always  lived  far  apart  from  the  world, 
I  fancied  that  my  brethren  lived  as  I  did ; 
but  I  have  been  surprised  by  persons  of 
the  first  consideration  who  have  come  to 
find  me  out,  and  who  have  told  me  that 
not  only  the  people  of  Israel,  but  the 
priests  and  Levites,  have  not  separated 
themselves  from  the  people  of  the  lands  and 
from  their  abominations  "  ( i  Esdras  xv. ). 

"  I  was  so  deeply  moved  by  this  news," 
continues  this  holy  man,  "that  I  rent  my 
mantle  and  my  coat,  and  plucked  off  the 
hairs  of  my  head  and  my  beard,  and  I  sat 
down  mourning  "  ( Edras  xv.  3  ). 

Priests  should  be  holy,  says  God, 
because  I  am  holy,  and  that  My  being  holy 
I  wish  My  ministers  to  be  holy,-  and  1 
cannot  endure  any  but  holy  men  to 
approach  Me  or  My  altars.  Sanctity  is 
a  necessary  appendage  for  the  priest,  and 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  GOD'S  CHURCH. 


133 


the  want  of  holiness  is  a  species  of  irreg- 
ularity which  is  unbearable,  and  which  I 
cannot  suffer. 

Let  not  those  who  have  not  the  courage 
to  try  to  become  saints,  be  rash  enough  to 
be  priests  of  My  altars  :  "  They  shall  not 
come  near  to  me,  to  do  the  office  of  priest 
to  me;  neither  shall  they  come  near  to 
any  of  my  holy  things  that  are  by  the 
holy  of  holies"  {EzechielyXw.  13).  This 
is  as  much  as  to  say,  that  priests  who  are 
not  holy  do  an  injury  to  God  ;  they  tarnish 
the  glory  of  His  name  ;  they  defile  His 
temple,  altar,  and  sacrifice ;  they  scandal- 
ize His  religion  ;  they  do  violence  to  His 
sanctity ;  they  offend  His  divine  majesty, 
and  this  is  what  the  following  words  sig- 
nify :  Et  non  polluent  nonten  ejus. 

•  •  •  •*•  •  • 
There  is  no  condition  of  life  more  noble, 
more  exalted,  than  that  of  being  a  priest 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  there  is  also  no  state 
which  requires  more  preparation.  They 
belong  to  God  by  a  particular  consecration  ; 
consequently  they  ought  to  be  more 
attached  to  Him.  They  are  privileged  to 
approach  near  to  God,  and  they  ought  to 
I  be  of  the  purest.  They  beseech  and 
I  appease  God  for  all  the  faithful,  so  they 
I  ought  to  be  worthy  of  His  propitiation 
'       for  themselves. 

They  represent  Jesus  Christ ;  they  ought 
to  enter  into  His  spirit ;  they  dispense  and 
offer  up  the  holy  mysteries ;  from  these 
they  ought  to  gather  its  firstfruits.  As 
they  should  be  masters  of  the  spiritual 
life,  it  is  only  right  that  they  should  fix  it 


show  that  they  iove  all  that  is  spiritual. 
They  reprove  and  correct  others,  so  their 
conduct  should  be  irreproachable.  They 
have  received  more  graces,  they  should 
therefore  be  more  grateful ;  their  sins 
attract  attention,  and  therefore  they  should 
be  more  cautious.  It  is  difficult  for  them 
to  retrieve  themselves  if  they  fall,  and 
they  ought  to  preserve  their  innocence, 
with  fear  and  trembling. 

Reflections  such  as  these  should  induce 
those  whom  God  has  called  to  this  holy  state 
to  exercise  the  greatest  care  imagin- 
able. 

Idleness  and  disgust  usually  follow  haste 
and  imprudence,  says  St.  Bernard.  He 
who  usurps  the  office  of  priesthood  will  be 
a  useless  possessor  of  such  a  dignity. 
Not  having  consulted  God,  he  will  not  be 
the  work  of  God's  own  hand ;  and  having 
closed  the  entrance  of  grace,  he  will  be 
unable  to  fulfil  properly  and  faithfully  those 
functions  which  the  grace  of  God  can  alone 
enable  him  to  accomplish. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  genuine  vocation 
engenders  zeal,  and  it  is  difficult  for  him 
who  has  devoted  himself  entirely  to  the 
service  of  God  not  to  make  it  his  sole 
business  to  serve  and  honor  him. 

The  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
not  a  sinecure,  but  a  ministry  of  toil 
and  trouble,  which  includes  a  multi- 
plicity of  essential  duties  difficult  to 
carry   out. 

"  Be  thou  vigilant  and  labor  in  all 
things,"  says  the  apostle  to  Timothy, 
exhorting  him  to  strengthen  himself  in  his 
laborious  vocation,  through  the  merits  of 


134 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Jesus  Christ,  and  to  "labor  as  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,"  which  will  enable 
him  to  resist  all  the  powers  of  darkness, 
"  Do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,"  preaching 
the  Word  of  God,  after  having  impressed  it 
upon  his  own  heart  and  rendered  it  mani- 
fest by  his  own  deeds.  "  Fulfil  thy  minis- 
try," not  so  much  to  keep  the  faith,  as  to 
preserve  it  pure  and  holy  —  mysteries  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  which  must  be 
carried  out  with  fear,  and  secrets  of  con- 
science which  must  be  religiously  concealed. 
"  Keep  that  which  is  committed  to  thy 
trust,"  and  be  prepared  to  carry  out  any 
amount  of  duty  which  truth,  justice,  and 
charity  may  impose  upon  you. 

L'ABBjfi  Flechier. 
From  his  Panegyrics. 


The  clergy  are  called  by  that  name, 
either  because  they  are  a  portion  of  the 
inheritance  of  the  Lord,  or  because  the 
Lord  is  their  portion.  He,  therefore, 
who  is  thus  of  the  heirdom  of  the  Lord, 
or  he  who  has  God  for  his  portion, 
should  show  himself  to  be  worthy  of  pos- 
sessing God,  and  that  God  should  possess 
him. 

He  who  engages  to  serve  the  Church,  as 
a  minister  of  Christ,  knows  well  at  first  the 
meaning  of  the  title,  and  by  understanding 
the  full  significance  of  the  name  of  priest, 
it  enforces  the  fulfilment  of  every  duty  of 
his  office. 

St  Jerome: 
Epist.  ad  Nepotiatmm. 


■•^^-^^^-^^ 


&»%t?<^%t7<^ 


CHAPTER    Iv. 


•J*!  '.*;  •-•-• 


•-•••  •-•.•  •.*:  •-•.•  '.*:  •••. 


•  •.••  •,••  •••  •,••  •••  •••  •••  ••• 


^J  Or\  JMaterial  GKvjrcKes.  ^ 


•••  \*:  '.•.*  •.••"  \*:  "•• 


.•-•  •-•;  •.•••  •.•••  •••••  *.•••  •.•-•  '.*:  '.*:  'J*:  •.•••  *.•.• 


*  * 


m* 


Flechier  and  St.  Chrysostom. 

"  How  lovely  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts !  my  soul    longeth  and  fainteth  for  the  courts 
.)f  the  Lord."  —  Psalm  Ixxxiii.  2,  3. 

Extracts  from  a  Sermon  preached  by  Mgr.  Flechier  on  the  Dedication  of  the  Church  of  St.  James 

the  Major,  in  Paris. 


'NFORTUNATELY,  there  are 
people  who  go  to  church  with- 
out humility  or  prudence  ;  they 
assist  at  the  grand  services  as 
if  they  were  going  to  the 
theatre.  Instead  of  thinking 
of  the  feast,  or  with  any  idea  of  being 
attentive,  they  ridicule  all  they  see. 
Loaded  as  they  are  with  sins,  they 
insolently  stride  across  the  threshold  of 
those  sacred  gates,  according  to  the  lan- 
guage of  the  prophet ;  they  affect  a  grand 
air,  as  if  they  were  persons  of  distinction, 
and  this,  too,  in  those  places  where  all 
worldly  importance  should  cease  to  be. 

They  hurry  on  the  crowd  in  order  to  be 
a  near  witness  of  the  ceremonies,  rather 
than  having  a  wish  to  participate  in 
heavenly  graces.  They  push  even  to  the 
^Itar  rails,  not  through  an  earnest,  eager 
devotion,  but  through  a  vain  curiosity. 
They  bring  in  with  them  a  worldly  heart ; 
t*nd  when  even  they  are  coldly  speaking 
ind  praying  to  Almighty   God,    they   are 


thinking  more  of  themselves  and  of  their 
vanities.  In  fact,  they  have  no  scruples 
in  going  in,  and  they  drag  in  with  them 
their  iniquities  without  compunction  or 
remorse. 

What  shall  I  say  of  those  impieties 
which  are  committed  daily  in  the  presence 
of  Jesus  in  the  tabernacle,  who,  all  invisible 
as  He  is,  is  no  less  to  be  adored.^ — of 
those  profane  remarks,  which  disturbing 
the  holy  and  venerable  silence  of  the 
sacred  mysteries,  interrupting  the  medita- 
tions of  the  faithful,  reaching  even  to  the 
sanctuary,  and  distracting  the  attention  of 
the  ministers  who  are  attending  on  the 
celebrant  "i 

What  of  those  mincing  airs  and  indeco- 
rous postures  which  so  scandalize  the  good, 
which  are,  according  to  the  words  of  Jes?is 
Christ,  the  desolation  of  those  holy  places, 
where  angels  assist  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling }  What  shall  I  say  of  tnose  affected 
ways,  of  seeing  and  wishing  to  be  seen, 
which  convert   the  house  of  God   into  a 


135 


136 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC, 


place  of  rendezvous  for  immodest  glances 
and  guilty  thoughts  ? 

We  see,  with  no  small  amount  of  indig- 
nation, some  Christians  (if  I  may  dare  to  call 
them  Christians)  who  scarcely  deign  to 
bend  a  knee  when  Jesus  is  exposed  for  the 
adoration  of  the  faithful,  as  if  to  dispute 
the  homage  that  is  due  to  Him,  as  if  it 
pricked  their  conscience  and  reminded 
them  of  the  little  feeling  of  religion  which 
may  be  left  within  them. 

Worldly  persons,  more  gaily  decked  out 
than  the  altars  even,  display  proudly  their 
luxurious  finery,  and  often  seem  proud  of 
their  indecent  attire,  and  this,  too,  before 
the  poor  and  humble  Jesus,  hidden  in  the 
Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist. 

We  see  sinners  entering  heart  and  soul 
into  conversations  that  only  re-enkindle 
their  bad  passions,  and  thus  commit  fresh 
sins  even  in  front  of  those  tribunals  of 
penance,  wherein  they  should  confess  and 
weep  for  them. 

It  thus  happens  that  the  very  means  of 
our  salvation  become  the  instruments 
of  our  loss  ;  that  the  church,  which  is  the 
place  wherem  we  should  sanctify  our- 
selves, becomes  the  theatre  of  our  delin- 
quencies ;  that  prayers  are  turned  into 
sins,  that  even  the  sacrifice  of  our  Lord, 
which  is  the  source  of  all  graces,  becomes 
a  subject  of  condemnation  ;  and  that  noth- 
ing in  His  judgment  can  perhaps  more  add 
to  our  guilt,  than  the  having  entered  into 
His  temple,  and  the  having  assisted 
unworthily  at  riis  mysteries. 

How  many  mere  are  who  go  to  church 
in  order  to  keep   up  a  certain  decorous 


reputation,  because  it  is  customary, 
because  it  would  not  do  to  offend  the 
world,  bad  as  it  is  —  a  worid  wnich 
piques  itself  on  certain  rules  of  decorum, 
and  a  desire  to  keep  up  an  outward  show 
of  religion  ! 

How  many  there  are  who  acknowledge 
and  practise  an  exterior  worship,  who 
glorify  God  with  their  lips,  whose  prayers 
are  heartless,  who  give  up  their  minds  to 
voluntary  distractions,  speak  without 
thinking,  pray  without  knowing  what  they 
are  saying,  and  expect  that  God  listens 
to  them  v.:^hen  they  do  not  listen  to  them- 
selves !  This  is  what  St.  Cyprian  says : 
How  many  there  are  who,  when  they 
make  an  act  of  devotion,  fancy  they  do 
honor  to  the  church  they  frequent,  who 
are  always  in  the  most  conspicuous  seats, 
and  who  only  approach  to  God  merely  to 
be  seen  by  men  ! 

How  many  there  are  who  come  to 
church  because  they  are  forced  to  come, 
who  consider  the  long  service  of  a  great 
feast  a  bore,  and  who  grumble  because 
they  are  under  the  necessity  of  hearing 
a  sermon,  or  of  remaining  until  the  grand 
High  Mass  is  over !  Is  not  all  this  an 
abuse  of  holy  things  } 

We  should  enter  God's  temple  in  order 
to  become  holy.  It  seems  to  me  that  all 
therein  should  conduce  to  our  sanctifi- 
cation  ;  that  baptismal  font  which  reminds 
us  of  the  origin  of  our  spiritual  regenera- 
tion, and  puts  us  in  mind  of  the  grace  and 
obligations  of  our  baptism  ;  those  altars 
teach  us  that  we  have  a  heart  wherein 
Jesus  wishes  to  dwell,  and  wherein  we  can 


ON  MATERIAL   CHURCHES. 


^Z7 


offer  as  many  sacrifices  as  we  have  tempta- 
tions. Those  confessionals,  do  they  not 
invite  us  to  sigh  for  our  sins,  do  they  not 
make  us  long  to  be  bathed  in  the  precious 
Blood  of  Jesus  ?  That  pulpit,  does  it  not 
preach  to  us  that  we  should  be  new  men, 
engendered  by  the  Word  of  God  ?  That 
divine  and  adorable  tabernacle,  does  it  not 
lovingly  entreat  us  to  kneel  and  pray 
before  Him  with  great  purity  of  intention, 
and  to  ask  for  the  grace  to  love  Him 
more  and  more  ? 

L'Abb^  Flechier. 


You  have  the  church  which  is  a  refuge, 
and,  if  I  may  dare  to  say  so,  is  a  heaven 
in  miniature.  You  have  a  sacrifice  offered 
up  and  consummated  ;  you  have  the  house 
wherein  the  Holy  Ghost  showers  down 
abundant  graces  ;  you  have  the  tombs  and 
relics  of  the  martyrs  and  saints,  and  many 
other  things  which  should  induce  you  to 
return  from  a  state  of  sin  and  indifference 
to  that  of  grace  and  justice. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Homily  Ixix. 


^ 


CHAPTER    LI. 


laRelo^g  &nd  ^oTid&^s* 


? 


I 


PfeRE  MoNTMOREL,  and  from  "  Lgs  Discours  Chr^tiennes." 

"  Blessed  is  the  man  who  observes  the  Sabbath  day,  who  keeps  his  hands  pure,  and  who  abstain* 
from  any  kind  of  sin."  —  Isaias  Ivi.  2. 


HE  Sunday  has  succeeded  to  the 
Sabbath.  It  is  forbidden  on 
that  holy  day  to  do  any  servile 
work,  and  all  are  under  the 
strict  obligation  of  attending 
the  divine  office.  After  having 
spent  six  days  in  the  tumult  of  temporal 
affairs,  is  it  not  just  and  right  to  devote 
one  day  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  one's 
thoughts,  p  1  of  thinking  of  spiritual 
things  ? 

You  work  during  six  days,  says  the 
Lord,  and  in  those  six  days  you  do  all  that 
you  havo  to  do.  But  the  seventh  day  is 
consecrated  to  the  Lord  your  God. 

To  celebrate  Sundays  and  holidays 
properly,  your  chief  aim  should  be  to 
avoid  all  that  is  evil,  and  to  do  good. 

It  is  true  that  there  can  be  no  time 
when  it  is  permitted  to  do  wrong,  or  that 
we  are  not  always  obliged  to  do  good ; 
still,  it  is  also  true  that  we  have  particular 
obligations  on  fixed  days  to  avoid  the  one 
with  greater  care,  and  to  do  the  other 
with  greater  zeal. 

IM 


Alas !  who  could  credit  it  if  one  did 
not  see  it  with  their  own  eyes  .?  Christians, 
as  uncouth  as  the  Jews,  think  that  they 
satisfy  the  obligation  of  keeping  the 
Sunday  by  merely  abstaining  from  manual 
labor,  as  if  they  acted  solely  from  a  wise 
policy  or  to  give  rest  to  a  tired  body,  not 
from  any  wish  of  strengthening  the  soul, 
after  it  has  been  weakened  by  the  worry 
and  cares  of  business. 

It  is  also  true  that  many,  whose  pro- 
fession consists  chiefly  of  head-work,  or 
those  who  have  naught  else  to  do  but 
play  and  amuse  themselves,  make  no 
difference  on  feast-days  except  the  hearing 
a  Mass  in  a  hurried  way,  their  minds 
thinking  of  worldly  things,  their  hearts 
filled  with  frivolities.  We  can  even  affirm 
that,  generally  speaking,  more  harm  is 
done  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  It  is  this 
that  caused  St.  Chrysostom  to  say  that  the 
Sabbath,  which  had  been  set  apart  for 
cleansing  our  souls  from  sins  committed 
during  the  week,  was  a  day  set  apart  for 
the  commission  of  greater  sins. 


ON  SUNDA  YS  AND  HOLIDA  YS. 


139 


How  do  most  people  follow  this  precept  ? 
Instead  of  employing  the  Sunday  for  the 
expiation  of  their  faults,  we  may  safely 
say,  especially  of  those  engaged  in  mer- 
cenary occupations,  that  it  is  a  day  for 
adding  sin  to  sins.  They  spend  the  day 
in  all  kinds  of  sensuality,  and  give  them- 
selves up  to  drunken  joy. 

Our  Lord  could  now  say,  what  He  said 
in  former  times  to  the  Jews  through  the 
mouth  of  His  prophet  Isaias  :  "  I  hate 
your  solemnities  of  the  first  day  of  the 
month,  and  all  your  other  feasts  ;  they 
have  become  burthensome,  and  I  am  weary 
of  enduring  them."  Mark  these  words, 
"Your  solemnities ";  as  if  our  Lord  had 
said :  You  have  made  My  feasts  your 
feasts,  and  the  days  that  ought  to  be  con- 
secrated to  My  glory  you  devote  to  the 
satiety  of  your  passions :  Solemnitates 
vestros  odivit  anima  mea. 

As  regards  manual  labor,  it  is  not  bad 
in  itself,  and  it  is  not  to  condemn  it  that 
God  forbids  it  on  days  that  are  consecrated 
holy.  It  is  not  also  that  He  approves  of 
idleness,  which  of  itself  is  a  great  evil  ; 
but  it  is  in  order  that  all  work  or  employ- 
ment, however  good  in  itself,  must  yield 
for  a  time  to  one  more  excellent  —  a  work 
for  which  man  is  created  —  which  is  to 
know  God,  to  adore,  honor,  and  love  Him 
above  all.  This  is  the  chief  end  of  the 
law. 

You  shall  work  for  six  days  in  the  week, 
and  during  that  time  you  can  do  your 


work  and  provide  for  your  wants  ;  but  the 
seventh  day  is  the  Lord's  day,  and  you 
must  relinquish  labor  to  offer  Him  your 
love,  adoration,  and  homage. 

PfeRE   MONTMOREL. 
Sermon  on  \6th  Sunday  after  Pentecost. 

When  God  created  the  world  He  worked 
for  six  days,  after  which  Scripture  says 
that  He  rested  on  the  seventh.  But  in 
what  consisted  this  rest  of  God  ?  Here 
it  is  :  "  And  God  saw  all  the  things  that 
He  had  made  and  Ihey  were  very  good." 
God  took  a  general  review  of  all  His 
works,  and  found  them  to  be  good  and 
perfect.  He  found  His  rest  in  His 
approval.     This  is  what  we  should  imitate. 

Leave  off  your  servile  work  and  take  a 
survey  of  your  conduct  throughout  the 
past  week.  See  if  you  can  say  with  God 
that  all  that  you  have  done  during  these  six 
days  is  good.  Examine  if  you  have  been 
faithful  to  God  and  your  neighbor ;  if  you 
have  fulfilled  the  duties  of  your  state  of 
life ;  if  there  has  been  any  injustice  in 
your  employment  or  business. 

After  this  examination,  give  your 
approval  to  that  which  has  been  good, 
rectify  that  which  has  been  faulty,  and 
consecrate  the  rest  of  the  day  in  renewals 
of  love  to  God,  so  that  He  may  be  pro- 
pitious to  us.  Do  this,  also,  in  reparation 
for  the  many  dissipations  you  have  com- 
placently indulged  in. 

Dufpurs  Chritiennes. 


Le   PjfeRE   DE   LA    COLOMBlfeRE. 


"  Prayer  with  fasting  is  holy  and  pleasing  to  God."  —  Tobias  xii.  8. 


HE  lesson  which  the  Son  of  God 
teaches  us  in  the  desert  shows 
us  that  the  best  methods  of 
resisting  temptations  are  by 
fasting  and  mortification  of 
the  body. 

Subdue  the  flesh  and  you  weaken  the 
devil,  for  he  can  do  nothing  if  we  deprive 
him  of  his  weapons. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  fasting  and 
mortification  are  intended  only  for  relig- 
ious bodies ;  for,  since  our  Saviour  has 
deigned  to  make  use  of  this  remedy 
(although  he  had  no  need  of  it),  there  is 
no  one  of  whatever  rank  or  condition  can 
be  dispensed  from  this  obligation. 

If  persons  of  quality  or  people  in  busi- 
ness were  exempt  from  the  temptations 
and  attacks  of  the  evil  one,  it  might  be 
allowable  to  treat  their  bodies  delicately ; 
but  since  the  enemy  tempts  them  more 
than  others,  they  require  ever  to  be  on 
the  defensive,  and,  consequently,  fasting 
is  to  them  the  more  necessary. 

140 


The  chief  object  of  fasting  is  to  mortify 
the  body,  to  deaden  the  passions,  and  to 
keep  the  soul  in  a  state  of  grace. 

To  live,  then,  in  pleasures  and  gaiety 
during  the  holy  season  of  Lent,  and  to 
continue  in  sin,  is  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  fasting,  and  to  the  intentions  of  our 
holy  mother  the  Church. 

How  miserable  are  they  who  poison  so 
efficacious  a  remedy,  and  who  deliberately 
refuse  to  make  use  of  a  cure  which  the 
Church  gives  them,  for  the  purpose  of  over- 
coming the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil. 

As  the  first  man  was  condemned  for  not 
having  abstained  from  eating,  notwith- 
standing the  express  command  of  God,  so 
the  Creator  has  fixed  on  fasting  as  a 
reparation  for  this  first  sin.  It  is  the 
best  means  of  avoiding  the  consequences 
of  original  sin,  the  best  remedy  to  restore 
peace  of  mind,  to  control  the  passions,  and 
to  bring  our  flesh  under  subjection. 

Over-eating  and  over-drinking  have 
made  the  devil  victorious  throughout  the 


ON  FASTINGS  AjvD  ABSTINENCE. 


141 


world,  but  fasting  drives  him  away ;  for 
does  not  St.  Matthew  say  in  his  Gospel 
{Chap.  xvii.  20)  that  "  this  kind  is  not  cast 
out,  but  by  prayer  and  fasting  "  ? 

We  read  in  the  annals  of  ecclesiastical 
history  of  an  edifying  circumstance  which 
occurred  in  Constantinople  under  the 
reign  of  the  Emperor  Justinian.  It  is 
therein  related  that  this  city  was  visited  by 
a  terrible  famine,  and  that  the  season  of 
Lent  having  come  round  before  God  had 
withdrawn  the  frightful  scourge,  the 
Emperor  caused  all  the  meat  markets  to  be 
thrown  open,  and  he  issued  an  edict  to  the 
effect  that  he  granted  leave  from  absti- 
nence during  Lent  for  that  year  only. 

But  how  do  you  think  so  humane  and 
considerate  an  order  was  received  by  the 
people  ?  Oh  !  happy  age  !  O  my  God, 
is  there  a  spark  now  left  of  this  ancient 
fervor }  Would  you  believe  it,  ye  Chris- 
tians of  the  nineteenth  century,  that  in  this 
vast  city,  weakened  as  it  had  been  by  so  dire 
a  calamity,  there  was  not  to  be  found  a 
single  Christian,  I  say  not  one,  who  wished 
to  take  advantage  of  the  favor  granted  ? 
And  yet  this  was  not  all ;  for  no  sooner  was 
the  dispensation  published,  than  the  whole 
body  of  Christians  besieged  the  palace, 
and  implored  the  Emperor  to  revoke  the 
edict,  and  restore  the  old  laws,  since  they 
were  ready  to  die  rather  than  break 
them. 

Not  to  speak  of  those  who  absolutely 
refuse  to  obey  the  precepts  of  the  Church, 
there  are  many,  alas !   who  seek  for  dis- 


pensation from  abstinence,  etc.,  without 
any  reasonable  excuse ;  and  it  is  nay  firm 
belief  that  of  those  who  ask  for  leave  with- 
out necessity,  there  would  not  be  found 
one  single  person  who  properly  fulfilled 
the  Easter  obligation. 

What !  ye  pleasure  seekers,  during  the 
forty  days  you  have  continued  in  the  same 
sins,  nay,  added  sin  to  sin,  deliberately  and 
with  all  the  coolness  that  acts  of  so  long 
a  duration  cannot  fail  to  have  ;  and  yet  you 
wish  me  to  believe  that  all  of  a  sudden,  per- 
haps in  a  single  night,  your  heart  is  so 
changed  that  it  detests  the  past  frightful 
dissipations,  and  that  the  horror  of  the 
excess  equals  the  pleasure  you  had  in  com- 
mitting sin. 

Were  you  on  your  death-bed  I  would 
question  the  sincerity  of  your  contrition, 
after  committing  sins  so  recently,  sd 
openly,  and  after  showing  such  a  manifest 
contempt  of  the  precepts  of  the  Church. 

And  now  that  you  are  in  good  health, 
you  would  wish  to  persuade  me  that  you 
are  willing  to  begin  afresh,  if  the  fast 
recommenced,  and  you  wish  to  persuade 
me  to  believe  that  your  repentance  is 
sincere. 

As  for  myself,  I  believe  it  to  be  false, 
and  I  should  hesitate  to  pronounce  the 
absolution  for  fear  of  profaning  the  precious 
Blood  of  our  Lord,  unless  indeed  I  saw 
that  you  were  ready  to  fast  for  forty  days 
after  the  feast,  as  a  proof  of  your  repent- 
ance. 

Rev.  PtRK  DE  LA  COLOMBli:RE,   S.  J. 


CHAPTKR    LIII. 


W         w         w         W 


Gn  the  SaGrarnent  sf  Baptisfn. 


St.  Chrysostom,  P^cre  Nepveu,  and  St.  Leo. 

"  Going  therefore,  teach  ye  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." —  Matthew  xxviii.  19. 


*ET  us  try  to  preserve  the  noble 
birth  which  we  have  inherited 
from  our  baptism. 

If  an  earthly  potentate  had 
found  you  poor  and  begging, 
and  had  suddenly  adopted  you 
as  his  son,  you  would  soon  forget  your 
past  misery,  you  would  no  longer  think 
of  your  lowly  hut,  however  great  may 
have  been  the  difference  between  these 
things. 

Think,  then,  no  more  of  your  first  state, 
since  the  one  to  which  you  have  been 
called  is  comparatively  more  illustrious 
than  regal  dignity;  for  He  who  has  sum- 
moned you  is  the  King  of  angels,  and  the 
property  He  has  reserved  for  you  is  not 
only  far  beyond  our  comprehension,  but 
even  beyond  all  that  words  can  express. 
He  does  not  help  you  to  pass  from  one 
station  of  life  to  one  higher,  as  this  Poten- 
tate could  have  done;  but  He  raises  you 
from  earth  to  heaven,  from  a  mortal  life  to 
an  immortal   life,  a   life   so   glorious   and 

143 


inexpressible  that  it  will  not  be  known 
until  we  gain  possession  of  it. 

How,  then,  being  partakers  of  these 
grand  blessings,  can  we  presume  to  think 
of  the  riches  of  this  world,  and  how  can  we 
trifle  away  our  time  in  frivolous  and  vain 
amusements."*  What  excuses  will  remain, 
or  rather  what  punishments  ought  we  not 
to  suffer,  if,  after  having  received  so  won- 
drous a  grace,  we  should  return  to  that 
first  condition  from  which  we  have  been 
so  fortunately — ay  !  so  mercifully — with- 
drawn ? 

You  will  not  be  punished  simply  as  a 
sinful  man,  but  as  a  rebellious  child  of 
God  ;  and  the  lofty  eminence  of  the  dignity 
to  which  you  Were  raised  will  only  serve 
to  increase  your  punishment. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
From  Sermon  xii.  on  St.  Matthew. 

What  is  it  to  be  a  Christian  ? 
It  is  a  man  who  has  a  close  affinity  with 
God,  and  through  baptism   becomes    His 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 


143 


son.  What  more  exalted,  what  more 
grand  !  What  Jesus  Christ  is  by  nature, 
the  Christian  is  by  adoption.  He  receives 
through  spiritual  regeneration,  the  like- 
ness of  that  which  the  Word  receives 
through  eternal  generation.  We  have 
received,  says  St.  Paul,  the  spirit  of  adop- 
tion of  sons,  whereby  we  dare  to  call  God 
our  Father,  and,  if  sons,  heirs  also. 

The  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  in  Mary,  says 
St.  Augustine,  is  the  model  of  our  second 
birth,  which  is  made  through  baptism. 
They  proceed  from  the  same  source,  which 
is  the  Holy  Ghost ;  one  was  made  in  the 
bosom  of  Mary,  who  is  virgin  and  mother, 
and  the  other  is  made  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Church,  which  is  pure  and  fruitful.  The 
end  of  the  first  is  Christ,  that  is  to  say,  a 
Man-God ;  the  end  of  the  second  is  a 
Christian,  that  is  to  say,  a  man-divine. 
God,  says  St.  John,  could  He  have  carried 
His  love  and  our  happiness  further  than 
by  making  us  really  and  truly  children  of 
God  .-•  Could  we  push  our  ingratitude  and 
unworthiness  further  than  by  disgracing 
that  glorious  title  by  a  behavior  as  crim- 
inal as  it  would  be  shameful } 

A  Christian  is  one  who  has  a  close 
affinity  to  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  he  is, 
through  baptism,  made  a  member.  What 
more  glorious  }  All  Christians,  says  St. 
Paul,  are  but  one  body,  of  which  Jesus  is 
the  head.  By  this  sacrament  they  become 
members  which  unites  them  to  Him  by  a 
genuine  union,  since  it  forms  an  article  of 
faith  ;  by  a  very  real  union,  since  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  its  source ;  an  intimate  union, 
since  we  are  animated   by  the   spirit  of 


Jesus  Christ,  we  dwell  within  Him — a 
union,  in  short,  sublime,  since  the 
Redeemer  compares  it  to  the  union  which 
He  Himself  has  with  His  Father  :  Tu  in 
me,  et  ego  in  illis.  So  that,  as  says  St. 
Peter,  we  by  that  become  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature. 

If  Jesus  Christ,  who  obtains  for  us  all 
these  advantages,  had  not  He  Himself 
secured  them  for  us,  could  we  have 
believed  in  them  ?  But  if  we  do  believe 
them,  should  we  not  have  a  more  exalted 
idea  of  them,  and  ought  not  our  conduct 
to  be  conformable  to  our  belief  ? 

Through  baptism,  a  Christian  becomes 
a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Do  you  not 
know,  says  the  Apostle,  that  your  bodies 
are  temples  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  dwells 
within  you  ?  Thus  it  is  that  the  same 
ceremonies  are  made  use  of  in  baptism  as 
in  the  consecration  of  churches.  Through 
exorcism,  the  devil  is  expelled  from  the 
soul  of  him  who  is  made  a  Christian ;  it  is 
consecrated  by  the  holy  chrism,  a  figure  of 
the  anointing  of  grace  by  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  spreads  around  the  heart  ;  it  takes 
possession  of  it  by  that  mysterious  breath- 
ing of  the  priest  who  baptizes ;  it  then 
becomes  the  source  and  object  of  the 
worship  which  the  faithful  pay  Him  in 
that  temple,  through  acts  of  faith,  hope, 
and  charity.  It  is  that  Holy  Ghost  who 
prays  in  him,  by  meanings  so  efficacious  ; 
and  it  is  on  account  of  that,  they  are  so 
very  meritorious,  that  they  are  able  to 
impart  an  undoubted  right  to  the  posses- 
sion of  God.  Could  God  honor  man  more 
than    by    making    him    a    child    of  God, 


144 


HALF-HOURS    WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


brother  of  a  Man-God  and  a  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  ?  Also,  St.  John  tells  us,  that 
through  baptism  we  enter  into  fellowship 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  conse- 
quently with  the  Holy  Ghost. 

What  glorious  fellowship  !  What  exul- 
tation !     What  happiness  ! 

Le  P^re  Nepveu. 
Reflections  on  Chrdtiennes. 

Through  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  you 
become  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Take  care  not  to  drive  such  a  guest 
away  by  your  sins,  and  thus  become  a 
slave  of  the  devil ;   because  the  price  of 


your  redemption  is  the  precious  Blood  of 
Jesus. 

Acknowledge  your  dignity,  O  Christian  ; 
and,  having  been  clothed  with  a  nature 
quite  divine,  do  not  return,  I  entreat  you, 
to  your  old  vileness,  by  leading  a  life 
which  would  lower  the  rank  to  which  you 
have  been  raised. 

Remember  whose  chief  and  body  vou 
are  the  member  of.  Remember  that, 
having  been  withdrawn  from  the  power  of 
darkness,  you  have  been  transferred  to  the 
light  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

St.  Leo, 
Oh  the  Nativity. 


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8«- 

i 


CHAPTER     LIV. 


On  t^2  ^adiament  o^  ^encince. 


i^ 


# 


BouRDALOUE  and  PfeRE  Massom. 

"  He  that  hideth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper ;  but  he  that  shall  Confess  and  forsake  them,  shall  obtaia 
mercy."  —  Proverbs  xxviii.  13. 


T.  CHRYSOSTOM,  in  his  fifth 
homily  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  asks,  Whence 
comes  It  that  we  confess  our 
secret  sins,  and  that  on  this 
depends  our  judgment  ?  The 
judges  of  the  land  do  not  act  thus,  for 
they  never  pass  sentence  or  deliver  their 
judgment  until  there  is  a  verdict. 

But,  says  the  saintly  doctor,  we  have 
rules  which  earthly  judges  have  not ;  for 
we  do  not  profess  to  punish  as  they 
do,  but  are  content  to  submit  to  the 
Church,  who  imposes  a  penance  for  their 
crimes. 

The  Royal  Prophet,  wishing  to  avert  the 
anger  and  justice  of  Almighty  God,  asks 
for  mercy  and  pardon  :  "  Have  mercy  on 
me,  O  God !  according  to  the  multitude 
of  Thy  tender  mercies."  It  is  thus  he 
cries  out  and  implores  that  pardon  and 
mercy,  which  washes  and  purges  so  that 
no  stain  or  soil  may  remain  :  "  Wash  me 
yet  more  from  my  iniquity."  And  why  ? 
because   he   has   confessed   his    sins   and 


acknowledges  the  enormity  of  his  offences; 
"Because  I  know  my  iniquity."  Why  say 
"because".^  says  St.  Chrysostom.  Because 
he  acknowledges  his  fault,  he  wishes  God 
to  forgive  him.  Is  that  justice  ?  Never- 
theless, it  is  the  Royal  Penitent  who 
speaks.  It  is  true,  O  Lord,  that  the  con- 
fession of  my  sins  is  an  easy  atonement ; 
but  You  are  content  with  this,  I  do  not 
offer  any  other,  and  I  have  no  other  way 
open  to  be  reconciled  with  You.  Pardon 
my  sins,  because  I  acknowledge  and 
confess  them. 

Confession  is  a  fountain  of  grace ; 
Haurictis  aquas  in  gaudio  de  fontihus  sal 
vatoris.  What  does  the  devil  do  —  he  who 
is  the  mortal  enemy  of  our  salvation  .?  He 
sees  that  confession  is  a  pure  fountain,  and 
he  seeks  to  poison  its  waters  by  the  bad 
use  he  tempts  us  to  make  of  it,  or  by 
the  hardness  of  heart  he  instils  into  our 
mind  not  to  go  to  confess  at  all,  and  in 
this  way  he  acts  as  did  Holofernes  in  the 
city  of  Bethulia,  who  broke  all  the  conduits 
and  drained  the  fountains  in  order  that  the 


J  46 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Israelites  should  die  of  thirst.  It  is  thus 
that  the  devil  tries  to  dry  up  the  canals  of 
the  Sacrament,  from  whence  flows  the 
precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  He,  too, 
gives  us  a  disgust  of  confession  and  makes 
us  turn  away  from  it ;  he  whispers  that 
there  is  great  danger  of  using  this  Sac- 
rament badly  ;  he  suggests  the  disadvan- 
tage of  performing  the  act  badly.  He 
tells  us  not  to  approach  too  often  ;  he  does 
not  tell  us  to  make  frequent  good  con- 
fessions, but  he  persuades  us  that  we  may 
sometimes  go  to  keep  up  appearances,  or 
out  of  human  respect,  but  he  does  not  say 
that  frequent  confession  is  good,  if  it  be 
accompanied  with  a  good  and  pious 
motive. 

In  addition  to  the  grace  which  is 
attached  to  the  Sacrament  to  prevent  our 
falling  back,  what  power  has  not  a  prudent 
confessor  on  those  souls  who  are  resolved 
to  be  under  his  direction  ?  What  will  he 
not  do  when  he  knows  how  to  win  their 
confidence,  and  what  pains  will  he  not  be 
compelled  to  take,  to  secure  the  perse- 
verance and  salvation  of  the  souls  intrusted 
to  his  guidance  }  What  injustices  in  trade 
will  he  not  try  to  rectify,  and  what  foolish 
engagements  will  he  not  break  off  .■'  What 
zealous  care  will  he  not  take  to  root  out 
the  most  violent  passions,  what  resent- 
ments will  he  not  stifle,  what  reconciliations 
will  he  not  effect,  when  he  sees  any 
family  disagreements.?  He  will  be  the 
medium  of  making  souls  unselfish ;  he 
will  cause  many  to  renounce  usury  and 
avarice,  and  persuade  others  to  make 
restitution  for  ill-gotten   goods.     This   is 


what  a  good  director  can  do,  and  what  a 
zealous  confessor  aims  to  do. 

We  must  also  add  that  frequent  con- 
fession is  a  powerful  curb  on  the  con- 
science, and  fosters  the  duty  of  the  holy 
fear  of  God  ;  so  that  a  man  has  not  an 
idea  of  returning  to  sin  when  he  thinks 
of  the  pain  and  shame  of  confessing  it. 
This  thought  produces  nearly  the  same 
effect  as  the  preparation  for  death  ;  for  it 
makes  us  remember  that  we  ought  to 
appear  in  the  tribunal  of  penance,  as  if 
we  should  be  summoned  to  stand  before 
God  to  be  judged. 

What  more  can  be  said .?  The  sweet 
use  of  confession  redeems  a  soul  from 
sins,  and  so  invigorates  the  will  that  the 
most  violent  temptations  are  successfully 
resisted.  How  different  the  fate  of  those 
who  shake  off  the  yoke  of  confession,  or 
who  go  to  confession  but  very  seldom,  or 
those  who  abandon  themselves  to  all  kinds 
of  disorderly  sins. 

BOURDALOUE. 

Sermon  on  Confession. 


If  you  love  the  beauty  of  your  soul, 
says  St.  Bernard,  cherish  confession. 
It  is  that  which  re -ornaments  it,  and  renews 
all  the  traces  of  beauty  which  had  been 
tarnished  by  sin.  But  why }  one  may  say. 
What  does  God  want  with  a  verbal  dec- 
laration ?  Does  He  not  read  our  hearts .' 
does  He  not  see  all  that  passes }  Ah  ! 
says  the  saint.  He  demands  this  confession 
—  non  tit  agnoscat  sed  ut  ignoscat  —  not 
but  that  He  knows  better  than  we  do,  for 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  PENANCE. 


147 


He  sees  the  innermost  recesses  of  our 
consciences,  but  that  He  may  be  able  to 
forgive  us.  It  is  sufficient  to  lay  bare  all 
our  wounds  that  He  may  cure  them  ;  it  is 
sufficient  to  accuse  ourselves,  that  we  may 


be  excused  ;  it  is  sufficient  that  we  should 
condemn  ourselves,  in  order  to  be  absolvad. 
Can  confession  offer  more  advantageous 
blessings  ? 

Le  PtRE  Masson, 


^I^ 


^n  Bel 


h  ^ 


Qcnmunion. 


P^REs  Castillo,  Vaubert,  and  St.  Cyprian. 

*  Except  you  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  you  shall  not  have  life  in  you. 

—  John  vi.  54. 


I 


'ATTHIEU  DE  CASTILLO  was 
born  in  Palermo  in  the  year  1664. 
He  entered  the  order  of  St.  Dom- 
inic in  1679,  taught  theology  with 
great  success,  and  was  esteemed 
as  an  excellent  preacher.  This 
religious  died  in  the  year  1720, 
leaving  behind  him  several  works  of  merit, 
among  which  may  be  named  a  Funeral  Pane- 
gyric on  P^re  Ange-Marie,  Franciscan  monk, 
and  an  abridged  Life  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrier. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  St.  Thomas  and  of 
all  subsequent  theologians  that  venial  sins 
are  remitted  by  the  power  of  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Holy  Communion,  if  received  in  a 
state  of  grace.  Pope  Innocent  goes  further 
than  this,  for  he  assures  us  that  a  fervent 
communion  will  prevent  us  from  falling 
into  mortal  sin,  inasmuch  as  it  enables  us 
to  keep  in  a  state  of  grace  ;  because,  says 
the  saintly  doctor,  as  corporeal  nourish- 
ment strengthens  the  system,  and  renews 
fresh  vigor  in  the  body,  so  in  like  manner 
the  constant  use  of  the  spiritual  food. 
Holy    Communion,  imparts   a  strength  of 


will  which  before  was  weakened  by  sen- 
suality or  by  venial  sins. 

To  this  may  be  added,  that  as  habitual 
venial  sin  decreases  the  fervor  of  charity, 
therefore,  in  order  to  renew  and  re-enkindle 
our  devotion,  nothing  is  more  beneficial, 
no  cure  more  certain,  than  the  devout 
reception  of  Holy  Communion.  It  is  a 
daily  remedy  against  our  daily  infirmities, 
so  says  St.  Ambrose. 

St.  Bernard  says.  If  there  be  any  among 
you  who  has  experienced  a  change  of 
heart  and  will ;  if  you  have  no  innate 
desire  for  or  delight  in  the  things  of  this 
world ;  if  anger,  envy,  sensuality,  or  any 
other  vice  should  be  deadened  in  you  ;  if 
these  do  not  tempt  you,  or  if  they  do  not 
disturb  your  mind  or  conscience,  do  not  be 
vainglorious  in  these  victories,  but  return 
thanks  to  Jesus  in  His  sacrament  of  love. 
"  Because  the  virtue  of  this  sacrament  will 
work  within  you,"  continues  the  saint.  It 
is  the  strength  and  power  of  this  adorable 
sacrament     which     has      metamorphosed 


ox  HOLY  communion: 


149 


many  a  worldly  man  to  a  fervent  servant 
of  God. 

To  those  who,  after  Holy  Communion, 
fall  soon  into  mortal  sin,  I  implore  them 
to  consider  with  what  zeal  the  holy 
Fathers  have  inveighed  against  such 
relapses,  and  in  what  terms  they  speak  of 
the  awful  consequences  resulting  there- 
from. 

To  return  after  receiving  communion  to 
your  former  state  of  sin,  is,  they  say,  to 
profane  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
to  dishonor  the  mystical  body  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  it  is  to  follow  the  example  of 
Judas,  to  betray  Him  and  to  deliver  Him 
up  to  Ilis  enemies. 

The  Body  of  Christ  has  been  intrusted ' 
to  you,  says  St.  Athanasius.  You  are  His 
temple,  and  He  dwells  within  you.  What 
do  I  say  ?  You  have  become  a  member 
of  His  Body ;  treat  Him  with  respectful 
love,  and  do  not  betray  Him  as  Judas  did. 

In  many  passages  St.  Chrysostom  has 
displayed  his  eloquence,  when  he  strongly 
recommended  purity  of  life,  after  the 
reception  of  Holy  Communion,  and  when 
he  represents  to  his  flock  the  enormous 
sin  committed  by  those  who  easily 
return  to  their  former  state  of  tepidity. 
Le  PfeRE  Castillo. 


[Luke  Vaubert  was  born  at  Noyon  in  1644, 
and  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  on  the  21st  of 
September,  1622.  After  his  novitiate  he  was 
made  professor  of  the  humanities,  rhetoric,  and 
philosophy.  He  was  afterwards  elected  as 
Rector  of  the  College  of  Louis-le-Grand  in 
Paris,  and  therein  died  on  the  15th  of  April, 
17 16.     Among   his    spiritual   works,    the   one 


entitled  "  Devotion  to  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,"  is  the 
best  known,  and  has  often  been  reprinted.] 

O  my  divine  Saviour !  how  sorely 
grieved  am  I,  when  I  think  how  unworthy 
I  am,  and  how  I  have  hitherto  abused  Thy 
excessive  goodness.  How  often  have  I 
wandered  from  Thee,  I  who  have  been 
more  debased,  more  ungrateful  than  the 
prodigal  son. 

But  if  I  have  imitated  him  in  his  folly,  I, 
following  his  example,  return  to  You,  over- 
whelmed with  shame,  and  I  hope  that  You 
will  receive  me  with  the  same  tenderness 
as  his  father  received  him.  I  could  say, 
indeed,  with  more  truth,  that  I  do  not 
deserve  to  be  treated  as  one  of  Your  chil- 
dren ;  but  I  know  Your  tender  heart,  and 
since  You  have  deigned  to  will  that  I 
should  partake  of  the  Bread  of  Angels,  I 
dare  to  believe  that  Thou  wilt  look  on  me, 
and  receive  me  as  one  of  Thy  servants. 

L'Ai5b4  Vaubert. 

We  ask  daily  for  bread,  for  fear  that 
being  deprived  of  it,  and  by  not  receiving 
it  in  Holy  Communion,  we  should  be 
deprived  of  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ. 

He  who  abstains  from  receiving  Holy 
Communion,  and  separates  himself  from 
the  body  of  the  Lord,  has  much  reason  to 
fear,  for  he  withdraws  himself,  at  the  same 
time,  from  eternal  salvation  ;  for  does  not 
Christ  say,  "  Unless  you  eat  of  the  Son  of 
man  you  shall  not  have  life  in  you  "  ? 

St.  Cyprian. 
Oh  the  Lord's  Prayer. 


CHAPTER    LVI. 


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? 


L'ABBfi  Flechier. 


"  And  the  altar  shall  be  sanctified  by  my  glory.      I  will  sanctify  also  the  tabernacle  of  the  testi- 
mony with  the  altar."  —  Exodus  xxix.  43. 


HE  Mass  is  a  sacrifice,  that  is 
to  say,  it  is  a  supreme  wor- 
ship, a  real  immolation,  a 
public  recognition  of  the  sover- 
eignty of  God,  and  a  sincere 
protestation  by  some  visible 
ceremonies  of  the  intimate  and  necessary 
dependence  of  our  existence  on  a  Superior 
Being,  which  can  be  but  God  alone.  For, 
my  brethren,  recollect  that  we  believe 
that  we  are  rendering  to  the  angels, 
martyrs,  saints  —  to  the  Mother  of  God 
herself,  raised  in  dignity  above  the  angels, 
and  in  merit  above  the  saints  —  that  we 
are  rendering,  I  say,  a  homage  which  has 
been  reserved  for  them  as  an  inheritance, 
and  as  a  regal  mark  of  adoration  which  is 
due  to  Him. 

The  Mass  is  a  sacrifice  instituted  by 
Jesus  Christ,  says  St.  Cyril,  having  an 
immutable  priesthood,  consecrated  by  an 
everlasting  unction  from  all  ages,  in 
erecting  the  new  law  has  established  this 
sacrifice    of     His     Body    and    Blood  —  a 

160 


precious   monument  of  His  infinite  love 
for  men. 

It  was  on  that  fatal  night,  when  He  was 
to  be  delivered  up  to  His  enemies,  that 
He  offered  Himself  to  His  Father  under 
the  species  of  bread  and  wine,  being  both 
together,  says  St.  Paulinus,  both  the  priest 
of  His  victim  and  the  victim  of  His  priest- 
hood ;  then  enjoining  His  apostles,  and 
those  priests  who  legitimately  succeeded 
them,  to  do  the  same,  even  to  the  con- 
summation of  the  world. 

There  is,  then,  in  the  Church  a  divine 
sacrifice,  which  the  Council  of  Trent  has 
designated  as  the  highest  work  of  God  — 
o/>us  Dei ;  divine  in  its  beginning,  God 
alone,  by  His  Almighty  power  being 
capable  of  changing  the  bread  and  wine 
into  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
divine  in  its  midst,  God  alone  becoming 
man  in  order  to  be  a  victim  fit  to  appease 
the  anger  of  a  sovereign  majesty ;  divine 
in  its  end,  God  alone  being  able  to  be  the 


THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST  AS  A   SACRIFICE. 


151 


object  of  those  everlasting  testimonies 
and  of  that  divine  oblation  ;  divine  in  its 
duration,  as  the  prophet  Daniel  had 
predicted. 

It  is  not  composed,  as  formerly,  of  many 
victims,  but  of  one  only,  which  is  per- 
petuated on  our  altars  ;  which  is  multi- 
plied without  being  divided,  which  is 
sacrificed  without  dying,  and  eaten  with- 
out being  consumed,  since  it  is  the 
immortal  --.ni  impassible  Body  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

It  is  the  same  God  who  speaks  through 
His  prophet  Malachias.  Listen  to  Him 
with  docility  and  respect  :  "  For  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun  even  to  the  going  down, 
my  name  is  great  among  the  Gentiles.  I 
see  in  every  place  altars,  whereon  is 
offered  to  my  name  a  clean  offering " 
{Malach.  i.  ii). 

What,  then,  is  that  victim  which  the 
Lord  even  so  honors  as  to  attract  His 
attention  and  complacency,  which  is  so 
pleasing  through  its  purity  and  innocence } 
Is  it  that  of  animals,  whose  impure  and 
coarse  blood  would  render  it  far  from 
agreeable  }  Can  it  be  our  works,  wherein 
malice  is  so  often  mingled,  where  flesh 
and  blood  have  a  share,  where  concu- 
piscence is  almost  always  mixed  up  with 
secret  vanities  or  petty  interests  ?  Can 
it  be  our  prayers,  which  are  but  too  often 
accompanied  with  distractions,  disgust, 
impatience,  and  self-love  ^  No,  doubtless. 
This  glorious  sacrifice  is  that  of  the  Mass 
which  is  offered  up  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe  for  the  propitiation  and  satisfaction 
of  our  sins  ;  this  oblation  is  of  itself  so 


pure  and  holy  that  neither  the  unworthi- 
ness  of  Him  who  offers  it  up  nor  the 
irreverence  of  those  who  assist  at  it  can 
in  the  least  deprive  it  of  its  holiness. 

We  all  meet  in  the  church  to  give  a 
public  testimony  of  our  faith  and  piety, 
and  the  visible  sacrifice  which  is  offered 
at  the  Mass  is  the  sign  of  the  invisible 
Sacrifice ;  so,  says  St.  Augustine,  modesty 
and  a  devout  posture  of  the  body  ought  to 
be  the  sign  of  our  devotion  and  interior 
reverence.  It  is  there  we  go  to  confess 
Jesus  Christ  before  men,  so  that  He  may 
acknowledge  us  before  His  Heavenly 
Father.  Where  is  it  that  we  ought  to  give 
outward  signs  of  that  respectful  fear,  but 
in  the  presence  of  that  divine  majesty  of 
God,  residing  in  the  tabernacles  of  His 
church }  Our  sole  occupation  should 
consist  in  adoring  God,  and  acquitting 
ourselves  well,  in  all  our  religious  duties 
to  Him  to  whom  we  are  so  indebted. 

Besides,  we  are  obliged  to  give  edifica- 
tion to  all  the  faithful ;  and  if  we  are  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  places,  expected  to  show 
a  good  example,  surely  it  is  at  the  church, 
during  the  celebration  of  the  divine 
mysteries,  that  we  should  do  so. 

Nevertheless,  how  many  profanations 
and  irreverences  are  daily  committed 
during  Holy  Mass.?  How  many  attend 
carelessly  and  thoughtlessly,  although  God 
bids  us  tremble  when  we  place  our  feet  on 
the  threshold  of  those  venerable  piles, 
wherein  religion  and  its  mysteries  are  set 
apart  for  worship  ? 

Many  enter  the  church  thinking  only  of 
useless    trifles,    foolish    appointments,  or 


152 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


frivolous  amusements  ;  they  look  out  for 
a  Mass  which  they  suspect  will  be  a 
short  one,  as  if  they  begrudged  the 
short  half-hour  they  give  to  Jesus  every 
week. 

Many  wait  to  attend  the  latest  Mass,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  more  intimate  and 
friendly  with  those  who  are  equally  unde- 


vout  and  lazy.  They  let  the  priest  go 
away,  or,  perhaps  better  to  say,  they  leave 
Jesus  as  if  they  had  taken  no  heed  of  His 
sacrifice  ;  and,  far  from  having  any  feeling 
of  devotion,  they  have  deprived  those  who 
had,  by  the  distractions  they  have  given 
them. 

Flechier. 


^f^     ^^     ^^     ^^     "^     ^^ 
"w     ^^     ^^     ^^     ^^     ^^ 

CHAPTER    LVII. 

jl     On  the  [lolil  Enchai<i^li  a^  a  ^aci<ameni    S 

-^             ^^               .^               .^               ^Ufe.             ^^ 

^^         ^^          ■^^          "^^          ^^         ^^ 

Father  Faber,  PfeRE  Garnier,  and  St.  Cyprian. 
Verily,  thou  art  a  hidden  God,  the  God  of  Israel,  the  Saviour."  —  Isaias  xliv.  i8. 


HE  Blessed  Sacrament  is  a 
mystery  of  daily  repetition,  of 
ordinary  familiarity.  We  are 
coming  across  our  Lord  con- 
tinually. Either  we  are  calling 
Him  from  heaven  ourselves,  if 
we  be  priests  ;  or  we  are  witnessing  that 
unspeakable  mystery ;  or  we  are  feeding 
on  Him  and  seeing  our  fellow-creatures  do 
so  also  ;  or  we  are  gazing  at  Him  in  His 
veils,  or  receiving  His  benedictions,  or 
making  our  devotions  at  His  tabernacle 
door. 

Yet  what  is  our  habitual  behavior  to 
Him  in  this  mystery  ?  We  are  orthodox 
in  faith,  doubtless ;  every  word  of  that 
queen  of  councils,  the  blessed  and  glorious 
assembly  of  Trent,  is  more  precious  to  us 
than  a  mine  of  gold.  But  have  the 
intensity  of  our  love,  the  breathlessness  of 
our  reverence,  the  earnestness  of  our 
prayers,  the  overbearing  momentum  of  our 
faith,  the  speechlessness  of  our  yearning 
desires  been  all  they  should  have  been,  or 
half  they  would  have  been,  if  we  had  but 

183 


corresponded  to  the  grace  which  He  him^ 
self  each  time  was  giving  us  ? 

There  is  no  sign  of  lukewarmness  more 
unerring  than  becoming  thoughtless  about 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  letting  it  grow 
common  to  us  without  our  feeling  it.  Even 
though  the  disciples  on  the  road  to 
Emmaus  did  not  know  Jesus  till  He 
vanished  from  their  sight,  at  least  their 
hearts,  they  knew  not  why,  burned  within 
them  as  they  walked  and  talked  to  Him 
by  the  way.  Yet  how  often  have  we  been 
at  the  tabernacle  door,  feeling  neither  His 
presence  nor  our  own  miseries,  more  than 
a  beggar  sleeping  in  the  sun  at  a  rich 
man's  gate  ? 

True  it  is  that  the  Blessed  SaCrament  is 
not  a  mystery  of  distance  or  of  terror,  but 
one  of  most  dear  familiarity.  Yet  the 
only  true  test  of  our  loving  familiarity  is 
the  depth  of  our  joyous  fear.    ** 

Yet,  alas !  whenever  we  read  or  hear  of 
some  of  the  great  things  concerning  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  does  it  not  often  flash 


154 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


upon  us  that  our  conduct  is  not  in  keeping 
with  our  creed  ?  and,  looking  back  on  a 
long,  sad  line  of  indifferent  communions, 
distracted  masses,  and  careless  visits  to 
the  tabernacle,  fxo.  we  not  sometimes 
startled  into  say^g,  Do  I  really  believe 
all  this  ? 

How  many  of  us  might  simplify  our 
spiritual  lives,  and  so  make  great  progress, 
if  we  would  Only  look  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  to  our  feelings  and  conduct 
towards  it,  ?>i7.d  its  impression  upon  us,  as 
the  index  of  our  spiritual  condition  ? 
We  are  a'c'/ays  trying  to  awaken  our- 
selves with  new  things,  new  books,  new 
prayers,  new  confraternities,  new  states  of 
prayer;  and  our  forbearing  Lord  runs 
after  us  and  keeps  blessing  us  in  our 
changeableness,  and  humoring  us  in  our 
fickle  weakness.  How  much  better  would 
it  be  to  keep  to  our  old  things,  to  hold 
fast  by  Him,  and  to  warm  ourselves  only 
at  the  tabernacle  fire ! 

Father  Faber.  (Orat.) 
Blessed  Sacrament. 


QoHN  Garnier.  —  This  renowned  Jesuit 
professor  of  theolog}'  was  born  in  Paris  in 
1612,  and  died  at  Bologna  in  168 1,  while  on 
his  journey  to  Rome,  whither  he  had  been 
summoned  to  wait  on  the  Superior  General 
of  the  Order.  He  was  a  true  servant  of  God, 
full  of  piety  and  knowledge.  His  published 
works  testify  to  his  being  a  man  of  superior 
attainment.] 

Moses,  desirous  of  making  the  Israelites 
understand  how  great  was  the  happiness 
they  possessed  in  being  the  chosen  people 
of  God,  said  to  them  :   There  never  was 


a  nation,  however  illustrious  it  may  have 
been,  who  had  gods  so  communicative  as  is 
our  God,  who  communicates  Himself  to  us. 

What  shall  we  say  to  Christians  when 
their  loving  and  all-merciful  God,  not  con- 
tent  with  dwelling  amongst  us  in  our 
churches  and  visiting  us  in  our  homes, 
but  has  further  willed  to  dwell  in  the 
interior  of  our  souls,  and  to  repOse  ii. 
our  hearts  as  in  a  temple,  where  we  can 
familiarly  confer  with  Him  and  expose  all 
our  wants  "i 

It  was  an  incomparable  joy  for  the 
Mother  of  God  to  have  carried  Jesus  in 
her  bosom  ;  —  has  not  the  Christian  the 
happiness  of  carrying  Him  in  his } 

St.  Elizabeth  esteemed  herself  happy 
when  the  Mother  of  God  came  to  visit 
her,  and  the  Lord  Himself  is  willing  to 
come  and  dwell  in  the  interior  of  our 
souls !  Mary  Magdalen  had  the  advan- 
tage of  kissing  His  feet,  and  we  have  the 
opportunity  of  embracing  Him  and  of 
receiving  His  caresses  !  After  that,  what 
heart  would  not  be  inflamed  with  love  for 
a  God  who  so  familiarly  communicates 
with  men  }  Ought  not  this  induce  us  to 
offer  to  Him  our  fervent  prayers,  our 
fondest  love  ? 

.  Have  we  not  indeed  reason  to  reproach 
ourselves  with  coldness  and  ingratitude, 
when  we  think  of  the  wondrous  love  which 
God  has  shown  to  men  in  this  adorable 
sacrament  .-* 

As  this  God  of  love  gives  Himself 
entire  to  us  in  the  Eucharist,  we  ou^ht  to 
give  ourselves  entirely  to  Him  But, 
alas  !   how  very  far  we   are   from    loving 


THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST  AS  A    SACRAMENT. 


155 


Him  as  He  has  loved  us  in  this  divine 
mystery.  He  has  loved  us  to  excess,  He 
has  loved  us  without  reserve,  He  has 
given  Himself  to  us  whole  and  entire, 
He  has  spared  nothing  to  show  us  His 
love;  nevertheless,  it  is  this  same  God 
whom  we  love  with  so  much  coldness  and 
with  so  much  reserve. 

We  give  Him  as  little  of  our  heart  as  we 
possibly  can,  and  often  give  Him  nothing 
at  all ;  although  that  would  not  be  a  sin, 
still  it  would  be  indeed  an  act  of  a  great 
ingratitude  and  greater  meanness. 

Le  PfeRE  Garnier. 
MS.  Sermon. 


The  soul  must  be  in  an  utter  swoon,  if 
it  be  not  roused  and  enlivened  by  the 
Holy  Eucharist. 

We  do  not  expose  those  whom  we 
encourage  to  fight  against  persecution, 
or  leave  them  devoid  of  help  or  even 
unarmed :  but  we  fortify  them  with  the 
protection  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ, 
our  Saviour.  For  is  it  not  true  that  the 
Holy  Eucharist  raises  the  faithful  above 
themselves,  and  from  its  efficacy  a  worldly 
man  becomes  a  heavenly  man  } 

St.  Cyprian. 
From  his  Epistles, 


H  I    M    I   I    I  I    I  I    I  I    I  I    I   I    i  !■ 


wmml  of  Matrimonii. 


Le    PfeRE    CORDIER. 

**  This  is  a  great  sacrament,  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  tlie  church."  —  Ephesians  v.  32. 


,RANCIS  CORDIER  for  some 
years  was  a  priest  of  the  French 
Oratory.  This  congregation  he, 
however,  abandoned  in  the  year 
1680,  and  died  in  1695.  He  has 
left  behind  him  "  The  Manuel 
Chretien  "  and  a  Life  of  the  Car- 
melite Anne  of  the  Angels.  Both  printed  in 
Paris  A.  D.  1694. 

Marriage  may  be  said  to  be  the  nursery 
of  mankind.  From  that  are  drawn  daily 
new  plants,  in  place  of  others  which  have 
withered  and  died  away  through  length  of 
time.  This  is  a  metempsychosis  full  of 
mystery,  but  is  much  more  honorable  and 
advantageous  to  mankind  than  that  which 
some  philosophers  have  imagined,  who 
would  revivify  men  from  beasts  and  beasts 
from  men. 

Marriage  shows  that  men  are  in  some 
way  immortal,  for  a  father  dies  without 
dying,  for  he  lives  again  in  his  son  and 
in  all  his  descendants.  It  is  a  fountain 
of  life  which  ever  flows,  and  is  never 
exhausted. 

Death  is  an  abyss  in  which  all  men  are 
engulfed,  as  rivers  are  lost  in  the  ocean  ; 


but  because  that  spring  may  never  cease 
to  flow,  for  one  who  dies,  many  are  often 
brought  to  life. 

Without  marriage,  death,  which  spares 
no  one,  whole  cities  would  be  ruined, 
whole  provinces  would  be  desolate.  As 
nothing  could  check  its  violence,  a  century, 
and  perchance  much  less,  would  suffice  to 
hurry  all  men  to  the  grave ;  but  God,  who 
does  not  wish  His  work  to  perish  before 
the  number  of  the  elect  is  filled  up,  has 
made  Himself  the  Patron  and  Protector  of 
marriages,  as  He  has  been  the  first  founder 
of  them ;  the  same  care  He  has  taken  to 
preserve  the  world,  induced  Him  to  take 
in  hand  the  marriages  contracted  therein, 
and  which  are  the  means  of  maintaining  it. 

That  is  the  reason  why  the  world  is 
daily  replenished  with  inhabitants,  why 
new  cities  and  towns  become  populated, 
why  states  and  kingdoms  flourish. 

Could  He,  I  say,  have  found  a  more 
eflfectual  method  to  maintain  and  preserve 
so  great  a  work  } 

The  strokes  of  death  are  continually  at 
work,  but  do  not  annihilate,  because  the 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  MATRIMONY. 


157 


fruitfulness  of  marriage  wards  off  every 
blow,  and  the  grand  design  of  God  to  refill 
heaven  with  His  elect  is  effected  by  this 
means.  I  call  it  the  grand  design  of  God, 
because  it  is  the  climax  of  all  others,  and 
to  which  all  aspire  and  tend,  as  lines  do 
to  the  centre. 

This  grand  design  could  not  be  carried 
out  in  the  order  which  God  has  willed  to 
establish  it  without  marriage,  and  this  is 
the  reason  why  He  has  willed  to   be  its 

I      author  since  the  creation  of  the  world. 

I  Marriage  is  the  first  bond  of  everyday 

life ;  it  is  the  foundation  and  support  of  all 
human  intercourse  ;  it  is  the  beginning  of 
every  union.  Every  one  should  acknowl- 
edge it  as  the  rock  from  which  they  have 
sprung.  It  is  an  agreement  as  old  as  the 
world  itself,  and  its  author  is  no  other 
than  God. 

The  Gnostics,  who  have  been  the  most 
shameless  heretics  that  hell  has  ever  pro- 
duced, have  rejected  it  as  a  bad  and  detest- 
able thing  ;  but  when  we  read  in  the  book 
of  Genesis  that  God  was  the  author  of 
marriage,  and  when  we  read  in  the  New 
Testament  that  God  the  Son  honored  it  by 
His  presence,  we  should  detest  those 
infamous  heretics  who  have  disapproved  of 
it.  It  was  not  the  honor  and  respect 
which  they  bore  to  the  virtue  of  purity 
which  made  them  speak,  but  the  license  of 
libertinism,  which  prompted  them  to  keep 
as  many  women  as  they  could  seduce. 

The  apostle's  counsel  to  live  single  is 
not  blaming  or  condemning  the  marriage 
state  ;  for  that  can  only  be  condemned  by 


persons  who  have  not  a  just  appreciation 
of  the  works  of  God ;  but  to  teach  us  that 
it  is  not  obligatory,  and  that  we  may 
increase  in  merit  by  renouncing  one  state 
of  life  by  embracing  another  still  more  per- 
fect. 

The  Church,  which  is  ever  guided  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  in  all  its  ceremonies, 
retains  a  custom  in  all  marriages  which 
teaches  those  who  receive  this  sacrament 
the  affection  that  they  should  ha'c  for 
each  other.  It  directs  the  priest  to  bless 
a  ring,  presenting  it  first  to  the  husband 
in  order  that  by  receiving  it,  he  may  encir- 
cle her  in  his  heart  and  shut  out  all  other 
loves.  Then  he  places  it  on  the  wife's 
hand,  in  order  that  she  may  equally  have 
no  other  affection  for  any  man  than  the 
one  God  has  given  her  for  a  husband. 
This  ring  is  a  seal  which  should  have  a 
double  intent  on  the  hearts  of  the  married 
couple,  the  first  being  to  preserve  inviolate 
sworn  conjugal  love,  the  second  is  not  to 
allow  an  entry  for  any  strange  love. 

Confidence  is  the  result  of  a  tried  fidelity 
and  a  constant  esteem.  If  this  be  neces- 
sary for  all  who  are  engaged  in  any  kind 
of  commerce  whatsoever,  what  partnership 
can  be  more  complete  than  marriage  .-' 

Concord,  says  St.  Chrysostom,  consti- 
tutes the  maximum  of  the  happiness  and 
blessing  of  a  married  life  ;  and  if  the  hus- 
band can  place  his  entire  confidence  in  a 
good  and  virtuous  wife,  they  will  be  as  one 
body,  one  flesh. 

Lk  PfeRK  CORDIER. 

Stltctions  from  "  La  Saintt  Families 


On  tP[E  ^oi|19  ctnfl  its  iDcmgeirs. 


^^^^^o~ 


I 


I 


=0^^%-:?=:^* 


St.  Augustine,  Flechier,  and  P^re  Croiset. 
"  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  charity  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him."  —  John  ii.  15. 


jONDROUS  thing  !  the  world 
is  full  of  trouble  and  we  do 
not  tire  of  loving  it !  What 
would,  it  be  were  it  always 
quiet?  You  attach  yourself  to 
this  world,  deformed  and  ugly 
as  it  io  ;  what  would  it  be  were  it  always 
agreeable  ?  You  draw  away  your  hand 
from  the  thorns  of  this  world  ;  what  would 
it  be  if  you  had  but  to  gathtr  flowers  ? 

Take  care,  the  wind  is  violent,  the 
tempest  is  terrible ;  each  one  has  his  own 
danger,  for  each  one  is  tossed  about  with 
his  own  passions.  Would  you  wish  to 
know  how  to  save  yourself  from  this 
tempestuous  sea  ?  Love  God,  and  you 
will  walk  upon  its  waters  ;  you  will  tread 
under  foot  the  pride  of  the  world,  and  you 
will  be  saved.  On  the  contrary,  if  you 
love  the  world  you  will  be  engulfed,  for 
the  world  knows  only  how  to  shipwreck 
a  soul,  it  knows  not  how  to  save  it. 

St.  Augustine. 
Sermons  Ixxvi.  and  cviii. 

Would  you  know  what  happened  to  the 
great    St.  Benedict  when   he   was   in   an 


ecstasy  of  prayer  ?  He  felt  himself  raised 
above  himself ;  the  heavens  opened,  and 
from  an  exterior  darkness  there  came  a 
kind  of  wondrous  light,  and  the  world  was 
mirrored  before  him,  and  he,  by  divine 
permission,  was  allowed  to  view  the  world, 
and  it  showed  him  at  a  glance  the  noth- 
ingness and  deformity  of  all  human 
things. 

Whether  God  had  narrowed  within  the 
ray  both  heaven  and  earth,  or  whether  He 
had  enlarged  his  heart  and  mind,  says  St. 
Gregory,  he  sees  revolutions  and  vicissi- 
tudes here  below,  creatures  forced  against 
their  will  to  feed  on  vanity,  and  all  the 
universe  subjected  to  the  covetousness  of 
men.  He  sees,  under  cover  of  this  celes- 
tial light,  those  grandeurs  which  are 
esteemed  so  highly  gradually  decrease ; 
he  sees  ambition,  which  takes  so  firm  a 
hold  on  man,  sink  and  fade  away ;  that 
universal  hypocrisy  of  the  age,  which 
elevates  vice  and  makes  virtue  look  con- 
temptible,—  where  counterfeit  miseries  are 
cherished,  where  wretched  pleasures  are 
sought  after.  He  sees  a  crowd  of  frivo- 
lous    desires,    hopes     ill-founded,    unjust 


THE   WORLD  AND  ITS  DANGERS. 


15^ 


hatreds,  irregulated  loves ;  he  sees  the 
wanton  extravagance  of  our  pleasures,  the 
inutility  of  our  occupations,  the  instability 
of  our  fortunes,  the  emptiness  of  our 
wishes,  the  littleness  of  our  interests. 
Ah!  how  mean  and  contemptible  did  the 
world  appear  to  him  !  No  wonder  that  he 
despised  it  and  retired  from  it  for  ever- 
more. 

L'Abb^  Flechier. 
Panegyric  of  St.  Benedict. 

Pleasure  is  a  feeling  of  joy  which  dwells 
in  the  soul  during  the  existence  of  a 
blessing  which  is  acknowledged  as  such. 

Now  this  pleasure  is  only  perfect  so 
long  as  the  blessing  which  causes  it  is 
sustained.  An  imaginary  blessing  could 
not  know  a  real  pleasure ;  its  enchant- 
ments vanish  in  time,  its  illusions  are 
soon  dispelled  ;  when  the  gratification  of 
a  blessing  is  deadened  or  exhausted,  the 
mind  and  heart  feel  a  void,  and  reason 
discovers,  sooner  or  later,  the  depth  of  its 
nothingness,  and  at  last  bitter  is  the 
bitterness  where  passion  anticipates,  but 
does  not  realize  so  much  pleasure. 

From  that  proceed  those  involuntary 
anxieties  and  vexations  which  all  the  joys 
of  the  world,  however  harmless,  cannot 
drive  away.  From  that  arise  those  adversi- 
ties, those  little  crosses,  which  put  the 
most  good-humored  out  of  temper,  and 
which  makes  them  say  with  truth  that 
worldly  happiness  is  a  myth. 


As  God  alone  can  fill  our  heart,  it  is 
He  who  can  satisfy  our  desires.  Other 
objects  amuse  for  a  while,  but  they  make 
our  consciences  uneasy,  and,  finally,  they 
weary  and  disgust. 

God  alone  can  satisfy  a  soul,  calm  its 
anxieties,  its  suspicions,  its  fears,  and  every 
trouble  that  stirs  within  our  hearts. 
Whenever  I  tried  to  fill  up  the  aching  void 
in  my  heart,  says  St.  Augustine,  I  found 
that  nothing  equalled  the  happiness  I  felt 
in  trying  to  do  my  duty  in  serving  God. 

What  are  the  miseries  which  worldlings 
have  to  endure  .-'  Alas  !  everything  seems 
to  conspire  to  make  them  groan  without 
being  allowed  to  complain.  Continuous 
and  fatiguing  cares,  inseparable  from  their 
state  of  life  ;  ambition,  jealousy,  self-inter* 
est,  inexhaustible  anxieties  ;  the  uneasiness 
of  a  busy  life,  the  fears  of  failure,  the 
varied  tempers  of  those  in  their  employ  — 
all  of  whom  must  be  humored  —  a  hundred 
vexing  accidents  they  are  liable  to,  and 
which  can  rarely  be  prevented,  the  bad 
weather  which  they  cannot  avoid,  a  station 
of  life  which  must  at  all  risks  be  kept  up, 
worry  of  competition,  the  malice  of  the 
envious,  a  heart  ever  agitated,  an  uneasy 
mind  and  conscience. 

What !  Does  it  require  all  these  things 
to  make  a  man  unhappy?  All  such  as 
these  are,  nevertheless,  to  be  found  united 
in  the  men  who  battle  with  the  world. 

PfeRE  Ceoiset,  S.  J. 
Reflexions  SpirituelUs. 


-t^^^y^^-^-^i:!^ 


&"^V?^!^V5r5^v<=-v- 


CHAPTER    LX. 


i*:  '.*:  '.*:  ■!•;  i*':  {•'•  •!•;  iv  'IK'  •?•  •?•'  •?•*  *!?•'  i*i  •!•«*  'I'l*  i*:  i*':  •!•; 

*  On  the  World  and  its  Maxims.  * 


'.*:  :*:  :'»: 


•-•.*  •.•;  •>-• 


'.":  •.••  •.••  •••;  w  w 


St.  Ambrose  and  Massillian. 

"  All  that  is  in  the  world,  is  the  concupiscence  of  the  flesh,  the  concupiscence  of  the  eyes,  and  the 
pride  of  life."  —  John  i.  i6. 


T.  AMBROSE.— This  great  saint 
and  doctor  of  the  Church  was  born 
about  the  year  340,  and  died  on 
the  eve  of  Easter-day  in  397,  aged 
fifty-seven.  After  the  death  of 
Auxence,  Bishop  of  Milan, 
Ambrose  was  unanimously  elected 
to  succeed  him,  and  this  choice  was  confirmed 
by  the  Emperor  Valentinian.  At  that  time 
Ambrose  was  a  catechumen,  but  after  baptism 
he  was  ordained  on  December  17,  374. 

The  writings  of  this  glorious  saint  have  this 
advantage,  that  they  please  and  instruct  at  the 
same  time.  They  are  as  majestic  and  forcible 
as  they  are  full  of  divine  unction.  An  edition 
of  his  works  was  published  by  the  Benedictines 
of  the  Congregation  of  St,  Maur  in  the  years 
1686  and  1670. 

The  Te  Deum  laudamus  is  attributed  to  him, 
though  some  say  that  it  is  the  united  composi- 
tion of  SS.  Ambrose  and  Augustine.  The 
name,  however,  of  Hymnus  Ambrosianus  seems 
to  be  a  proof  that  he  alone  was  the  author. 

For  particulars  of  his  life  see  Butler's  "  Lives 
of  the  Saints,"  Godescard  and  Giry. 

The  world  which  encompasses  us  is  full 
of  snares.  One  cannot  dwell  in  it  even  for 
a  short  time  without  danger.  You  open 
your  eyes,  and  the  guard  you  thought  you 

160 


had  over  self  is  dispelled ;  you  lend  your 
ear  to  public  discussions,  and  your  attach- 
ment to  party  spirit  breaks  out ;  you  walk 
in  places  strewn  with  flower-beds  and 
flowers,  and  your  thoughts  wander  on  joys, 
etc. ;  you  taste  delicacies  which  are  offered 
to  you,  and  the  poison  of  sensuality  is  hid 
therein ;  you  extend  your  hand,  and  it 
is  enough  to  cause  an  embrace. 

Ah  !  who  can  walk  with  a  firm,  unshaken 
step  in  the  midst  of  the  passions  of  the 
world,  amidst  its  seductive  charms  ?  Let 
us,  then,  think  and  meditate  on  the  words 
of  Job,  "  The  life  of  man  on  earth  is  a 

continual  warfare." 

St.  Ambrose. 

What,  then,  is  this  reprobate  world 
which  you  are  obliged  to  hate  from  the 
time  that  you  were  regenerated  by  grace» 
and  which  you  ought  to  continue  to  hate 
all  your  life  ?  For  you  the  bright  side  is 
uppermost,  and  I  have  simply  to  say  it  is 
that  that  you  love. 

The  world,  it  is  that  raging  sea  on 
which  are  tossed  to  and  fr«  vessels  con- 


THE    WORLD  AND  ITS  MAXIMS. 


l6l 


taining  a  crowd  of  sinners,  whose  cares 
and  projects  depend  on  the  fortunes  or 
misfortunes  of  life  ;  whose  aims  seem  to 
be  to  build  palaces  on  sand,  whose  hopes 
are  fixed  on  the  fleeting  enjoyments  of 
this  life,  who  seek  for  joys  and  pleasures 
which  are  a  thousand  times  more  fatiguing 
than  they  are  worth. 

The  world  is  a  monstrous  assemblage  of 
party  spirits  who  revile  each  other,  and 
tegard  each  other  with  contempt,  envy, 
and  jealousy,  void  of  honor  and  fair 
dealing.  The  world  is  a  temporal  king- 
dom which  knows  not  Jesus  Christ,  where 
He  himself  declares  that  He  is  not,  and 
for  which  He  does  not  wish  to  pray.  The 
world  is  that  mass  of  wicked  men  and 
impious  libertines  who  refuse  to  believe 
in  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  because  they 
wage  war  with  their  vices,  because  they 
confute  the  Saviour's  maxims,  despise  His 
mysteries,  ignore  His  precepts,  and  pro- 
fane His  sacraments.  In  short,  the  world 
is  the  majority  who  follow  its  maxims. 

It  is  this  world  which  you  have  to  hate 
in  your  baptism,  and  which  you  are 
taught  to  confute,  condemn,  and  wage  war 
against. 

This  world,  then,  is  the  enemy  of  the 
cross  and  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  ought,  therefore,  to  be  with  you  an 
object  of  horror,  and  which  you  ought  to 
sacrifice  to  the  interests  of  your  salvation. 

The  first  use  we  make  of  our  free  will 
is  the  choice  of  dangerous  pleasures  ;  the 
first  temptation  is  that  of  our  passions, 
and  our  reason  believes  only  on  the  wreck 
of  our  innocence.     All  the  land  is  infected 


through  the  wickedness  of  those  who 
dwell  on  it.  One  no  longer  sees,  says  a 
prophet,  the  existence  of  truth  or  charity  ; 
mercy  is  not  there,  and  the  knowledge  of 
God  is  uncared  for ;  all  have  overthrown 
the  obstacles  which  preserved  their  inno- 
cence in  their  hearts. 

Blasphemy,  lying,  injustice,  adultery, 
homicide,  perfidy,  and  other  horrible 
crimes  have  inundated  the  land,  says  a 
prophet ;  blood  has  tasted  blood,  the 
father  scandalizes  his  child,  the  brother 
lays  snares  for  his  brother,  and  the  hus- 
band  seeks  for  a  divorce. 

Among  men  there  are  no  ties  but  self- 
interest,  passion,  ill-humor,  and  caprice. 
Crime  is  common  among  the  noble  and 
great,  virtue  is  only  meant  for  the  simple- 
minded,  piety  is  the  lot  of  few,  hatreds 
are  eternal,  and  an  enemy  is  never  looked 
upon  as  a  brother. 

Thence  arise  those  resentments  one 
against  another ;  the  purest  virtue  is  not 
safe  from  slander ;  lawsuits  and  vexatious 
actions  and  the  meetings  of  friends  and 
relations  are  no  longer  public  censures  on 
public  morals. 

Gambling  of  every  kind  has  become 
either  shameful  trafficking  in  shares,  or 
that  blind  infatuation  which  otten  ends  in 
the  ruin  of  families,  and  almost  always 
causes  the  loss  of  the  immortal  soul. 

Those  innocent  bonds  of  society,  family 
meetings,  are  now  only  attractions  for  the 
indulgence  of  intemperance.  Balls,  thea- 
tres, music-halls,  have  become  schools  of 
impurity,  and  the  present  age  is  so  refined 
in  luxury  that   the  carrying  on  shameful 


l62 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


intrigues  soon  soil  the  soul,  and  of  which 
our  forefathers  were  not  conscious. 

The  city,  a  sinful  Ninive,  where  all 
follow  the  bent  of  their  inclinations ;  the 
court  is  the  centre  of  vice;  the  whole 
country  a  frightful  desert,  where  men,  like 
so  many  wild  beasts,  tear  and  bite  each 
other,  and  where  hatred,  envy,  and  jealousy 
are  paramount. 

What  do  I  say?  nothing  but  disorder 
and  confusion  are  in  the  world. 

Massillon. 
On  the  Small  Number  of  the  Elect. 

The  world  is  more  dangerous  when  it 
flatters  us  than  when  it  ill-treats  us  ;  we 
should  be  more  careful  of  trusting  it  when 


it  invites  us  to  love  it,  than  when  it 
admonishes  us,  and  compels  us  to  despise  it 

The  chains  that  bind  us  to  the  world 
are  pleasing  to  look  at,  but  hard  to  bear ; 
the  harm  they  inflict  is  certain,  the 
pleasure  they  promise  very  doubtful. 
Those  who  wear  them  are  ever  busy,  but 
never  exempt  from  dread. 

They  who  follow  the  maxims  of  the 
world,  experience  nothing  but  misery,  and 
the  flattering  expectation  of  happiness  is 
delusive  and  vain. 

Would  you  wish  not  to  be  an  enemy 
of  God  .''  Do  not  be  a  friend  of  the 
world. 

St.  Augustine. 
Epistles. 


m  li^i  # 

CHAPTER    LXI.  ]                           #      * 

# 

i|gii#              «  #  #  #  «     . 

Gn  the  World  and  its  Duties,   l 

:  * 
:  * 

#         #         #         *         « 

St.  Chrysostom  and  P^re  Texier. 
"  Fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments ;  for  this  is  all  man."—  Eccles.  xii.  13. 


HERE  are  still  even  now, 
through  the  mercy  of  God, 
many  persons  who  live  a  Chris- 
tian-like life,  who  keep  God's 
commandments,  and  who  do 
not  wilfully  fail  in  any  one  of 
their  duties  ;  and  if  you  do  not  know  this, 
I  am  not  astonished  at  it,  since  Elias 
thought  that  he  was  left  alone  when  God 
said  to  him,  "  I  have  left  me  seven 
thousand  men,  that  have  not  bowed  their 
knees  to  Baal." 

This  example  ought  to  convince  us  that 
there  are  s^ill  some  amongst  us  who  keep 
themselves  unspotted  from  the  world,  and 
who  imitate  the  early  Christians. 

As  for  you,  my  brothers,  if  you  have 
not  as  yet  reached  to  that  pitch  of  per- 
fection, begin  at  least  with  the  wish  to 
aspire  to  perfection,  cut  off  all  inclination 
to  do  evil,  resist  the  torrent  of  example, 
and  do  not  think  of  doing  any  good,  unless 
you  set  to  work  in  a  right  and  lawful 
way. 

16a 


We  see  that  St.  John  the  Baptist  at 
first  recommends  the  publicans  and  soldiers 
to  be  content  with  their  pay.  His  zeal 
would  have  willingly  led  him  to  raise  them 
to  a  high  degree  of  perfection  ;  but  they 
not  being  fit  for  much,  he  contented 
himself  with  giving  them  this  simple 
advice,  for  fear  that,  by  proposing  some- 
thing higher,  they  would  not  have  been 
able  to  attain  to  a  lower  degree  of  per- 
fection, much  less  to  that  height  of  virtue 
of  which  they  were  not  capable. 

It  is   thus  that  in  the  world  there  are 

different   degrees   of   virtue ;    as     among 

those  who  are  consecrated  to  the   service 

of  God,  in   the   religious  state,  there   are 

novices,  others  more  advanced,  and  others 

who   reach    to     an     eminent     degree     of 

sanctity. 

St.  Chrysostom. 

Hovtily  on  the  Sixth  Chapter  of  St.  Matthew. 

You  are  married  ;  Moses  was  married 
too.  What,  then,  should  prevent  you 
from   retiring   every   day,  as    he    did,  to 


104 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


confer  with  Almighty  God  on  the  impor- 
tant affair  of  your  salvation,  and  to  pray 
for  His  grace?  You  have  children;  the 
mother  of  the  Machabees  had  seven  of 
them,  and  that  did  not  prevent  her  from 
being  holy,  and,  when  called  upon,  pre- 
ferred the  love  of  God  to  that  of  her 
offspring.  You  are  noble,  and  are 
required  to  keep  up  a  certain  splendor 
in  the  world.  David,  Joshua,  and  Ezechias 
were  no  less  noble ;  the  government 
of  states,  and  the  guidance  of  underlings, 
did  not  hinder  them  from  continually 
consulting  God  through  prayer ;  they 
kept  themselves  humble  in  the  midst  of 
their  grandeur,  and  they  resided  with 
their  court  without  being  infected  by  its 
vices. 

You  are  a  judge;  that  obliges  you  to 
practise  virtue  so  much  the  more.  That 
was  just  the  case  with  the  matchless 
Samuel.  Follow  his  example,  and  on 
your  bench  you  will  be  reproachless,  and 
your  position  will  afford  opportunities  of 
practising  the  most  heroic  virtues.  You 
are  rich ;  Abraham  perhaps  was  richer 
than  you  are.  Well,  like  him,  be  the 
father  of  orphans,  the  entertainer  of 
strangers,  the  defender  and  feeder  of  the 
needy,  and  yOur  riches  will  help  you  to 
become  a  great  saint. 

You  are  poor,  and  your  poverty  brings 
on  you  illnesses  and  cares.  Look  at  poor 
Lazarus.  His  poverty  sanctified  him,  and 
he  is  placed  on  Abraham's  bosom.  You 
are  a  workman,  and  you  are  compelled  to 
toil  all  the  day  and  part  of  the  night  to 
support    your    family.      St.    Joseph,    the 


glorious  husband  of  Mary,  was  he  not 
workman  }  and,  in  the  exercise  of  his 
trade,  through  his  incomparable  virtues, 
is  now  one  of  the  highest  saints  in  heaven. 
You  have  joined  the  army ;  call  to  mind 
that  brave  officer  of  whom  the  Gospel 
speaks,  who  went  to  war  as  you  do ;  and 
nevertheless  you  see  that  he  was  so  full 
of  faith,  zeal,  and  charity,  that  the  Son 
of  God  admired  him  and  appeared  to  be 
surprised. 

The  inference  that  St.  Chrysostom 
draws  from  this  is  to  prove  that,  in  what- 
ever condition  we  may  be,  we  can  always 
observe  the  law  of  God. 

God  has  given  to  all  states  and  profes- 
sions of  life  a  help  and  steady  support 
when  He  promulgated  His  law.  Keep 
this  law  in  your  heart,  and  it  will 
strengthen  your  steps,  however  slippery 
may  be  the  path  through  which  you  walk : 
Lex  Dei  ejus  in  corde  ipsius,  et  non  sup- 
plantabuntur  gressus  ejus.  Amidst  the 
worry  of  a  family,  the  cares  of  business, 
and  even  the  trouble  and  danger  of  war, 
the  inviolate  love  of  that  law  will  keep 
your  heart  in  peace,  and  there  will  be  no 
scandal  which  can  stop  you :  Pax  ntulta 
diligentibus  legem  tuam,  et  non  est  illis 
scandalum.  Would  you  live  piously  in 
your  state  of  life  ?  When  you  see  the 
trickery  and  deceit  that  are  practised  in 
high  places,  the  corruption  so  common  in 
law  courts,  the  usual  trickeries  in  trade, 
exclaim  with  David :  "  Withdraw  from  me 
all  those  that  work  iniquity." 

The  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  Supreme 
Judge,  elevates   the  vilest   conditions    in 


THE    WORLD  AND  ITS  DUTIES. 


165 


His  own  supernatural  way,  and  gives  to 
all  a  sufficiency  of  sanctification.  Thus, 
whether  you  are  a  gentleman,  a  judge, 
soldier,  merchant,  or  workman,  you  are 
something  more  than  all  these,  since  you 
are  a  Christian,  and  that  is  the  foremost 
and  noblest  of  your  qualities. 


This  is  what  Tertullian  has  said :  It 
matters  little  what  you  may  be  or  what 
profession  you  exercise,  since,  if  you  are 
a  Christian,  you  are  no  longer  of  this 
world. 

Le  P^re  Texikr. 
Lenten  Discourse. 


P^RE   DE    LA    COLOMBI^RE   and    St.    GREGORY. 

"  A  most  severe  judgment  shall  be  for  them  that  bear  rule."  —  Wisdom  vi.  6. 


HE  great  and  noble  have  to 
breathe  an  atmosphere  of  sen- 
suality. Born  and  bred  in  idle- 
ness and  effeminacy,  they 
nourish  within  a  hidden  fire 
for  all  kinds  of  food  which  only 
feeds  an  ever  increasing  appetite. 

The  world  does  not  outwardly  exhibit 
its  attractions  to  the  great,  it  simply  offers 
them  to  their  desires,  and  delivers  them 
over  to  their  own  keeping,  so  to  speak, 
despoiled  of  all  the  difficulties  which 
repulse  and  frighten  others. 

There  are  few,  doubtless,  who  have  not 
sometimes  cherished  the  passions  of  avarice, 
vengeance,  or  ambition ;  these  passions 
blind  those  who  possess  them.  Now 
before  a  person  who  has  no  influence  or 
power,  with  but  little  money  or  property, 
could  find  the  means  to  gratify  his  pas- 
sions, the  danger  he  would  have  to  encoun- 
ter, the  precautions  he  would  have  to 
take,  all  these  in  time  will  open  his  eyes, 
and  calm  the  agitated  heart.  On  the  other 
hand,   a    powerful   and   rich   noble,  who, 

166 


having  within  his  reach  all  that  can  sat- 
isfy his  wishes,  has  no  sooner  conceived  a 
base  design,  than  he  puts  it  into  execution^ 
finding   everything  in   readiness  for  him. 

But  what !  must  those  who  are  in  high 
places  and  have  plenty  to  spare —  should 
they  despair  of  their  salvation  }  Certainly 
not;  but  they  must  work  with  fear  and 
perseverance ;  they  must,  by  fervent  and 
constant  prayer,  try  to  draw  down  from 
heaven  that  immense  help  which  they 
stand  so  much  in  need  of,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  snares  which  surround  them,  and,  by 
the  frequentation  of  the  sacraments,  they 
may  never  cease  to  fortify  themselves 
against  the  attacks  of  such  formidable 
enemies. 

Moreover,  the  noble  are  necessarily  com- 
pelled, as  they  often  are,  to  be  richly 
dressed,  to  live  in  grand  houses,  expected 
to  give  luxurious  dinners,  to  take  part  in 
the  vain  pleasures  of  worldlings ;  they 
should,  I  say,  situated  as  they  are,  take 
especial  care  not  to  go  beyond  the  mark 
that  necessity  and  custom  require. 


THE  WORLD,  ITS  HONORS  AND  DIGNITIES. 


167 


When  you  act  in  this  way,  you  will  be 
able  to  say,  that  if  you  run  any  risk,  that  it 
is  the  providence  of  God  which  has  placed 
you  in  the  position  in  which  you  are,  and 
that  it  is  through  the  goodness  of  God  that 
you  have  been  able  to  avoid  its  dangers. 

Yes,  the  high  and  mighty  should  antici- 
pate a  more  rigorous  punishment  than 
ordinary  mortals.  Fortiorihus  aiitcm  for- 
tior  instat  cruciatio,  says  the  Book  of  Wis- 
dom (vi.  9),  which  is,  "A  greater  punish- 
ment is  ready  for  the  more  mighty." 

Why  "i  In  the  first  place,  on  account  of 
their  ingratitude  to  God,  who  has  loaded 
them  with  temporal  blessings,  which  He 
has  kept  back  from  the  rest  of  mankind ; 
for  not  having  found  in  them  that  thanks- 
giving which  such  blessings  well  deserved. 
Secondly,  they  will  suffer  much  more  than 
those  who  have  endured  misery  during 
this '  life,  because  those  who  have  so 
suffered  have,  by  the  hardships  they  have 
patiently  endured,  expiated  the  greater 
part  of  their  sins  ;  whilst  the  rich  and 
noble,  who  have  always  lived  in  luxury  and 
plenty,  not  having  paid  any  debt  of  justice 
to  a  merciful  God,  will  find  themselves 
accountable  and  indebted  for  everything. 
In  the  third  place,  as  there  is  nothing  to 
hinder  them  from  following  the  bent  of. 
their  vicious  inclinations,  they  the  more 
easily  and  the  more  readily  fall  into  sin, 
consequently  the  quality  and  quantity  of 
their  transgressions  will  far  exceed  those 
committed  by  persons  in  the  middle  class 
of  life. 


In  addition  to  that,  they  will  not  only 
be  accountable  for  their  own  sins,  but  they 
will  be  answerable  for  those  committed  by 
others,  whether  it  may  be  from  their 
neglect  of  those  under  their  care,  or 
whether  by  their  pernicious  example  they 
may  have  introduced,  encouraged,  or  author- 
ized habits  of  vanity  and  vice. 

But  consider  what  thrones  and  mansions 
will  not  God  prepare  for  those  who,  by  the 
practice  of  heroic  virtues,  sustain  and  even 
increase  their  merit  in  the  midst  of  a 
corrupt  court !  What  praises  will  not  He 
reserve  for  those  who  have  practised  humil- 
ity in  the  midst  of  honors  and  dignities,  a 
spirit  of  poverty  in  places  where  riches 
abound,  an  aversion  for  pleasure  where 
pleasure  is  ever  sought  ft)r,  an  inviolate 
purity  in  an  infected  atmosphere,  in  a 
world  which  is  full  of  tempting  snares,  a 
persecuting  world,  a  world  which  sneers  at 
virtue,  and,  in  a  word,  which  glories  in 
incontinency. 

Le   ^4rB  DE   la   COLOMBltRE,    S.  J. 

The  honors  paid  to  the  wicked  only 
hasten  their  ruin. 

The  power  of  the  wicked  is  likened,  in 
Holy  Scripture,  to  the  flowers  of  the  field ; 
because  no  sooner  does  worldly  splendor 
outshine  other  lights  than  it  fades  and 
perishes  ;  no  sooner  has  it  reached  its 
height  than  down  it  falls. 

St.  Gregory. 
Moral  VII. 


I 


CHAPTER     LXIII. 


ON     7VIORTKI-    SIN. 


l^ 


PfeREs  Texier,  Berthier,  and  St.  Cyprian. 

"  Flee  from  sins  as  from  the  face  of  a  serpent.     The  teeth  thereof  are  the  teeth  of  a  lion,  killin|{ 
the  soul  of  man."  —  Eccles.  ii.  3. 


IN  is  a  monster  conceived  in  the 
darkness  of  error,  and  born 
amidst  the  malice  of  deceit. 
"Error  and  darkness  are  cre- 
ated with  sinners ;  and  they 
that  glory  in  evil  things  grow 
old  in  evil  "  {Eccles.  xi.  16). 

God  alone  has  the  light  to  pierce  into 
that  gloomy  abyss,  in  order  to  discover  sin 
as  it  is  ;  it  is  the  Uncreated  Spirit,  says  St. 
Paul,  who,  immersed  in  the  depths  of  the 
Divinity,  can  penetrate  into  the  mire  of 
the  malice  of  sin  ;  and  as  there  is  but  the 
immense  capacity  of  the  knowledge  of  God, 
who  can  comprehend  what  He  is,  and  the 
honor  which  is  due  to  Him,  so  there  is 
only  His  perfect  intelligence,  which  can 
form  a  true  estimate  of  the  enormity  of 
mortal  sin. 

We  can  well  say  with  St.  Ignatius,  the 
Martyr,  that  sin  is  a  cursed  child  of  Satan, 
who  transforms  us  into  so  many  devils,  as 
the  grace  of  God  is  a  seed  of  the  Divinity 
which  makes  us  participators  of  the  divine 
essence.     We    can   say  with    St.   Denis, 


that  it  is  a  deprivation  of  beauty,  life,  and 
reason  ;  with  St.  Augustine,  that  it  is  a 
universal  overthrowing  of  mankind  ;  with 
Tertullian,  that  it  is  a  detestable  prefer- 
ence of  the  devil  to  the  sovereign  majesty 
of  God  ;  with  St.  Anselm,  that  it  is 
a  sacrilegious  robbery  of  the  sceptre 
and  crown  of  God;  and  finally,  with  St. 
Paul,  that  it  is  a  renewal  of  the  crucifixion 
of  Jesus  —  Rursunt  crucifigentes  Filium 
Dei. 

We  say,  however,  that  mortal  sin  is  the 
entire  extermination  of  grace,  the  death  of 
the  soul,  the  corruption  of  human  nature, 
the  horror  of  heaven,  and  the  desolation  of 
the  land.  But  after  having  said  all  this, 
after  having  compared  it  to  the  most 
detestable  and  pernicious  of  earthly  things, 
after  having  exhausted  all  the  terms  that 
eloquence  can  command, — we  are  obliged 
to  confess  that  we  have  given  but  a  faint 
idea  of  that  boundless  evil  which  is  the 
cause  of  every  evil,  and  whose  malice  is 
beyond  the  comprehension  of  angels  and  cf 
men. 


MORTAL   SIN. 


169 


I  am  well  aware  that  Holy  Scripture 
teaches  us  that  the  sinner  drinks  in 
iniquity  like  water ;  but  I  learn  also  from 
the  prophet  Ezechiel  that  he  drinks  a 
deadly  poison,  which  tears  his  very  entrails 
and  kills  him  :  Anima  qiicB  pcccaverit,  ipsa 
morietiir.  That  the  sinner  flatters  his 
vices  willingly,  that  he  idolizes  his  guilty 
passions — these  are  the  serpents  which 
cruelly  bite  him.  "Flee  from  sins  as  from 
the  face  of  a  serpent  "  {Eccles.  xxi).  Yes, 
mortal  sins  are  furious  lions,  whose  cruel 
teeth  kill  his  soul.  "The  teeth  thereof 
are  the  teeth  of  a  lion,  killing  the  souls  of 
men "  {Eccles.  xxi).  Yes,  that  property 
unjustly  acquired,  those  adulteries,  those 
inordinate  pleasures,  in  a  word,  all  those 
iniquitous  deeds  are,  at  the  judgment 
tribunal  of  God,  nothing  else  but  a  double, 
edged  sword  with  which  the  distracted 
sinner  kills  his  soul  and  body — his  soul  by 
the  loss  of  grace,  and  his  body  by  depriving 
it  of  the  right  of  a  glorious  resurrection, 
"All  iniquity  is  like  a  two-edged  sword, 
there  is  no  remedy  for  the  wound  thereof  " 
{Eccles.  xxi). 

In  fact,  if  we  have  no  faith  on  this  sub- 
ject, here  is  an  evident  proof  of  it.  Every 
reasonable  man  fears  the  death  of  his 
body,  says  St.  Augustine,  but  scarcely  any 
one  fears  the  death  of  his  soul.  People 
work,  perspire,  and  fret  themselves  to  pro- 
long a  life  which  must  soon  end  ;  and  they 
wish  to  do  nothing  to  avoid  sin,  that  is  to 
say,  to  lose  a  life  whose  nature  is  immortal. 

What  do  I  say .?  not  wish  to  prevent  the 
loss  of  his  soul !  Alas !  the  number  of 
these  madmen  is  incalculable,  who  sharpen 


the  sword  that  gives  the  death-blow  to 
their  souls.  Who  will  give  me  the  feel- 
ings of  the  saints,  as  well  as  their  words  ! 
I  hear  a  St.  Cyprian  exclaim  indignantly. 
What !  if  the  news  of  the  death  of  a  parent 
or  dear  friend  reached  you,  you  would 
weep  and  sigh  bitterly,  you  would  out- 
wardly manifest  your  grief.  O  hard- 
hearted sinner,  I  tell  you  from  God,  that 
that  slander,  that  black  calumny,  that 
infamous  deed  has  killed  your  soul,  and 
you  appear  to  think  nothing  of  it, 

Le  PiRE  Texier. 
Lenten  Serm«m. 


[William  Francis  Berthier  was  born  at 
Issondun,  in  Berry,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1704. 
In  1722  he  joined  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
distinguished  himself  as  a  virtuous  and  learned 
ecclesiastic.  Towards  the  end  of  1762  he 
accepted  the  appointment  of  Keeper  of  the 
Royal  Library  ;  he  also  assisted  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVL  Two 
years  after  this,  he  withdrew  from  public  life, 
and  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  days  to  study 
and  to  his  religious  duties.  He  died  at 
Bourges  on  the  15th  of  December,  1782.] 

If  the  Almighty  had  never  visibly  pun- 
ished the  enemies  of  the  faith,  men  might 
have  imagined  that  God  was  indifferent  to 
what  was  going  on  in  the  world ;  and  if 
God  should  punish  every  sinner  during 
their  lifetime,  one  might  have  thought 
that  the  effect  of  divine  justice  exercised 
here  below  would  lead  to  the  belief  that 
there  was  no  future  state,  and  all  would  be 
annihilated,  according  as  the  human  race 
disappears. 

What  God  has  done  at  different  times 
against  the   wicked,    is   the    testimony  of 


I/O 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


what  He  will  do,  some  day,  against  all 
those  who  have  so  abused  His  patience. 

If  the  sinner  wishes  to  ponder  on  his 
condition,  let  him  recall  to  mind  Sen- 
nacherib, Pharaoh,  Antiochus,  and  many- 
others  who  have  been  struck  by  God's 
all-powerful  arm.  History  does  not  tell  us 
of  how  many  more,  perhaps  much  more 
guilty,  who  have  finished  their  career  in  an 
awful  manner;  but  divine  justice  is  ever 
the  same,  and  if  it  has  been  delayed  during 
life,  it  has  overtaken  them  when  they  have 
ceased  to  breathe. 

Reason  is  here  in  accordance  with 
religion.  The  words  of  the  prophet 
against  Sennacherib  is  a  divine  oracle, 
but  a  revelation  of  light  is  sufficient  to 
discover  this  truth. 

O  unjust  man  !  O  thou  who  sheddest 
the  blood   of  thy   equals !  thou   shalt   one 


day  be  crushed  with  the  weight  of  thine 
iniquity  ;  thou  layest  waste  to  all  the  land, 
and  thou  in  thy  turn  shalt  be  laid  low ; 
thou  despiseth  all  laws,  and  thou  in  thy 
turn  shalt  be  covered  with  confusion. 

Le  P^re  Berthier. 
On   Isaiah. 

Look  at  the  havoc  which  hail  and  storm 
spread  around  our  gardens  and  orchards ; 
look  at  the  rot  fast  spreading  amongst  the 
cattle ;  look  at  the  winds  and  hurricanes 
which  toss  the  ships  at  sea.  This  is  only 
but  a  feeble  image  of  the  ravages  of  sin 
in  a  soul. 

Mortal  sin  destroys  the  merits  of  good 
works,  corrupts  every  faculty  of  the  mind, 
and  leads  the  sinner  on  to  certain  death. 

St.  Cyprian. 
De  LapstSf  V. 


I 
1 


4*  •♦•  +  4' -fis*  ^  4" + 4*  ^ -^ -^  4- ^ -^ -^  •^- -i>  •^- • 


^  •*•  4- •^- 4- ■*■•*•  4- ■4>- ■*■•♦••♦■  4- •'f*  •<► 


♦■'i''*4-*'*-4'4-4-4-4'4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-  4-  4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-  +  +-4-+4-+*4-* 


t^^- 


T 


Copyright,  1889. 


^U  9^gnattuif, 


Morphjr  &  McCarthy. 


ON    i^ENIKL-    SIN. 


PfeRE   DE   LA    COLOMBlfeRE   and    SEGNERI,    S.  J. 

"  He  that  is  unjust  in  that  which  is  little,  is  unjust  also  in  that  which  is  greater."  —  Luke  xvi.  lo. 


HE  same  God  who  is  offended 
with  mortal  sin  —  a  God  infi- 
nitely great  and  loving,  the 
God  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  everything,  and  who  has  so 
often  prevented  us  from  falling 
into  mortal  sin  —  this  same  God,  I  say,  is 
offended  by  venial  sin. 

It  is  true  that  it  may  be  a  trifling  fault, 
but  this  self-same  venial  sin  becomes  in  a 
way  infinite,  when  it  is  committed  against 
infinite  goodness  and  majesty. 

I  know  full  well  that  the  faults  which  a 
subject  can  commit  against  his  king  are 
not  always  equally  bad,  but  it  is  certain 
that  he  will  not  overlook  faults  however 
trifling  they  may  be.  To  make  an  attempt 
upon  his  life  would,  I  grant,  be  the  blackest 
of  crimes,  but  to  injure  him  purposely,  by 
word  or  intention,  would  deserve  a  severe 
punishment. 

We  should  call  that  child  an  unnatural 
monster,  who  would  kill  his  own  father ; 
but  he  who  has  cherished  the  thought  of 
injuring  him,  or  of  raising  his  hand  against 

171 


him,  would  he  not  be  held  in  abhorrence 
by  all  the  world  } 

O  rqy  God !  how  blind  we  are  !  These 
examples  make  us  shudder,  but  we  are  not 
moved  when  we  look  into  our  own  con- 
sciences, and  try  to  persuade  ourselves 
that  we  are  not  so  bad  as  they. 

Let  me,  O  Lord,  constantly  meditate 
on  those  parables  which  represent  to  us 
Your  blessings  and  Your  Majesty.  What  is 
a  king,  what  is  the  greatest  monarch  on  the 
earth,  in  comparison  with  Thee  my  God  ? 

Every  one  knows  that  when  one  gives 
way  to  any  bad  habit  it  becomes  daily 
more  and  more  difficult  to  overcome,  and 
that  at  last  it  quite  gains  the  upper  hand. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  all  of  the  most 
wicked  men  are  lost, —  not  one  of  them 
ever  commencing  with  a  great  crime.  It 
is  certain  that  if  they  attended  to  the  first 
twinge  of  their  conscience,  they  might 
still  have  been  innocent ;  but,  when  once 
they  have  paid  no  attention  to  inward 
warnings,  it  becomes  morally  impossible  to 
arrest  its  downward  progress. 


1/2 


HALF-HOURS    WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


This  is  the  way  the  devil,  who  would 
not  be  satisfied  if  he  did  not  deprive  the 
sinner  of  the  grace  of  God,  never  tempts 
him  to  begin  by  the  commission  of  a 
grievous  offence  at  first. 

He  is  content  if  he  can  feed  the  vanity 
of  that  young  girl  by  inspiring  her  with  a 
love  of  dress,  and  displaying  the  last  new 
fashions,  because  he  knows  well  she  will 
not  fail  to  go  further,  and,  even  without 
his  interference,  she  will  at  last  come  to  a 
bad  end. 

A  person  who  simply  wishes  to  abstain 
f  1  om  mortal  sin  has  not  a  very  great  desire 
to  avoid  it. 

It  is  an  idle  fancy  to  suppose  tl;at  that 
plan  of  life,  which  never  fails  to  attend  to 
great  essential  things  without  taking  the 
trouble  of  taking  precaution  to  avoid 
lesser  evils,  can  be  sufficient  to  ensure 
perseverance  in  the  love  of  God.  How- 
ever venial  my  sins  may  appear  to  me, 
O  Lord,  they  are  attached  to  Thee  — 
although  they  do  not  kill  my  soul.  I  am 
always  in  want  of  Thy  Precious  Blood  to 
avert  Thy  justice,  and  they  will  never  be 
remitted  unless  a  just  proportion  be  kept 
between  the  evil  and  the  remedy,  the 
satisfaction  and  the  injury.  It  is  true 
that  a  sprinkling  of  holy  water,  taken 
with  a  feeling  of  true  devotion,  is  suffi- 
cient to  wash  away  the  stains  ;  that  an 
alms  distributed  to  the  poor  can,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  discharge  many  a  small 
debt;  that  a  fervent  prayer  can  obtain  a 


cure  of  my  sins,  and  all  that  are  callt 
sacramental  remedies  can  help  to  staunch 
my  wounds ;  but,  all-sufficient  as  these 
remedies  may  be,  they  would  be  ineffica- 
cious if  they  are  not  mingled  with  the 
wounds  of  our  Saviour  and  supported  by 
His  merits. 

It  is  necessary  that  that  drop  of  holy 
water  should  be  mingled  with  the  tears 
He  has  shed  over  our  miseries  ;  that  that 
alms  should  be  united  to  the  immense 
love  which  led  Him  to  shed  His  blood  for 
our  redemption,  as  says  the  Apostle  ;  that 
that  prayer  be  in  union  with  those  He 
addressed  to  His  Father  in  our  favor. 

Rev.    PfeRE  DE   LA    COLOMBlfeRE. 

I  acknowledge,  O  my  God,  that  it  is 
only  by  a  constant  and  wearisome  practice 
of  little  duties  that  I  can  prove,  exercise, 
and  fortify  my  virtue  for  great  occasions. 
I  will  henceforth  be  faithful  to  Thee  in 
little  things.  It  is  only  thus  that  I  can 
store  up  a  treasure  of  merits  for  heaven. 

What  should  I  do  }  What  could  I  suffer 
for  you,  O  Lord,  if  I  waited  for  great 
opportunities .' 

Alas  !  fatal  experience  has  taught  me 
but  too  often  that  the  lightest  venial  fault 
diminishes  the  horror  of  sin  ;  that  it 
strengthens  in  my  soul  an  attachment  to 
evil ;  that  it  is  easy  to  fall  when  venial 
sins  are  disregarded. 

Father  Segneri. 
ifiditations» 


g^ 


CHARTKR    LXV. 


:^ 


mmmm.:^:M/M.KM.M.MM:jiM^KM:M:MJLM.j^m::K:M^ 


St.  Augustine,  P^re  Biroat,  and  St.  Bernard. 
"  I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever  committeth  sin,  is  the  servant  of  sin."  —  John  viii.  34. 


■OU  tell  me  that  it  is  useless  for 
me  to  try,  for  my  bad  habit  has 
too  strong  a  hold  upon  me  ;  but 
I  say,  Watch  over  yourself,  and 
you  will  soon  be  corrected. 
The  more  inveterate  the  habit 
is  the  more  it  deserves  your  attention. 

The  tongue  is  a  very  quick  and  danger- 
ous member ;  be  then  more  attentive  to 
restrain  its  volubility.  If  you  try  to-day  it 
will  be  easier  to  restrain  it  to-morrow.  If 
your  victory  is  not  complete  to-morrow, 
you  will  find  that,  by  the  efforts  you  made 
yesterday,  your  task  is  less  difficult. 

Vice  expires  in  three  days.  We  shall 
soon  reap  the  fruit,  and  rejoice  at  the 
great  advantage  we  have  gained  by  being 
delivered  from  so  sad  an  evil. 

I  know  full  well  that  it  is  difficult  to 
break  off  a  sinful  habit,  for  I  have  myself 
experienced  it,  but,  through  the  holy  fear 
of  God,  I  have  conquered  the  habit  of 
swearing. 

When  I  read  and  meditated  on  His  law, 
I  was  seized  with  fear  ;  I  fought  manfully 

At 


against  my  bad  habit ;  I  invoked  the  Lord 
in  whom  I  trusted,  and  He  gave  me  the 
aid  I  prayed  for,  and  soon  nothing  appeared 
to  me  more  easy  than  to  refrain  from 
swearing. 

St.   Augustine. 
Serm.  307. 

When  we  begin  to  offend  Almighty  God, 
when  the  sin  has  not  taken  deep  root,  we 
can  easily  tear  it  out,  just  as  it  would 
happen  to  newly-planted  trees.  But  when 
the  earth  has  nourished  its  roots,  little  by 
little  they  grow,  gradually  and  insensibly 
they  multiply  their  branches,  they  spread 
quickly,  and  become  so  deeply  rooted  that 
nothing  but  a  tempestuous  wind  can  break 
the  tree  or  root  it  up. 

Ah!  such  is  the  fiightful state  of  the  sin- 
ner. At  the  beginning  conversion  is  easy ; 
his  inclinations  for  evil,  his  attachment  to 
sins,  are  not  so  strong,  nor  so  numerous, 
nor  so  rooted  within ;  but  after  years  of 
continuous  perseverance,  his  affection  for 
sin  is  increased,  his    longings  are  multi- 


174 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


I 


plied,  and  his  attachments  become  rooted  ; 
an4  nothing  but  the  mighty  stroke  of 
God's  all-powerful  arm  can  break  his  stony 
heart. 

I  could  not  better  explain  the  difficulty 
of  correcting  habitual  sin,  or  rather  its 
moral  impossibility,  than  by  quoting  the 
expressions  of  two  Fathers  of  the  Church, 
who  make  use  of  sentences  which  at  first 
sight  appear  to  be  contradictory,  but  on 
examination,  they  will  both  be  found  to  be 
true. 

The  first  is  St.  Augustine,  who  says 
that  habitual  sin  is  a  second  nature,  which 
man  has  created  and  fostered  within  him- 
self, and  that  he  has  added  it  to  the  first 
which  he  had  :  Consuetudo  quasi  secunda 
et  affabricata  natura. 

St.  Ambrose  says,  on  the  contrary,  that 
it  IS  the  habit  which  changes  and  excludes 
nature  :  An  ignoratis  quantum  vim  habeat 
consuetudo  peccandi,  ut  exacudt  naturam. 

Let  us  see  how  we  can  reconcile  these 
two  axioms. 

When  St.  Ambrose  says  that  habitual 
sin  excludes  nature,  he  means  that  nature 
which  had  at  first  good  dispositions,  and 
which  was  not  as  yet  corrupted  by  a  multi- 
tude of  sins  ;  and  when  St.  Augustme  says 
that  habit  is  a  second  nature,  he  intends  to 
speak  of  that  corrupted  nature,  that  terrible 
inclmation  to  do  ill,  after  we  have  lived 
for  years  under  the  dominion  of  sin. 

We  have  here  a  twofold  difficulty  —  the 
difficulty  of  overcoming  our  first  nature, 
which  is  so  prone  to  evil,  and  that  of  the 


second  nature,  contracted  by  perseverance 
in  sin. 

This  is  what  St.  Augustine  teaches. 
Ah,  glorious  saint !  how  well  you  knew, 
by  experience,  of  those  ill-regulated  pas- 
sions. When  )uu  say  of  yourself  that 
you  groaned  in  the  midst  of  your  bondage, 
Suspirabam.  ligatis  non  ferro  alieno,  sed 
mea  ferrea  voltmtate,  —  I  sighed  in  the 
midst  of  my  passions,  not  under  chains 
unknown,  but  in  the  fetters  of  those  of 
my  own  forging.  The  devil  actually  kept 
my  will  fastened  down,  he  had  manufac- 
tured from  my  habitual  sin  a  chain  to 
bind  me,  to  retain  me  in  his  tyrannic 
power.  From  this  commenced  my  misery, 
my  helplessness ;  in  giving  way  to  my 
passions  I  had  contracted  a  bad  habit,  and 
this  sinful  habit  passed  to  a  second  nature, 
and  has  reduced  me  to  a  dire  necessity  of 
adding  sin  to  sin,  and  I  felt  that  I  had  no 
power  to  throw  off  the  chain. 

PfeRE    BlROAT. 

Lentsn  Discourse. 

Habitual  sin  may  be  justly  called  the 
highest  point  of  sin,  since  it  causes  the 
loss  of  the  fear  of  God,  and  begets  a 
contempt  for  His  holy  law.  A  sinful  act 
often  reiterated  becomes  a  habit,  habit 
engenders  necessity,  necessity  becomes 
impossibility,  impossibility  is  the  mother 
of  despair,  and  despair  finishes  its  work, 
and  seals  its  own  damnation. 

lyr.,  BER.KARD. 


.^      ^.      .^.      ^.      ^^      ^^ 
■^      ■w      ^^      ^^      ^F      ^P 

CHAPTER    LXVI. 

* 
* 

* 
* 

•   

ON   0GGASIONS  OF  SIN. 

-^I- 

{•} 

1 

,^^            ,A^fe,              ,^1^             ^^Ue,             0^^            ^^fe, 
'^^'            ^^P"              "^^             "^^V              '^^"            "^^ 

Massillon  and  Bossuet. 


*♦  And  such  of  them  as  shall  flee,  shall  escape." —  Ezechiel  vii.  i6. 


*T  is  a  delusion  to  fancy  that  an 
occasion  is  necessary  when  it 
is  purely  voluntary. 

What  is  more  usual,  in  the 
world,  than  to  make  excuses 
for  a  pretended  necessity, 
merely  because  every  one  considers  it  to 
be  the  right  sort  of  thing  to  do,  and 
because  self-love  prompts  us  to  acquiesce 
in  any  imaginary  engagement  ? 

I  am,  says  one,  in  a  position  of  life, 
such  as  rank  or  station,  which  renders  it 
impossible  for  me  to  avoid  seeing  or  being 
seen,  paying  or  receiving  visits ;  how, 
then,  should  I  occupy  my  time.^ 

I  am,  says  another,  in  an  office,  in  a 
post  of  great  responsibility,  and  it  is 
really  necessary  for  me  to  enter  into  par- 
ticulars, however  hazardous  they  may  be 
for  my  salvation,  however  dangerous  they 
may  be  for  the  purity  of  my  conscience. 

I  grant  all  this.  You  must  appear  in 
society,  you  should  have  recreations,  and 
ought  not  to  be  prevented  from  mixing  in 
company.  But  is  there  not  something  over 
and  above  these  amenities  and  rules  }     If 

ITS 


your  rank,  condition,  or  position  in  the 
world  should  compel  you  to  pay  visits, 
however  honorable  or  decorous  they  may 
be,  what  necessity  is  there  for  prolonging 
such  visits  }  Why  receive  at  your  house 
people  of  all  ages  of  different  sexes  ? 
Why  engage  in  every  party  of  pleasure, 
promenade,  or  play  ?  It  is  that  you  wish  to 
shine  above  others,  to  show  yourself  off  on 
every  occasion,  and  thus  you  make  amuse- 
ment the  chief  occupation  of  your  life. 

What  necessity  is  there,  that  if  you  must 
belong  to  a  club  or  society,  you  should 
select  the  one  most  scandalous  and  worldly, 
one  which  only  flatters  vanity  and  engen- 
ders  effeminacy  ?  Why,  of  all  theatres,  you 
should  select  those  where  the  most  sen- 
sual exhibitions  are  given  ?  What  neces- 
sity is  there,  that  you  should  always  be  in 
the  company  of  those  whom  you  wish  to 
please  or  who  please  you  ?  What  necessity 
is  there  for  encouraging  the  acquaintance 
of  dissolute  libertines,  who  unfortunately 
know  no  better,  and  are  only  capable 
of  persuading  you  to  join  them  in  their 
evil  course  of  life  ? 


176 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Would  you  wish  to  be  shown  the  dan- 
ger which  you  are  in,  and  the  conse- 
quent misery  which  must  result  from  these 
proximate  occasions  of  sin  ? 

They  are  only  vain  terrors,  say  you, 
which  a  confessor  or  director  would  wish 
to  depict. 

What !  you  do  not  call  those  clandestine 
interviews,  unknown  even  to  father  or 
mother,  a  proximate  occasion  of  sin  ? 
Those  appointed  meetings  when  the  pas- 
sions are  so  violent,  and  virtue  is  so  weak 
that  it  yields  at  last  to  the  tempter  ?  You 
do  not  call  those  free  and  easy  conversa- 
tions a  proximate  occasion  of  sin,  where 
intrigues  are  openly  discussed,  where  the 
heart,  more  than  the  mouth,  suggests 
many  an  expression  capable  of  poisoning 
every  sense  of  right  ?  You  do  not  call 
that  an  occasion  of  sin,  when  you  write 
and  receive  letters  wherein  the  heart  is 
freely  opened  ?  You  do  not  call  that  a 
proximate  occasion  of  sin,  that  secret  inter- 
course with  a  creature,  and  you  do  not 
deem  it  to  be  a  guilty  occasion  to  remain 
under  the  same  roof  with  the  object  of  your 
passionate  love  ?  You  are  deceived  :  Exite 
de  medio  eofum,  et  scparamini,  dicit 
Doniinus.  Withdraw  from  them  and  sepa- 
rate. 

Separation,  divorce ;  an  entire  separation, 
an  immediate  divorce  ;  leave  the  guilty 
object,  and  withdraw  from  him. 

If  you  do  not  do  this,  you  break  the 
commandment  of  God  and  complete  your 
condemnation. 

Massillon. 
From  a  Sermon  on  this  Subject. 


[Jacques  Benigne  Bossuet,  Bishop  of 
Meaux,  is  one  of  the  greatest  pulpit  orator* 
that  France  has  produced.  Although  many 
eloquent  preachers  have  succeeded  him,  none 
have  excelled  him.  Besides  his  sermons  and 
magnificent  funeral  orations,  he  has  written 
many  volumes  which  will  always  be  read  with 
interest.  The  best  edition  of  his  works  is  the 
one  published  by  Lebel,  in  forty-three  volumes 
8vo,  18 13.  Bossuet  was  born  at  Dijon  in 
1627.  After  his  first  studies,  he  went  to 
Paris  in  1642,  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen,  and 
ten  years  afterwards  was  vested  with  the  doc- 
tor's cap  at  Sorbonne.  Anne  of  Austria,  the 
then  Queen-Regent,  gave  him  the  post  of 
chief  almoner,  and  induced  him  to  accept  of 
the  bishopric  of  Meaux  in  1681.  He  died  at 
the  palace  of  his  diocese  in  1704,  aged  seventy- 
seven.] 

You  inwardly  reproach  me,  O  Lord,  for 
having,  like  unto  St.  Peter,  rashly  exposed 
myself  to  danger,  notwithstanding  Your 
threats  and  prohibition,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  proper  sense  I  should  have  had 
of  my  own  weakness,  with  which  You 
have  often  been  willing  to  inspire  me. 

Relying  on  my  own  strength,  I  foolishly 
thought  that  those  interviews,  those  occa- 
sions which  have  so  often  proved  to  be 
fatal,  would  not  have  injured  me.  I  con- 
tinued to  associate  with  companions  who 
were  corrupt,  slanderous,  and  impious,  and 
I  fancied  that  I  could  throw  myself  into 
flames  without  being  burned. 

Now,  O  my  Saviour,  I  will  follow  the 
example  of  St.  Peter,  and  will  fly,  cost 
what  it  may,  from  the  dangerous  society  of 
those  \yho  sought  my  ruin  ;  I  will  avoid 
every  occasion  of  sin,  and  will  weep  bitterly 
for  my  poor  soul,  my  tarnished  innocence. 

Bossuet, 


Frequent  Relapses. 


si?' 


BOURDALOUE. 

"  And  the  state  of  that  man  is  made  worse  than  the  first"  —  Matthew  xii.  45. 


HE  chief  misfortune  that  accom- 
panies a  relapse,  is  to  withdraw 
God  from  us  and  to  exhaust, 
as  it  were,  His  mercy,  which* 
although  infinite  in  itself,  still 
cannot  be  carried  beyond 
bounds  with  regard  to  ourselves,  and  to 
the  distribution  of  those  special  graces,  as 
also  those  extraordinary  helps  on  which 
our  conversion  depends. 

"  For  three  crimes  of  Damascus,  and  for 
four,  I  will  not  convert  it"  (Amos  i.  3). 

For  the  three  first  crimes  of  Damascus, 
said  the  Lord,  through  one  of  His 
prophets.  The  three  first  crimes,  I  have 
endured  them,  and  have  willingly  forgotten 
them,  but  for  the  fourth^  I  shall  not  allow 
My  justice  and  My  anger  to  be  passed  by 
—  why  that  ?  Because  I  was  withdrawn 
from  those  wicked  ones,  who  had  angered 
Me  by  their  infidelities. 

Besides,  from  the  moment  that  God 
withdraws  His  help — it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  penitence  should  become 
difficult,  and  that  this  diflficulty  should 
increase  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  the 
withdrawal.     Why  >    Because   God   alone 

m 


can  fill  our  hearts  with  the  sense  of  His 
Divine  Presence,  and  by  diffusing  the 
unction  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  which  can 
alone  make  our  penances  easy,  and  in  the 
end  make  us  love  Him. 

Can  you  find  a  more  beautiful  illustration 
of  this,  than  that  of  the  man  so  famed  in 
the  Old  Testament,  the  invincible  Samson  ? 
A  guilty  passion  had  blinded  him  ;  but  the 
blindness  into  which  he  had  fallen  was  not 
such  as  to  deprive  him  of  that  strength  with 
which  God  had  so  singularly  and  so 
miraculously  endowed  him.  The  stranger 
to  whom  he  was  so  attached  had  frequently 
attempted,  by  binding  his  limbs,  to  deliver 
him  up  to  the  Philistines  ;  but  he  had 
always  found  the  means  to  break  his  bands 
and  recover  his  liberty.  Hence  he  flat- 
tered himself  that  he  would  always  be 
able  to  free  himself  from  her  treachery, 
and  he  said  to  himself  :  Egrediar  siciit  ante 
—  I  will  go  forth,  as  I  did  before  ( fudges 
xvi).  At  last,  that  perfidious  woman  so 
cleverly  employs  her  fascinating  ways, 
that  she  cuts  off  that  fatal  hair,  in  which^ 
by  a  secret  mystery,  all  his  strength  was 
centred.     The  news   was   soon   conveyed 


178 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


to  the  Philistines.  They  surround  him 
unawares,  and  fall  upon  him  in  great 
numbers.  He  wished  to  be  relieved,  as  he 
formerly  had  been,  but  he  knew  not  that 
God  had  withdrawn  His  help  from  him  ; 
Nesciens  qtcod  recessisset  ab  eo  Dominus  — 
Not  knowing  that  the  Lord  was  departed 
from  him  {Judges  xvi.). 

Here,  my  dear  brethren,  you  have  the 
picture  of  a  soul  in  that  unhappy  and 
miserable  state  which  usually  succeeds  to 
a  wilful  relapse  into  sin. 

You  will  say,  on  awaking  from  your  deep 
sleep  of  indifference,  and  reflecting  on 
your  misery,  you  will  say  with  Samson : 
"  I  will  go  forth  as  I  did  before."  I  will 
break  my  chains.  I  will  make  a  vigorous 
effort,  and  I  will  free  myself  from  a  guilty 
passion  which  has  so  long  enchained  me. 

But  you  do  not  consider  that  God  retires 
from  you,  and  that  in  proportion  as  He 
retires  you  are  deprived  of  His  aid ;  that 
penance  then  becomes  a  heavy  burden, 
an  insupportable  yoke  ;  and,  whereas  here- 
tofore it  was  a  source  of  comfort  to  you, 
it  now  creates  horror  and  disgust  in  your 
mind  ;  for  your  frequent  relapses  have 
separated  you  from  God,  and  have  placed 
an  almost  insurmountable  barrier  between 
you  and  your  God  :  "  Not  knowing  that  the 
Lord  was  departed  from  you." 

In  truth,  is  it  credible  that  a  man  should 
have  had  a  firm  determination  to  renounce 
his  sin,  and  then,  soon  afterwards,  cow- 
ardly and  unresistingly  (his  sin  being 
always  before  him)  fall  again  into  the 
same  grievous  sin  .?  Ah,  said  St.  Bernard, 
there  is  nothing   stronger   than  our  free 


will ;  everything  submits  to  it,  everything 
obeys  it.  There  is  no  difficulty  which  it 
will  not  remove,  no  opposition  which  it 
will  not  surmount,  and  what  appeared 
otherwise  impossible  becomes  easy  when 
undertaken  in  earnest. 

Now  this  is  true,  in  a  particular  man- 
ner, with  reference  to  sin  ;  for,  however 
depraved  we  may  have  been  after  all,  we 
sin  only  because  we  have  the  will  to  com- 
mit sin  ;  and,  if  we  do  not  will  to  sin,  it 
is  indisputable  that  we  do  not  commit  sin. 
So  that,  in  this  way,  our  free  will  pre- 
serves a  kind  of  sovereignty  over  itself, 
and  participates  in  some  measure  of  the 
divine  omnipotence,  as,  in  what  regards 
sin,  the  will  does  only  what  it  wishes  to 
do,  and  that  it  has  simply  to  consent  in 
order  to  overcome  the  power  of  not  doing 
it.  I  am,  then,  inclined  to  think  that,  in 
reality,  it  has  not  the  wish  to  resist  and 
renounce  sin,  when  I  see  plainly  that  the 
subsequent  wish  is  to  resist  but  feebly,  and 
in  the  end  fails  to  renounce  sin  altogether. 

This  is  the  argument  of  St.  Bernard, 
who  cannot  be  suspected  of  Pelagianism, 
since  he  always  acknowledges  the  efficacy 
of  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  is  easily 
reconciled  with  what  St.  Paul  said  of  him- 
self when  he  complained  "  that  the  evil 
which  he  would  not,  that  he  did  "  —  Sed 
quod  nolo  malum,  hoc  ego  {R.om,  vii.), 
because  by  that,  he  understood  and  meant 
the  involuntary  motions  of  his  heart ; 
whereas  St.  Bernard  speaks  of  the  free 
consent  which  is  given  to  sin. 

BOURDALOUE. 

Dominical*. 


ON    FINA12   inPENlTENGE. 


? 


"cr 


I 


Massillon,  de  la  CoLOMBifeRE,  S.  J.,  and  St.  Chrysostom. 
"  You  shall  seek  me,  and  you  shall  not  find  me,  and  you  will  die  in  your  sins."  —  John  vii,  34. 


\OCAVI  et  remdstis ;    ego   autem 

in     interitii    vestro    ribebo,    et 

subsannabo  vos  —  I  called  and 

oF^^^     you  rejected  Me,  I  also  in  my 

^"  turn  will  laugh  you  to  scorn. 

This  is,  at  the  same  time,  a 
reproach  and  a  threat  which  God  makes 
to  sinners. 

I  have  waited,  says  He  to  them,  until 
the  time  you  asked  Me  for;  I  have  per- 
mitted you  to  satiate  those  youthful  pas- 
sions which  you  alleged  as  an  excuse ;  I 
have  allowed  the  fire  of  your  passions  to 
die  out  ;  I  could  have  left  you  at  the  very 
moment  you  abandoned  Me. 

Nevertheless,  I  pitied  you  and  took 
compassion  on  your  weakness.  I  delayed, 
and  even  tolerated  your  long-continued 
neglect.  I  have  even  followed  you  to  the 
last  great  feast,  as  you  requested  Me  to 
do.  I  hoped  that  you  would  return  to 
Me,  that  you  would  do  something  for  your 
own  salvation  ;  nevertheless,  you  have  not 
fulfilled  your  promises. 

My  preachers  have  spoken  with  all  that 
zeal  which  My  glory  and  your  salvation 

179 


have  inspired  them  ;  the  ministers  of 
penance  have  waited  for  you  in  the  con- 
fessional ;  the  treasures  of  My  grace  and 
those  of  My  Church  have  been  ever 
opened  for  sinners.  In  a  word,  I  have 
waited  for  you  to  work  out  My  justice : 
Expectavi  ut  faccret  judicium. 

But  what  has  been  the  result,  what  the 
success  of  my  patience  "*.  Et  ecce  iniqui- 
tate — it  has  been  iniquity. 

One  day  of  penance  and  years  of  sin  ;  a 
confession  hurriedly,  slovenly  made,  and  a 
thousand  relapses  during  the  rest  of  your 
life — some  trifling  alms  after  a  thousand 
injustices  :  Et  ecce  iniqiiitas.  You  have 
despised  my  grace,  my  warnings,  my 
threats.  "  I  also  in  my  time  will  laugh 
you  to  scorn." 

That  which  keeps  back  the  conversion 
of  so  many  sinners  is,  that  they  want  to 
wait  for  their  conversion  until  they  are 
free  from  all  hindrances,  from  businesses 
which  occupy  their  whole  time.  When  I 
have  settled  that  law-suit,  says  one  ;  when 
I  shall  be  free  from  all  the  cares   of  my 


i8o 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


numerous  engagements,  says  another ; 
when  I  shall  have  restored  order  and  peace 
in  my  family,  when  I  shall  have  provided 
for  my  children,  when  I  shall  have  put  by 
suflEicient  for  the  wants  and  comforts  of 
my  old  age,  then  I  will  think  of  being  good 
and  of  doing  penance.  This  is  how  wordly 
people  act  You  wish  to  wait,  in  order 
that  you  may  be  free  from  every  obstacle, 
free  from  all  temporal  anxieties. 

Ah  !  you  deceive  yourselves,  blind  sin- 
ners ;  you  will  never  reach  to  that  freedom 
of  mind,  to  that  disengagement  from 
everything  ;  for  you  will  always  be  slaves 
of  habits  which  drag  you  down,  and  which 
will  grow  stronger  in  you  more  and  more. 

Well,  if  you  wish  to  emerge  from  the 
darkness  in  which  you  are,  do  not  delay 
one  single  moment  when  the  voice  of  God 
calls  you. 

Although  you  may  be  still  attached  to 
the  good  things  of  this  world,  although 
you  may  cling  to  the  corruptions  of  the 
age,  although  you  may  be  slaves  of  a  vice 
which  tyrannizes  over  you,  listen  to  Jesus 
Christ,  who  speaks  to  you,  and  when  you 
hear  His  voice,  arise  from  sin,  as  did  Laza- 
rus from  the  grave.  Without  that,  you 
will  perhaps  never,  never  be  converted. 

A  change  from  bad  to  good  is  not 
effected  in  a  moment.  How  great  a 
change,  then,  must  that  be  from  a  bad  life 
to  a  good  death  ! 

You  know  that  the  grace  of  a  deathbed 
repentance  is  the  most  extraordinary  of  all 
graces ;  and  still  you  think  that  you  have 
*  right  to  expect  it,  you  who  have  brought 


yourself  to  be  most  unworthy  of  so  great 
grace ;  unworthy  by  that  career  of  calloi 
indifference  of  which  you  know  all  the 
baseness  ;  unworthy  by  the  knowledge  of 
inspirations  from  heaven,  which  you  have 
so  many  times  misused ;  unworthy  by  the 
neglect  of  those  blessed  inward  warnings 
from  above ;  unworthy  by  that  false  and 
deceitful  security  which  you  have  cherished, 
and  which  is  the  climax  of  all  your  sins. 

I  ask  you,  if  there  ever  was  a  sinner 
who  ought  to  expect  from  God  the  grace  of 
conversion,  would  it  be  a  sinner  of  your 
grade,  and  if  there  is  much  to  fear  for  one 
sinner,  ought  you  not  to  fear  that  the  curse 
of  Heaven  would  descend  upon  you,  and 
that  you  would  be  rejected  as  a  criminal 
too  guilty  to  merit  forgiveness  } 

Massillon. 

A  man,  when  he  is  at  death's  door,  is 
like  unto  a  city,  besieged  and  vigorously 
stormed  by  the  enemy.  Every  civil  func- 
tion is  suspended ;  courts  of  justice, 
schools,  business,  fine  arts,  are  all  sus- 
pended during  that  calamity ;  every  one 
runs  to  the  ramparts  to  share  in  the  com- 
mon danger.  So  a  person,  the  citadel  of 
whose  heart  is  besieged  with  the  pains  of 
death,  to  make  use  of  the  prophet's  expres- 
sions, thinks  only  of  his  pain ;  his  soul  is 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  those  who  torture 
the  most;  it  is  then  it  must  strive  its 
utmost  to  drive  away  an  enemy  ready  to 
make  itself  master  of  the  place.  During 
this  temptation,  it  no  longer  sees  nor 
hears,  it  only  feels  the  pain  ;  in  that  dread 
hour  one  hardly  dares  to  call  its  attention 


FINAL  IMPENITENCE. 


i8i 


to  many  important  affairs,  nevertheless  it 
is  the  time  reserved  expressly  for  the  only 
great  affair,  for  an  affair  on  which  hangs 
an  eternity. 

Woe  to  me  !  if  I  am  so  badly  advised  as 
to  use  my  soul  thus  ;  woe  to  me  !  if  I  delay 
to  the  last  moment  of  my  life  that  which 
should  have  been  the  occupation  of  my  life, 

De  la  COLOMBlfeRE,  S.  J. 

Do  not,  I  implore  you,  delay  your  con- 
version to  God,  for  you  know  not  the  day 
appointed  to  carry  you  off. 


You  tell  me  that  God  has  given  His 
grace  to  be  converted  to  some  when  they 
have  reached  to  extreme  old  age.  Does  it 
follow  from  this  that  He  will  grant  you  the 
same  favor }  Perhaps  He  will  grant  it  to 
me.  Why  add  perhaps  ?  Because  it  has 
sometimes  happened.  What !  does  the 
question  of  your  salvation  depend  on  a 
perhaps  ? 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Epis.  ad  Theod. 


i   -■^.    .^fc,    :^Z  .^fe.  ^U^  ^^  jj^  ^^  j|^  ^^fc  ^fc  ^jjZ.    ^^   ^j^  ^^ 
*;  ^^  "^^  ^^  ^^  "^  ^^  ^^  "^F  "^   "^   ^F  "^    ^F   ^^  ^^ 


a'  ^^  §^  ■^.  ^^  ^^  ^^  -■^.  .^Ife.  ■•^    -^  ^^  .^^    ..^    ■>^H.    ^^ 

=  ^^  ^'  ^^  ^F  "^  ^^  "^  ^^  ^F  ^^  ^IP  ^If  ^If  ^If  tW^ 


••>'^>^*^'^>45* 


^^^^t^^-^:-^**— 


CHAPTER    LXIX, 


':  i?i  '.*':  •••;  i»;  •'•*•  •!•;  {•;  {•;  ••;  ••*•  •*•;  'Jt:  'A  i*:  i«C'  i*':  i'J 


'^- 


'ft  (3mk)iti0Hi.    -^ 


♦••  {•;  ,{•!•  ••;  ••;  •*•;  '.•':  •*•;  ••;  •*•'•  •*•;  •*•*•  •*•*•  ••*•  ••*•  •••*•  {•*.  ii%  fi} 


TtRES  HouDRY  and  Croiset. 
"  They  much  preferred  the  glory  of  man  to  the  glory  of  God."  —  John  xii.  43. 


F  the  chastisements  inflicted  by 
Almighty  God  on  the  ambitious 
man  there  is  no  instance  more 
terrible  than  the  fate  and  pun- 
ishment of  Nabuchodonosor. 
The  king  ceased  to  be  a 
prince,  and,  at  the  same  time,  lost  his 
reason  and  his  crown. 

We  read  in  the  book  of  Daniel :  "  But 
when  his  heart  was  lifted  up,  and  his  spirit 
hardened  with  pride,  he  was  put  down 
from  the  throne  of  his  kingdom,  and  his 
glory  was  taken  away." 

He  lost  his  speech  and  was  forced  to 
bellow  like  the  oxen,  and  did  eat  grass, 
and  from  the  highest  rank  he  was  reduced 
to  the  lowest  pitch  of  misery.  He  was 
driven  from  a  palace  wherein  he  formerly 
was  idolized,  and  therein  was  a  sight  never 
before  witnessed  in  any  palace  of  a  king. 
The  magnificent  buildings  which  had  been 
the  unfortunate  source  of  his  pride  could 
only  serve  him  as  a  humiliating  retreat ; 
that  majesty  which  all  obeyed  tremblingly 
was  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  deprived  of 
every  mark  of  honor. 


One  sought  for  Nabuchodonosor  in 
vain.  His  children  no  longer  knew  their 
father,  his  subjects  no  longer  recognized 
their  king. 

PtRE  HOUDRV,  S.  J. 

Ambition  is  a  passion  which  prompts 
men  to  raise  themselves  higher  than  their 
due.  It  is  ever  unjust,  and  insatiability 
becomes  a  part  of  its  character. 

What  vice  more  hurtful  to  repose ! 
Disdainful  and  discontented,  it  despises 
all  that  is  lowly  and  recognizes  no  equal 
No  vice  is  more  hideous  !  Ambition  seeks 
only  its  aim  —  no  exertion  and  labor  too 
difficult,  provided  it  accomplishes  its 
object.  All  roads  to  advancement  appear 
to  the  ambitious  man  to  be  level.  Ambi- 
tion is  his  idol,  and  to  this  he  sacrifices 
duty,  friendship,  gratitude,  and  scorns 
every  law,  human  and  divine.  No  passion 
more  hard-hearted,  more  irreligious.  What 
scheme  does  not  the  ambitious  man  resort 
to,  to  attain  his  object  .-•  Intrigues, 
quarrels,  intercession,  base  flattery,  all  are 
made  use  of.     The  ambitious  play  msLDjf 


AMBITION. 


183 


parts  —  now  a  friend,  now  a  suppliant,  but 
rarely  that  of  an  honest  man,  and  still 
more  seldom,  that  of  a  Christian  man. 

Conscience  is  disregarded,  religion 
unheeded,  and  passion  reigns  supreme 
in  the  ambitious  heart. 

From  this  arise  failures,  that  total  dis- 
regard of  morality  and  all  that  is  sacred. 

Ambition  upsets,  so  to  speak,  the  econ- 
omy of  providence.  Opposed  as  it  is  to 
its  designs,  it  follows  and  pursues  its  own 
plans  and  projects.  It  selects  positions, 
procures  dignities,  seizes  hold  of  the  fore- 
most place,  seeks  to  displace  others,  and 
yearns  to  be  higher,  higher  still. 

The  life  of  an  ambitious  man  is  spent 
in  sighing   after   an   imaginary  fortune,  a 


phantom  of  glory.  His  present  state  of 
life  displeases  him,  if  he  sees  an  oppor- 
tunity of  obtaining  a  higher  position,  and 
which  he  flatters  himself  he  has  the  ability 
to  fill.  To  secure  this,  what  measures 
will  he  not  take,  and  to  what  meanness 
will  he  not  resort  "i 

One  might  say  that  the  majority  of 
mankind  seemed  to  imitate  those  rash 
children  of  Noah,  who  busied  themselves 
in  erecting  a  tower  that  would  reach  to 
heaven. 

Christian  virtue  is  the  only  object 
worthy  of  ambition.  God  alone  can 
satisfy  our  heart,  and  that  heart  must  be 
centred  in  Him  alone. 

Croiset,  S.  J. 


_k.A..Ai:<N.'/~N 

/    *    /  -A 


CHAPTER    LXX. 


#       #       #       #       # 


ON    •*•   KNCER. 


*  # 


#  ♦ 


Saints  Basil,  Chrysostom,  and  Ambrose. 

"  Whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother,  shall  deserve  to  be  condemned  by  the  judgment." 

—  Matthew  v.  13. 


T.  BASIL  — called  the  Great,  to 
distinguish  him  from  other  Patri- 
archs of  the  same  name  —  was. 
born  in  329,  and  in  the  year  370 
he  was  made  Bishop  of  Cassarea 
in  Cappadocia,  where  he  died   in 

379- 

Among  all  the  Grecian  Patriarchs  St.  Basil 
ranks  as  the  most  distinguished  ecclesiastic. 

The  vows  of  obedience,  chastity,  and  pov- 
erty framed  by  St.  Basil  are  to  this  day  the 
rules  of  every  order  of  Christendom.  His 
writings  were  read  by  all,  even  by  the  pagans. 
They  compared  him  to  the  celebrated  ancient 
orators,  and  was  unsurpassed  by  any  of  the 
holy  Fathers.  An  excellent  life  of  St.  Basil, 
by  Mons.  Hermant,  was  published  in  France 
in  the  year  1674. 

Those  persons  who  are  subject  to 
this  furious  passion  are  compared  in  Holy 
Writ  to  beasts,  because  they  imitate  their 
malignity  ;  and  that  those  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  committing  all  kinds  of  crime 
are  rightly  placed  in  the  category  of  those 
ferocious  and  carnivorous  animals  who 
bear  a  natural  enmity  to  man. 


Quickness  of  temper,  ill-natured,  in  con 
siderate  words,  violence,  calumnies, 
reproaches,  injuries,  blows,  and  all  other 
disorders,  are  the  result  and  fruit  of  anger. 
It  is  that  vice  which  sharpens  the  swords 
with  which  men  kill  each  other,  that 
brothers  no  longer  recognize  their  own 
flesh  and  blood,  that  parents  and  children 
stifle  the  best  feelings  that  nature  implants 
in  them. 

A  passionate  man  does  not  even  know 
himself ;  he  respects  neither  age,  virtue, 
nor  kindred  ;  he  forgets  benefits,  and  is 
not  moved  by  aught  that  is  most  sacred 
amongst  men. 

Anger  is  a  momentary  madness.  Those 
who  are  most  prone  to  It  neglect  them- 
selves for  the  sake  of  revenge,  and  often 
thereby  expose  themselves  to  all  sorts  of 
danger. 

The  remembrance  of  wrongs  that  may 
have  been  inflicted  on  them  is  like  a 
needle  which  continually  pricks  them ; 
their  excited  minds   know  no  rest   until 


ANGER. 


185 


they  have  caused  some  great  grief  or  until 
they  have  inflicted  some  injury  on  those 
who  may  have  offended  them  ;  when 
what  they  wish  to  do  often  recoils  upon 
themselves,  and  this  is  frequently  the 
case. 

St.  Basil. 

Do  you  not  know  that  when  one  flies 
into  a  passion,  trifling  things  appear 
insupportable,  and  what  is  the  least  inju- 
rious becomes  magnified  and  appears  to 
be  an  insulting  outrage.  That  which 
we  look  upon  as  a  little  word  has 
often  caused  murders  and  ruined  entire 
laities. 

Thus,  when  we  love  some  one  the  most 
disagreeable  task  appears  to  be  light  and 
easy  ;  in  like  manner,  when  we  cherish 
hate,  the  lightest  things  appear  to  be 
insupportable.  Although  the  word  or 
words  may  have  been  uttered  without 
intention  of  hurting  the  feelings,  we  har- 
bor the  thought  that  it  must  proceed  from 
a  heart  that  is  poisoned  against  us.  St. 
Paul  says,  "  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  on 
your  anger."  He  fears  that  the  night, 
finding  the  offended  person  alone,  may 
fester  the  wound.  During  the  day  the 
work  and  bustle  of  the  world  causes  his 
anger  to  slumber,  bi;t  when  the  night  has 
come  he  is  alone,  and  he  broods  over  his 
fancied  injuries,  and  his  troubled  soul 
becomes  excited,  and  passionate  anger 
resumes  its  sway. 

St.  Paul,  foreseeing  this  evil,  wishes 
him  to  be  reconciled  before  the  sun  goes 
down,  in   order  that   the  devil   may   not 


have  the  opportunity  of  re-enkindling  his 
anger  and  thus  make  it  turn  to  hate. 

St.  Chrysostom. 

If  a  man  cannot  help  feeling  angry,  in 
spite  of  himself,  he  can  at  least  try  to 
mitigate  his  wrath. 

Against  that  unhappy  feeling  of  anger, 
we  should  oppose  it  by  that  gentlest  of  all 
virtues,  patience.  For,  if  anger  should 
exceed  its  proper  limit,  it  opens  a  wound 
in  the  soul  which  allows  itself  to  be  led 
away,  it  deadens  every  proper  feeling, 
thickens  the  tongue,  disturbs  the  eye,  and, 
in  fact,  revolutionizes  the  whole  frame. 

Therefore,  in  dealing  with  an  angry 
man  resist  him  if  you  can,  and  if  you 
cannot,  yield  to  him. 

Would  you  wish  to  know  how  to  act 
when  you  have  received  an  insult }  Do 
not  return  evil  for  evil ;  pay  no  attention 
to  malicious  reports,  neither  be  wicked 
because  others  are  wicked.  The  pagans 
have  often  quoted  a  remkrk  made  by  one 
of  their  philosophers,  and  which  is  cer- 
tainly deserving  of  praise.  His  servant 
having  greatly  displeased  him  by  an  act 
of  gross  injustice,  he  said  to  him:  "Go, 
wretched  man  ;  how  severely  would  I  not 
punish  you  were  I  not  in  a  passion  !  " 

David  acted  in  a  similar  way ;  he 
restrained  his  anger  when  he  felt  tempted 
to  revenge ;  but  he  so  thoroughly  had 
mastered  his  passions  that  he  did  not 
answer  a  single  word  to  the  insults  they 
heaped  upon  him. 

St.  Ambrose. 
Opciis. 


CHAPITER     IvXXI. 


ON     T^iZKRICE. 


1^ 


St.  Chrysostom  and  Massillon. 
"  Let  your  li£e  be  exempt  from  avarice  ;  be  content  with  what  you  have." — Hebrews  xiii,  5. 


HERE  is  nothing  more  cruel, 
nothing  more  infamous,  than 
the  usury  so  common  amongst 
men. 

The  usurer  traffics  on  the 
misfortunes  of  others ;  he 
enriches  himself  on  their  poverty,  and  then 
he  demands  his  compound  interest,  as  if 
they  were  under  a  great  obligation  to  him. 
He  is  heartless  to  his  creditor,  but  is 
afraid  of  appearing  so  ;  when  he  pretends 
that  he  has  every  inclination  to  oblige,  he 
crushes  him  the  more  and  reduces  him  to 
the  last  extremity.  He  offers  one  hand, 
and  with  the  other  pushes  him  down  the 
precipice. 

He  offers  to  assist  the  shipwrecked,  and 
instead  of  guiding  them  safely  into  port 
he  steers  them  among  the  reefs  and  rocks. 
Where  your  treasure  is,  there  is  your 
heart,  says  our  Saviour.  Perhaps  you 
may  have  avoided  many  evils  arising  from 
avarice  ;  but  still,  if  you  cherish  an  attach- 
ment  to  this  odious  vice,  it  will  be  of  little 
use,  for  you  will  still  be  a  slave,  free  as  you 
fancy  yourself  to  be  ;  and  you  will  fall  from 


the  height  of  heaven  to  that  spot  wherein 
your  gold  is  hidden,  and  your  thoughts 
will  still  complacently  dwell  on  money, 
gains,  usury,  and  dishonest  commerce. 

What  is  more  miserable  than  such  a 
state  ? 

There  is  not  a  sadder  tyranny  than  that 
of  a  man  who  is  a  willing  subject  to  this 
furious  tyrant,  destroying  all  that  is  good 
in  him,  namely,  the  nobility  of  the  soul. 

So  long  as  you  have  a  heart  basely 
attached  to  gains  and  riches,  whatsoever 
truths  may  be  told  you,  or  whatsoever 
advice  may  be  given  to  you,  to  secure 
your  salvation  —  all  will  be  useless. 

Avarice  is  an  incurable  malady,  an  ever- 
burning fire,  a  tyranny  which  extends  far 
and  wide ;  for  he  who  in  this  life  is  the 
slave  of  money,  is  loaded  with  heavy 
chains,  and  destined  to  carry  far  heavier 
chains  in  the  life  to  come. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Z>g  Avariiia. 

It  is  that  insatiable  greed  for  gold  and 
the  goods  of  this  world,  which   engenders 


A  VARICE. 


187 


all  those  crying  injustices,  —  all  those 
(iouble-dealings  in  trade  and  companies, 
those  infidelities  to  promises,  that  all- 
devouring  rapacity,  which,  heedless  of  the 
widow  and  orphans,  violate  the  most 
sacred  laws  merely  to  satisfy  the  cravings 
of  a  vast  cupidity. 

From  avarice  arises  that  desire  of 
establishing  the  status  of  your  own  family, 
and  of  building  up  a  name  and  reputation, 
at  the  expense  of  the  holy  commandments 
of  God  and  His  Church. 

From  that  proceed  those  forced  sac- 
rifices of  unloved  children  to  occupations 
for  which  they  may  have  a  distaste,  merely 
for  the  sake  of  aggrandizing  those  for 
whom  they  have  a  greater  love,  —  that  bold 
usurpation  of  the  poor,  by  depriving  them, 
so  to  speak,  of  the  inheritance  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

It  is  a  sin  of  which  a  man  can  very 
seldom  be  cured  without  the  help  of  an 
especial  grace. 

When  a  vice  is  not  sufficiently  strong  of 
itself  to  be  satisfied,  it  generally  calls  in 
the  assistance  of  another  vice  near  at 
hand  ;  for  instance,  vengeance  is  satiated 
when  blood  is  spilled.  Misfortune  cures 
us  of  pride  and  ambition ;  sensuality 
dies  out  with  our  strength  and  health ; 
but  avarice  alone  increases  with  our 
age. 

Ambition  feeds  avarice,  pleasure  flatters 
it,  and  the  old  man  used  up  by  sensuality 
becomes  eager    for    money,  and    hoards 


something  daily  for  the  end  of  a  journey, 
which,  alas  for  him  !  is  so  near  at  hand. 

One  look  alone  of  our  Saviour  touched 
the  heart -of  Peter  ;  a  word  converted  Paul ; 
the  incredulous  Thomas  becomes  a  firm 
believer  as  soon  as  he  touched  the  wounds 
and  side  of  his  Lord  and  Master ;  but 
neither  look,  nor  word,  nor  touch,  did  the 
avaricious  Judas  heed. 

Ah  !  my  brother,  if  a  little  limpid  streana 
were  near,  and  that  was  sufficient  to  satisfy 
your  thirst,  why  seek  for  one  as  wide  as 
an  ocean,  which  will  only  make  you 
more  thirsty  ?  If  you  have  sufficient  for 
your  wants,  why  seek  for  more  ? 

A  man  who  is  in  heart  a  miser  has 
plenty,  and  yet  has  it  not.  He  has  enough, 
because  he  is  already  rich  and  amasses 
daily.  He  has  it  not,  for  with  all  his  gold 
he  yearns  for  more  ;  he  lives  as  if  he  had 
nothing,  and  at  last  he  dies  poor.  His  gold 
is  as  nothing,  and  he  dies  poorer  than  the 
poorest  beggar. 

Jesus  Christ  came  down  from  heaven  to 
cure  this  dreadful  vice.  To  drive  away 
avarice.  He  elevates  the  love  of  poverty  to 
the  highest  rank,  and  to  effect  this.  He 
who  is  the  Lord  and  Master  of  all  riches 
on  earth  preferred  to  be  born  in  a  stable ; 
to  pass  His  early  days  in  a  carpenter's 
workshop,  and  then  die  naked  on  a  cross, 
in  order  to  establish  a  religion,  poor  and 
pure,  in  the  midst  of  a  coarse  and  cruel 
Judaism. 

Massilloh. 


St.  Augustine  and  St.  Cypriaw. 
"  I  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last,  and  beside  me  there  is  no  God."  —  Isaias  xliv.  6. 


'F  I  asked  an  atheist  how  I  can 
be  convinced  that  he  is  alive 
(for,  indeed,  I  cannot  see  the 
soul  that  dwells  within  him), 
he  would  answer  that  he  acts, 
he  speaks,  and  walks,  conse- 
quently that  he  is  a  living  being.  But  it 
is  possible  to  move,  walk,  and  even  speak 
by  mechanism,  and  I  see  nothing  which 
persuades  me  that  he  has  within  himself  a 
principle  which  of  its  nature  can  control  or 
instil  such  an  animation.  At  least  I  may 
obstinately  require  proofs  from  him  of  that 
interior  source  which  belies  him. 

The  intelligence,  reflection,  and  freedom 
which  accompany  these  exterior  signs  of 
life,  he  replies,  leave  no  doubt  that  the 
source  from  which  they  spring  must  be 
the  soul. 

I  agree,  and  am  forced  to  agree,  with 
him.  In  admitting  creation,  why,  then, 
does  he  not  adore  the  Creator  ? 

Creatures  are  ever  in  motion ;  of  them- 
selves, they  could  not  possibly  know  how 
to  maintain  and  keep  up  all  that  so  har- 

18S 


moniously  dwells  within.  He  will  not  say 
what  he  thinks.  To  choose  with  so  much 
certainty  all  that  is  proper  and  convenient, 
to  make  use  of  things  to  which  they  are 
indifferent,  and  which,  in  their  hardness 
of  heart,  they  attribute  to  chance. 

O  fool !  let  him  acknowledge  that 
Supreme  Being  whose  wisdom  and  power 
shine  so  visibly  in  the  world. 

Holy  Scripture  makes  no  distinction 
between  the  atheist,  and  the  madman  and 
fool ;  they  are  nevertheless  led  by  a  very 
different  way.  The  fool  thinks  what  he 
says,  and  says  what  he  thinks ;  the 
thoughts  and  words  of  the  atheist  do  not 
agree.  His  opinions  give  the  lie  to  his 
words,  and  his  words  give  the  lie  to  his 
opinions.  In  his  heart  he  denies  the 
Divinity.  I  am  wrong ;  I  should  say  he 
would  wish  to  deny  it ;  he,  however,  cannot 
succeed  in  this ;  for  he  dares  not  publish 
his  opinion,  because  he  does  not  under- 
stand it.  Every  effort  that  he  takes  in 
order  to  fly  from  the  fear  of  God  (who  is  a 
witness  of   all  his   deeds)    only  ends  in  a 


ATHEISM  AND   UNBELIEF. 


1:89 


vague,  confused  idea  of  a  belief  which 
startles  him  in  spite  of  himself.  O  mad- 
man !  to  wish  to  force  his  reason,  to  lose 
his  reasoning  faculties. 

It  must  be  madness  to  battle  against  a 
truth  which  has  been  accepted  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places.  There  is  a  Divinity, 
and  this  is  what  all  have  agreed  upon ;  a 
God  has  been  acknowledged,  and  Him 
they  have  adored. 

This  conviction  is  not  the  result  of 
education,  for  education  differs  in  all  parts 
of  the  globe.  It  is  not  the  commerce, 
which  has  spread  from  one  nation  to 
another ;  for  all  nations  have  not  been 
able  to  agree  on  this  point,  without  the 
help  of  a  mutual  intelligence.  Questions 
of  policy  have  not  been  able  to  produce  it, 
for  governments  so  opposed  to  each  other, 
so  different  in  manners  and  customs,  could 
not  possibly  come  to  terms.  Princes  and 
subjects  could  not  have  been  able  to  com- 
bat with  the  impressions  naturally  formed 
in  all  kinds  of  intelligences. 

Is  it  study  which  has  given  it  birth  } 
Certainly  not !  On  this  point,  the  gross- 
est ignorance  does  not  yield  to  good 
breeding  or  knowledge.  In  favor  of  a 
Divinity,  I  do  not  ask,  said  Tertullian,  for 
the  testimony  of  a  soul  in  established 
schools,  in  well-stored  libraries,  or  in  first- 
rate  colleges ;  I  appeal  to  a  simple  and 
savage  soul ;  I  invoke  the  soul  itself,  such 
as  it  comes  from  the  hands  of  its  Creator. 
If  any  person  has  been  the  first  to  discover 
or  make  known  the  existence  of  that 
Supreme  Being,  tell  me  the  land  from 
which  he  has  sprung,  and  the  nation  which 


has  published  it  to  the  whole  world. 
Point  out  the  time  and  the  age  which  has 
first  heard  it.  The  birth  of  a  truth  «o 
startling,  so  important,  could  not  have 
failed  to  have  been  noticed. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  said,  in  opposition  to 
this,  that  idolatry  has  reigned,  that 
empires  and  kingdoms  have  adored  differ* 
ent  gods ;  I  know  it,  and  I  only  maintain 
to  establish  a  universal  knowledge  and 
recognition  of  the  Divinity. 

If"  there  be  under  heaven  an  atheist,  he 
must  acknowledge  that  idolatry  destroys 
itself,  and  that  his  ridicule  is  only  equal 
to  his  error.  But  reason  alone  cannot 
compass  all  the  perfections  of  the  Divinity, 
of  which  it  is  struck  with  wonder,  and 
which  it  cannot  ignore. 

All  men  yearn  after  a  happiness  which 
they  naturally  aim  at  acquiring  ;  but  with- 
out the  assistance  of  faith,  how  could  they 
agree  as  to  its  quality  and  essence }  To 
an  ordinary  intelligent  mind,  how  difficult 
it  would  prove  to  act  in  opposition  to  an 
opinion  which  is  universally  recognized ! 
And  yet  that  very  difficulty,  would  it  not 
be  a  convincing  proof  of  the  truth  he  would 
deny  } 

One  could  scarcely  imagine  a  man  to  be 
more  wicked  than  he  who  coolly  and 
deliberately  resolves  to  riot  in  the  com- 
mission of  the  most  abominable  vices. 
And  yet  a  man  who  makes  it  his  study 
and  profession,  and  who  piques  himself 
upon  it  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  is  such  a  man.  It  is  neither  chance, 
nor  delusion,  nor  reflection,  nor  knowledge, 
nor  even  debaucherv,  that  have  led    him 


1 


I90 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


into  that  frightful  error ;  it  is  his  will 
only. 

We  are  born  ignorant,  weak,  inconstant, 
inclined  to  evil ;  but  we  come  into  this 
world  with  all  the  prejudices  that  wage 
war  against  atheism. 

If  it  is  possible  to  be  an  atheist,  it  is 
because  the  will  to  be  one  is  there.  It  is 
undoubtedly  true  that  such  a  wish  arises 
from  debauchery,  but  such  will  is,  in 
itself,  a  lewdness  of  the  most  detestable 
kind.  One  does  not  plunge  one's  self  by 
degrees  in  the  lowest  depths  of  vice ;  as 
soon  as  they  affirm  that  there  is  no  God, 
they  cast  themselves  suddenly  into  the 
abyss. 

St.  Augustine. 
Oh  Psalm  Ixxiiu 


God   cannot  be   seen,    He   is    far    tl 
bright  for  us  ;  neither  can  we  understa^ 
Him,  He  is   far  beyond   our  compreh< 
sion  ;  He  is  not  sufficiently  valued  becat 
He  is   out   of  the   reach   of  our  sensel 
this   is  why  we   should  worthily  estima 
the  perfection  of  His  being  when  we  s^ 
that  He  is  inestimable. 

K  I  know  not  myself,  if  I  know  neithi 
the  nature  nor  the  essence  of  my  soul,ij 
I  cannot  give  a  reason  of  what  is  in 
how  shall  I  dare  to  lift  up  my  eyes 
order  to  understand  God,  who  is  tl 
beginning  and  end  of  all  things,  and  wlj 
is  Himself  without  beginning  and  end  t 

St.  Cyprian. 
De  Id*l.  VohU 


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Extract  from  "La  Morale  Chritienne^''  and  St.  Chrysostom. 

"  A  man  that  sweareth  much  shall  be  filled  with  iniquity,  and  a  scourge  shall  not  depart  from  his 
fcouse."  —  EccLES.  xxiii.  12. 


LL  oaths  are  forbidden  except 
when  absolutely  necessary ; 
and  it  is  breaking  the  com- 
mandment which  God  has 
made,  not  only  by  taking  His 
sacred  name  in  vain,  but  He  is 
dishonored  by  blasphemies,  impious  jests, 
oaths  uttered  on  trifling  occasions,  frequent 
and  habitual  swearing  uttered  through 
wicked  malice  or  through  useless,  frivolous 
promises  confirmed  on  oath. 

We  acknowledge  the  holiness  of  the 
name  of  God  by  faith,  and  it  is  by  faith 
we  know  that  perjury  dishonors  Him. 
With  regard  to  this  precept,  every  oath, 
every  curse,  every  kind  of  swearing  is 
against  this  precept,  and  opposed  to  the 
respect  due  to  the  holy  name  of  God  ;  for 
"  holy  and  terrible  is  His  name"  :  Sanctum 
et  terribile  nomen  ejus.  But  where  are  the 
men  and  traders  of  the  world  who  obey 
this  commandment  ^  Alas  !  many  swear  of 
their  own  accord,  without  a  thought,  with- 
out reflection,  and  very  many  through  habit. 
Let  us  take  care  to  avoid  the  use  of 
oaths  in  our  temporal  afifairs  ;  for  it  is  an 

191 


abuse  of  religion,  and  is  taking  a  merce- 
nary view  of  God. 

The  abuse  of  swearing  arises  either 
from  a  bold  defiance  of  Him  who  forbids 
it,  or  from  the  malice  of  those  who  make 
use  of  it,  or  from  thoughtlessness  and 
irreverence. 

Religion,  honesty,  and  honor  would 
remedy  all  this. 

Nothing  would  be  so  contrary  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  and  to  the  doctrine  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  making  use  of  oaths  in  the 
Church,  because  it  would  be  the  occasion 
of  perjury,  lay  snares  for  the  weak  and 
ignorant,  and  sometimes  would  place  the 
name  and  truths  of  God  in  the  hands  of 
the  wicked. 

La  Morale  Chritienne. 

I  beseech  you,  my  brothers,  to  be  ever 
on  your  guard  against  the  habit  of  swear- 
ing and  blaspheming. 

If  a  slave  dare  to  pronounce  the  name 
of  his  master,  he  does  it  but  seldom,  and 
then  only  with  respect  ;  therefore  is  it 
not   a   shocking    impiety   to   speak    with 


192 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


contempt  and  irreverence  of  the  name  of 
the  Master  of  angels  and  seraphim  ? 
People  handle  the  book  of  the  Gospel  with 
a  religious  fear,  and  then  only  with  clean 
hands,  and  yet  your  rash  tongue  would 
inconsiderately  profane  the  name  of  the 
Divine  Author  of  the  Gospel. 

Would  you  wish  to  know  with  what 
respect,  fear,  and  wonder  the  choirs  of 
the  angels  pronounce  the  adorable  name  ? 
Listen  to  the  prophet  Isaias  :  "I  saw," 
says  Isaias,  "the  Lord  sitting  upon  a 
throne  high  and  elevated ;  upon  it  stood 
the  seraphim,  who  cried  one  to  another 
and  said,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  the  Lord  God 
of  hosts,  all  the  earth  is  full  of  His  glory." 

See  with  what  terror  they  are  seized, 
even  while  they  praise  and  glorify  Him. 
As  for  you,  my  brethren,  you  know  how 
cold  and  indifferent  are  the  prayers  you 
say,  and  you  know  how  frequently  you 
blaspheme  a  name  so  majestic,  so  sacred, 
and  how  you  try  to  make  excuses  for  the 
bad  habit  you  have  contracted.  It  is  easy, 
yes,  I  say,  it  is  easy,  with  a  little  care, 
attention,  and  reflection,  to  leave  off  this 
vicious  habit. 

Since  we  have  fallen,  my  brethren,  into 
this  sin  of  blasphemy,  I  conjure  you,  in 
the  name  of  our  Lord,  to  rebuke  openly 
these  blasphemers.  When  you  meet  with 
such  who  publicly  sin  in  this  respect, 
correct  them  by  word  of  mouth,  and,  if 
necessary,  by  your  strong  arm.  Let  these 
shameless  swearers  be  covered  with  con- 
fusion. You  could  not  employ  your  hand 
to  a  holier  work.  And  if  you  are  given 
into   custody,   go  boldly  before  the  mag- 


istrate, and  say  in  your  defence  that  you 
have  avenged  a  blasphemy. 

For  if  a  person  is  punished  for  speaking 
contemptuously  of  a  prince,  is  it  not 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  person  who 
speaks  irreverently  of  God  should  be 
sentenced  to  a  severer  punishment .-'  It  is 
a  public  crime,  a  common  injury  which  all 
the  world  ought  to  condemn. 

Let  the  Jews  and  infidels  see  that  our 
magistrates  are  Christians,  and  that  they 
will  not  allow  those  to  go  unpunished  who 
insult  and  outrage  their  Master. 

Do  you  remember  that  it  was  a  false 
oath  that  overturned  the  houses,  temples, 
and  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  from  a  superb 
city  it  became  a  mass  of  ruins  "i  Neither 
the  sacred  vessels  nor  the  sanctuary  could 
stay  the  vengeance  of  a  God  justly 
angered  against  a  violater  of  His  word. 

Sedecias  did  not  receive  a  more  favored 
treatment  than  Jerusalem.  Flight  did  not 
save  him  from  his  enemies.  This  prince» 
escaping  secretly,  was  pursued  and  taken 
by  the  Assyrians,  who  led  him  to  their 
king.  The  king,  after  asking  him  the 
reason  of  his  perfidy,  not  only  caused  his 
children  to  be  killed,  but  deprived  him  of 
his  sight,  and  sent  him  back  to  Babylon, 
loaded  with  iron  chains. 

Would  you  know  the  reason  why .?  It 
was  that  the  barbarians  and  Jews  who 
inhabited  the  country  adjoining  Persia 
should  know,  by  this  terrible  example, 
that  the  breach  of  an  oath  is  punishable. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Seventh  Homily. 


^i\ 


On  Ocilumny  cin5  ^lanflEi|. 


BouRDALOUE  and  Saints  Chrysostom  and  Bernard. 

•♦  The  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity ;  it  is  an  unquiet  evil,  full  of  deadly  poison." 

—  James  iii.  6,  8. 


CRIPTURE,  in  giving  us  a  por- 
trait of  a  slanderer,  represents 
him  as  a  terrible  and  formidable 
man,  "  A  man  full  of  tongue 
is  terrible  in  his  city,  and  he 
that  is  rash  in  his  word  shall 
be  hateful  "  {Eccles.  ix.  25). 

In  fact,  he  is  formidable  in  a  city,  for- 
midable in  a  community,  formidable  in 
private  houses,  formidable  among  the  rich, 
as  also  among  the  poor.  In  a  city, 
because  he  creates  factions  and  parties  ; 
in  a  community,  because  he  disturbs  its 
interior  peace  artd  union  ;  in  private 
dwellings,  because  he  introduces  coolness 
and  enmities  ;  among  the  rich,  because  he 
abuses  the  confidence  they  place  in  him, 
in  order  to  work  the  destruction  of  those 
whom  they  may  dislike  ;  among  the  poor, 
because  he  urges  them  on  to  quarrel  one 
with  another.  How  many  families  have 
been  estranged  through  a  petty  slander ! 
how  many  friendships  have  been  severed 

193 


by  a  scandalous  joke !  how  many  hearts 
lacerated  by  indiscreet  reports  ! 

What  is  that  that  daily  occasions  so 
many  open  and  declared  ruptures.^  Is  it 
not  an  offensive  expression  which  was 
totally  uncalled  for  1 

What  is  that  that  causes  duels  (now  so 
wisely  forbidden  by  laws  human  and 
divine)  .''  Is  it  not  often  only  a  stinging 
remark,  which  is  not  credited,  but  which, 
according  to  the  false  honor  of  the  world, 
could  not  go  unpunished  } 

Although  other  vices  generally  increase 
in  virulence  with  time,  still  there  are 
certain  states  and  conditions  of  life  which 
retard  or  stop  their  growth  ;  it  may  be  by 
the  grace  of  vocation,  or  by  a  firm  reso- 
lution to  conquer  bad  habits,  or  by  a 
withdrawal  from  occasions  of  sin,  or  it 
may  be  by  a  kind  of  necessity. 

Avarice,  for  instance,  is  less  liable  to  be 
rooted  in  the  heart  of  a  religious ;  ambi- 
tion is  rarely  to  be  found  among  the  poor 


194 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


and  lowly.  There  have  been  maidens  in 
the  Christian  world  who  have  immediately 
overcome  all  temptations  of  the  flesh,  but 
as  for  slander,  it  exercises  its  sway  over 
every  class. 

It  is  the  vice  of  the  adult,  of  the  young, 
of  sovereigns,  of  the  learned  and  ignorant ; 
it  is  the  vice  of  the  court,  city,  of  the 
lawyer,  of  the  soldier,  of  the  young  and 
old.  Shall  I  say  it  "i  and  yet  I  cannot 
draw  the  line  here.  No,  my  brethren,  I 
must  say  it  with  all  respect ;  it  is  the  vice 
of  priests  as  well  as  of  laymen,  of  the 
religious  bodies  as  well  as  the  seculars, 
of  the  devotee  as  well,  perhaps  more  so, 
than  that  of  the  wicked.  Recollect,  how- 
ever, I  do  not  say  it  is  the  vice  of  the 
truly  devout,  thank  God !  True  piety  is 
exempt  from  every  vice,  and  to  attribute 
a  single  fault  to  such  a  one  would  be  an 
insult  to  God,  and  throw  discredit  on  the 
worship  due  to  Him.  But  those  who 
profess  devotion  have  their  besetting  sins 
like  unto  all,  and  you  know  if  slander 
and  calumny  are  not  amongst  the  most 
usual. 

Besides  that,  it  is  a  sin  which  tempts 
the  most  devout,  a  sin  which  nullifies  the 
gifts  of  grace,  a  sin  which  corrupts  their 
minds  whilst  their  bodies  remain  chaste, 
a  sin  which  sadly  shipwrecks  their  souls, 
even  after  having  avoided  the  most  crim- 
inal perils  and  the  fiercest  passions  ;  in 
fine,  it  is  a  sin  which  is  the  cause  of  the 
loss  of  many  a  pious  soul,  and  which  dis- 
honors devotion. 

BOURDALOUE. 
DominicaU. 


St.  Bernard,  in  his  twenty-fourth  sermon 
on  the  Canticles,  depicts  the  portrait  of  a 
sanctimonious  slanderer. 

The  saint  says  :  —  Look  at  that  clever 
calumniator !  He  begins  by  fetching  a 
deep  sigh,  he  affects  to  be  humble,  and 
puts  on  a  modest  look,  and  with  a  voice 
choking  with  sobs  tries  to  gloss  over  the 
slander  which  is  on  the  tip  of  his  tongue 
One  would  fancy  that  he  expressly  assumed 
a  calm  and  easy  demeanor ;  for  when  he 
speaks  against  his  brother,  it  is  in  a  tender 
and  compassionate  tone.  I  am  really 
hurt,  says  he,  to  find  that  our  brother  has 
fallen  into  such  a  sin  ;  you  all  know  how 
much  I  love  him,  and  how  often  I  have 
tried  to  correct  him.  It  is  not  to-day  that 
I  have  noticed  his  failing ;  for  I  should 
always  be  on  my  guard  to  speak  of  others, 
but  others  have  spoken  of  it  too.  It 
would  be  in  vain  to  disguise  the  fact ;  it  is 
only  too  true,  and  with  tears  in  my  eyes  I 
tell  it  to  you.  This  poor  unfortunate 
brother  has  talent,  but  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  he  is  very  guilty,  and  however 
great  may  be  our  friendship  for  him,  it  is> 
impossible  to  excuse  him. 

St.  Bernard. 

To  commit  a  murder,  besides  the  not 
having  the  person  in  your  power,  there 
are  many  measures  and  precautions  to 
take.  A  favorable  opportunity  must  be 
waited  for,  and  a  place  must  be  selected 
before  we  can  put  so  damnable  a  design 
into  execution.  More  than  this,  the  pis^ 
tols    may    miss  fire,    blows   may  not  be 


CALUMNY  AND  SLANDER. 


195 


sufficient,  and  all  wounds  are  not  mortal. 
But  to  deprive  a  man  of  his  reputation  and 
honor,  one  word  is  sufficient.  By  finding 
out  the  most  sensitive  part  of  his  honor, 
you  may  tarnish  his  reputation  by  telling 
k  to  all  who  know  him,  and  easily  take 


away  his  character  for  honor  and  integrity. 
To  do  this,  however,  no  time  is  required, 
for  scarcely  have  you  complacently  cher- 
ished the  wish  to  calumniate  him,  than 
the  sin  is  effected. 

St.  Chrysostom. 


^V^Api^^"^^^ 


^!<5)^s)(§^ 


^,x;;^^CHAPTER   IvXXV. 


'M  My  "M   'M   ^l   >)    <.♦.' 


iriiiiiriiiiiiimiiTTiiTT]] 


n  ®ig(2©r^,  ^caoj  ^yits,  e^t®. 


ill 


UllLllIJli 


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►*-H 


m 


^^ 


PfeRE  Lejeune,  Homilies  Morales,  and  St.  Ambrose. 
'He  that  studieth  discords,  loveth  quarrels."  —  Proverbs  xvii.  19. 


^ERE  JOHN  LEJEUNE,  called  the 
famous  preacher,  was  born  at 
Dole,  in  the  year  1592,  where  his 
father  was  the  parliamentary  coun- 
cillor. He  refused  a  canonry  of 
Arbois,  in  order  to  enter  the  grow- 
ing Congregation  of  the  Oratory. 
Cardinal  de  BeruUe,  the  founder  of  the  French 
Oratory,  had  a  great  affection  for  Pfere  Lejeune, 
and  always  looked  upon  him  as  one  of  his 
ablest  followers. 

The  French  Oratory  must  not  be  confounded 
with  the  Oratory  of  St.  Philip  Neri,  the  rules 
and  constitutions  of  each  being  different  from 
each  other.     (  See  page  64.  ) 

Pbre  Lejeune,  when  preaching  a  course  of 
Lenten  sermons  at  Rouen,  entirely  lost  his 
eyesight;  this  occurred  when  he  was  but 
thirty-three  years  old ;  he,  however,  continued 
his  preaching  at  various  missions,  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  sixty.  La  Fayette,  the 
bishop  of  Limoges,  induced  him  at  last  to 
remain  in  his  diocese,  and  it  was  at  Limoges 
he  died,  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  on  the  19th 
of  August,  1672,  aged  eighty. 

His  sermons,  occupying  the  space  of  ten 
volumes  octavo,  were  published  in  Toulouse 
and  in  Paris.  The  celebrated  Massillon 
acknowledged  that  he  was  indebted  to  Pbre 
Lejeune  for  many  beautiful  passages  he  intro- 
duced   into    his    own  sermons ;    and   it   was 

196 


through  the  reading  of  his  sermons  that 
induced  the  recently  canonized  Benedict 
Labrd  to  devote  his  whole  life  to  silent  prayer 
and  meditation. 

A  selection  from  his  sermons  was  after 
wards  published,  and  it  was  called  "The 
Sermons  of  the!  Blind  Father." 

Quarrels,  enmities,  and  law  proceed- 
ings do  not  very  often  cease  among  people 
who  are  at  variance  with  others :  these 
kinds  of  disputes  are  for  the  most  part 
hereditary  in  some  families  ;  they  continue 
and  pass  from  generation  to  generation. 
They  communicate  their  differences  and 
aversion  to  their  children ;  they  speak 
of  them  in  their  presence ;  they  tell  them 
of  the  injuries  they  pretend  to  have 
received  from  those  with  whom  they  have 
been  at  variance. 

Such  a  one,  they  say,  is  a  declared 
enemy  of  our  house ;  his  sole  object  is  to 
injure  us  ;  we  have  always  had  some  dis- 
agreements together;  it  is  a  long  time 
since  we  went  to  law,  and  our  suit  is  not 
as  yet  ended.  Young  children,  susceptible 
as  they  ever  are,  listen  attentively,  soon 


DISCORD,  LAW  SUITS,  ETC. 


197 


share  in  their  parents'  dislikes  ;  they  enter 
into  the  passionate  feelings  of  their  fathers  ; 
they  suck  in  with  their  milk,  so  to  speak, 
their  corrupt  inclinations,  and  scarcely 
have  they  arrived  to  man's  estate,  than 
they  have  imbibed,  through  those  bad  dis- 
courses, dispositions  which  will  lead  them 
to  perdition. 

It  is  thus  that  enmities  multiply  and 
become  lasting  ;  they  descend  from  father 
to  son,  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
a  wretched,  miserable  misunderstanding, 
which,  though  small  at  its  birth,  grows  and 
grows,  and  descends  by  degrees  to  the  end 
of  ages.  Time  even  does  not  finish  it,  but 
it  continues  still  in  an  unhappy  eternity. 

Le  P*re  Lejeune. 
Sermons,  Vol.  v. 

As  the  Son  of  God  censures  and  con- 
demns the  dissensions  and  animosities 
which  are  permanent  among  men,  so  is  it 
His  intention  to  recomm.end  peace  and 
concord.  This  is  what  the  Holy  Ghost 
teaches  us  through  the  mouth  of  the  Royal 
Prophet  :  htquire pacem  et perscquere  earn 
— Seek  peace,  and  do  not  weary  in  its  pur- 
suit. The  apostle  in  like  manner  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  :  "  If  it  be  possi- 
ble, my  brethren,  as  much  as  in  you,  hav- 
ing peace  with  all  men." 

St.  Chrysostom  weighs  those  words,  "  If 
it  be  possible, "  for,  says  he,  it  sometimes 
happens  that  it  is  not  possible  to  be  at 
peace  with  certain  persons,  and  on  certain 
occasions, — for  instance,  when  there  is  a 
question  of  upholding  Christian  piety  and 
truth,  which  is  sought  to  be  vilified.    The 


Apostle  says  :  "  Do  your  duty  in  the 
sight  of  all  men,  not  revenging  yourselves, 
so  that  you  may  give  no  countenance  to 
discord  or  iniquity " ;  but  if  piety  and 
devotion  be  attacked,  if  any  one  should 
infringe  the  rules,  leave  peace  to  defend 
the  truth  and  keep  it  unto  death,  so  that 
you  may  ever  maintain  charity  inviolate 
towards  those  with  whom  you  may  have 
been  at  variance.  You  will  not  treat  him 
as  an  enemy,  but  you  must  speak  to  him 
in  a  friendly  way,  tell  him  of  his  fault  in  a 
mild  and  charitable  manner,  and  explain 
the  truth  as  it  is  ;  for  this  must  be  the 
meaning  of  those  words — "  As  much  as  in 
you,  having  peace  with  all  men." 

Show  him  that  you  are  a  sincere  friend, 
taking  care,  however,  that  you  do  not  dis- 
guise the  truth. 

The  glorious  St.  Gregory  de  Nanzianzen, 
seeing  that  the  assembled  bishops  of  the 
city  of  Constantinople  were  Vexed  and 
troubled  at  his  being  elected  Bishop,  which 
dignity  the  saint  had  only  accepted 
through  compulsion,  he  not  only,  for  peace 
sake,  willingly  sent  in  his  resignation,  but 
he  beseeched  and  entreated  the  Emperor 
Theodosius  to  allow  him  to  refuse  the 
offered  charge.  "  I  ask  of  you,  "  said  he, 
"  to  grant  me  one  favor  ;  this  is  to  lighten 
and  relieve  me  from  the  weight  of  the 
work  with  which  I  am  loaded.  You  have 
triumphed  over  savage  enemies,  but  your 
glory  and  the  grand  trophy  of  your  empire 
is  to  establish  peace  and  concord  among 
the  bishops.  In  their  councils  they  are 
disunited ;  the  only  means  of  reuniting 
them  is  a  resignation.     The  Church's  ship 


198 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


I 


is  disturbed,  rocking  fearfully ;  since  it  is 
on  my  account  that  this  storm  has  arisen^ 
throw  me  overboard,  and  there  soon  will 
be  a  calm." 

The  Emperor  and  his  councillors,  know- 
ing the  eminent  virtue  and  the  profound 
learning  of  this  holy  prelate,  were  so  sur- 
prised at  this  request,  so  touchingly  deliv- 
ered, that  it  was  with  extreme  reluctance 
that  they  agreed  to  accept  his  resignation. 
Homilies  Morales. 

In  order  to  avoid  dissensions  we  should 
be  ever  on  our  guard,  more  especially  with 
those  who  drive  us  to  argue  with  them, 
with  those  who  vex  and  irritate  us,  and 
who  say  things  likely  to  excite  us  to 
anger.  When  we  find  ourselves  in  com- 
pany with  quarrelsome,  eccentric  individ- 


uals, people  who  openly  and  unblushingly 
say  the  most  shocking  things,  difficult  to  put 
up  with,  we  should  take  refuge  in  silence, 
and  the  wisest  plan  is  not  to  reply  to 
people  whose  behaviour  is  so  preposterous. 
Those  who  insult  us  and  treat  us  con- 
tumeliously  are  anxious  for  a  spiteful, 
sarcastic  reply  :  the  silence  we  then  affect 
disheartens  them,  and  they  cannot  avoid 
showing  their  vexation ;  they  do  all  they 
can  to  provoke  us  and  to  elicit  a  reply, 
but  the  best  way  to  baffle  them  is  to  say 
nothing,  refuse  to  argue  with  them,  and  to 
leave  them  to  chew  the  cud  of  their  hasty 
anger.  This  method  of  bringing  down 
their  pride  disarms  them,  and  shows  them 
plainly  that  we  slight  and  despise  them. 

St.  Ambrose. 
Offices,  Chap.  v. 


4)i        ^         ^         ^         ^         ^ 
^Wf        -J^         -=71^         -^^        ^^        ^1^ 

CHAPTER    LXXVI. 

* 

,.„.n.„.M....,.M......n.,,.  ...... ,.,,.,..,,.,..M.„.„.n.„.M.M.„.n.n,„.n.„.„.„.„.n...M.„.M.n.M.,,.M.M.M.M.„.,,.n.M.n.^                           n...    ^^. 

On  ^^^ieminacy  anfl  ^ensucility.      ;; 

»^^^            jUfe,              ^U^             .^^              ,^^,            «^^ 
"^^            ^^v              ^^^             ^Iv               '^^            "^i^ 

Le  PfeRE  Haineuve. 

"Many  walk,  of  whom  I  have  told  you  often  (and  now  tell  you  weeping,  that  they  are  enemies  of 
the  cross  of  Christ ;  whose  end  is  destruction,  whose  God  is  their  belly,  and  whose  glory  is  in  their 
shame."  —  Philippians  iii.  i8. 

Extracts  from  an  excellent  book  entitled  "  The  Broad  Way  that  Leads  to  Perdition,^* 

by  P^.RE  Haineuve. 


'T  is  a  very  dangerous  error  to 
fall  into  to  imagine  that,  in 
leading  an  effeminate  and  indo- 
lent life,  one  does  not  stray 
into  the  broad  road  which  leads 
to  perdition. 
This  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  you 
cannot  be  positively  wicked  if  you  do  not 
give  way  to  excess,  and  that  it  is  not 
going  to  perdition  if  you  go  on  slowly,  or 
step  by  step. 

If  you  examine  your  conscience,  you 
would  soon  see  that,  in  leading  such  a  life, 
you  arc  not  walking  on  that  narrow  path 
on  which  our  Saviour  bids  you  enter. 

As  y(»u  would  not  like  to  confess  that 
you  arc  in  the  broad  path,  you  must  as 
readily  acknowledge  that  you  are  not  of 
the  number  of  those  who  daily  take  up 
their  cross  and  practise  austerities  which 
accompany  those  who  walk  in  the  narrow 
path. 

From  this,  it  follows  that  we  imagine 
that  there  must  be  a  third  road  of  which 


Jesus  Christ  does  not  make  mention,  and 
that  it  is  in  this  said  third  path  that  we 
can  securely  walk,  without  giving  our- 
selves too  much  trouble,  to  reach  the  gates 
of  heaven. 

Perhaps  you  may  have  never  thought  of 
this  third  road  which  we  have  just  men- 
tioned, but  it  is  the  fact  that  you  naturally 
love  an  easy  and  indolent  life  ;  you  wish 
to  enjoy  all  its  attractions,  to  have  all  your 
own  way,  without  being  troubled  with  suf- 
ferings or  with  contradictions,  and  in  that 
state  of  mind,  were  you  compelled  to 
make  choice  of  the  two  paths,  you  would 
say  that  you  would  choose  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other. 

You  have  no  desire  to  go  by  the  narrow 
path,  because  you  have  a  horror  of  trouble 
and  constraint,  and  you  do  not  wish  to  go 
by  the  broad  path,  for  you  dread  the  loss 
of  your  soul. 

What  would  you,  then  }  Which  road  do 
you  intend  to  take }  How  do  you  propose 
living } 


200 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


I 


If  you  dare  to  be  candid  you  would 
make  this  sincere  avowal  :  that  you  seek 
for  liberty  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  this 
life  without  the  fear  of  losing  your  soul 
for  all  eternity,  and  you  seek  for  a  path 
which  would  conduct  you  to  eternal  bliss 
without  suffering  all  the  pains  and  labors 
which  we  have  to  endure  before  we  reach 
the  end  of  our  journey. 

This,  then,  is  what  you  seek  for,  and 
what  you  lay  claim  to.  But  where  is  this 
path  .-'  where  shall  we  find  it  on  this  side 
of  the  grave  } 

Two  paths  are  spoken  of  in  Holy  Writ ; 
one  on  which  we  find  thorns  and  crosses  — 
these  we  flee  from ;  the  other  leads  to 
perdition,  which  we  fain  would  avoid. 

Our  Lord '  said  {Matt,  vii.)  :  "  Strait 
is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  life."  The  Son 
of  God  does  not  say,  "  the  way  that  lead- 
eth to  perfection,"  but  "  the  way  that 
leadeth  to  life  is  strait." 

He  does  not  say  that  there  is  a  strait 
way  which  leads  to  life,  as  if  there  was 
another;  but  He  says  positively,  "The 
way  that  leads  to  life  eternal  is  strait "  ; 
to  teach  us  that  whosoever  wishes  to  enter 
heaven  must  resolve  to  enter  in  at  the 
narrow  gate. 

In  many  other  chapters  of  St.  Matthew 
and  St.  Luke  He  repeats  the  same  thing : 
Arcta  est  via.  .  .  .  Angus t a  via  est  cott- 
tendite  intrare  per  angustam  poftam." 

Has  He  told  us,  even  once,  that  there 
was  a  sweet  and  easy  way  to  work  out  our 
salvation.?  If  there  was  one  would  He 
have  been  ignorant  of  it.?  If  He  had 
known  it  would   He  have  concealed  it  ? 


Had  He  not  known  of  it.  how  coul  x  He 
be  called  the  true  way,  and  the  most 
excellent  of  all  guides.  Ego  sum  via, 
Veritas,  ct  vita,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life  "  > 

If,  after  He  had  discovered  it.  Pie  had 
concealed  it  from  us,  would  we  not  have 
had  a  right  to  complain  of  His  silence  on 
so  important  a  subject.?  Would  we  not 
have  had  reason  to  reproach  Him  for 
having  loaded  us  with  a  useless  burden  by 
conducting  us  along  a  rude  and  rugged 
path,,  strewn  with  flinty  stones,  bristling 
with  thorns,  to  a  terminus,  when  He 
might  have  led  us  through  a  smooth  and 
even  pathway  all  covered  with  flowers  .? 

Remark,  then,  how  emphatically  He 
speaks  of  the  difficulties  of  the  road, 
"  How  strait  and  narrow  is  the  way ! " 
Ah !  once  more,  how  narrow  is  the  way 
that  leadeth  to  eternal  life  ! 

If  the  effeminate  and  sensual  life,  which 
so  many  Christians  lead,  could  pass 
through  the  narrow  way,  what  need  would 
there  be  for  our  Saviour  to  say  so  emphat- 
ically, Quant  arcta  et  augusta  via  est  (How 
strait  and  narrow  is  the  way)  .? 

But  note  especially  that  our  Saviour 
speaks  of  but  two  ways  —  one  narrow,  the 
other  broad.  We  cannot  trace  a  vestige 
of  the  third  ;  and  as  all  the  wicked  march 
on  the  broad  way,  it  evidently  follows 
that  all  the  elect,  without  exception,  must 
go  by  the  narrow  way. 

After  that,  what  delusion,  what  blind* 
ness,  to  imagine  for  a  moment  that  we  can 
work  out  our  salvation  by  leading  an 
effeminate,  an  indolent  life ! 


♦    CHAPTER    IvXXVII.    ♦ 


•»■  +  +  +  •*•  +  ■♦  +  + 


\M 


d) 


n 


Saints  Cyprian,  Chrysostom,  and  Basil. 

"  By  the  envy  of  the  devil  death  came  into  the  world,  and  they  follow  him  that  are  of  his  side.'  * 

—  Wisdom  ii.  24,  25. 


T.  CYPRIAN  was  born  in  the  year 
200  at  Carthage.  In  his  forty- 
sixth  year  he  was  converted  to 
Christianity,  and  in  248  he  was 
made  Bisliop  of  Carthage.  On 
the  14th  of  September,  258,  he  was 
beheaded  at  Carthage,  because,  in 
opposition  to  the  orders  of  the  Government, 
he  had  preached  the  Gospel  in  his  own  gardens. 
Lactantius  calls  him  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
of  the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church.  St. 
Jerome  compares  his  style  to  a  spring  of  the 
purest  water,  whose  course  is  mild  and  peace- 
able. Others  have  compared  it,  perhaps  with 
more  reason,  to  a  torrent  which  draws  down 
with  it  all  that  impedes  its  progress. 

All  his  writings  have  been  translated  into 
French  by  Lombert,  and  published  in  the  year 
1672  in  four  volumes. 

Oh  !  ye  who  are  envious,  let  me  tell  you 
that  however  often  you  may  seek  for  the 
opportunity  of  injuring  him  whpm  you 
hate  you  will  never  be  able  to  do  him  so 
much  harm  as  you  do  harm  to  yourselves. 

He  whom  you  would  punish  through 
the  malice  of  your  envy,  may  probably 
escape,  but  you  will  never  be  able  to  fly 
from  yourselves.     Wherever  you  may  be 

301 


your  adversary  is  with  you,  your  sin  rankles 
within. 

It  must  be  a  self-willed  evil  to  persecute 
a  person  whom  God  has  taken  under  the 
protection  of  His  grace  ;  it  becomes  an 
irrcmedlal  sin  to  hate  a  man  whom  God 
wishes  to  make  happy. 

Envy  is  as  prolific  as  it  is  hurtful ;  it  is 
the  root  of  all  evil,  the  source  of  endless 
disorder  and  misery,  the  cause  of  most 
sins  that  are  committed.  Envy  gives  birth 
to  hatred  and  animosity.  From  it  avarice 
is  begotten,  for  it  sees  with  an  evil  eye 
honors  and  emoluments  heaped  upon  a 
stranger,  and  thinks  that  such  honors 
should  have  been,  by  right,  bestowed  upon 
himself.  From  envy  comes  contempt  of 
God,  and  of  the  salutary  precepts  of  our 
Saviour. 

The  envious  man  is  cruel,  proud,  unfaith- 
ful, impatient,  and  quarrelsome  ;  and,  what 
is  strange,  when  this  vice  gains  the 
mastery,  he  is  no  longer  master  of  himself, 
and  he  is  unable  to  correct  his  many  faults. 
If  the   bond   of  peace  is   broken,  if  the 


202 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


rights  of  fraternal  charity  are  violated,  if 
truth  is  altered  or  disguised,  it  is  often 
envy  that  hurries  him  on  to  crime. 

What  happiness  can  such  a  man  enjoy 
in  this  world?  To  be  envious  or  jealous 
of  another,  because  such  a  one  is  virtuous 
and  happy,  is  to  hate  in  him  the  graces 
and  blessings  God  has  showered  down 
upon  him. 

Does  he  not  punish  himself  when  he 
sees  the  success  and  welfare  of  others  ? 
Does  he  not  draw  down  upon  himself  tor- 
tures from  which  there  is  no  respite  ? 
Are  not  his  thoughts,  his  mind,  constantly 
on  the  rack  ? 

He  pitilessly  punishes  himself,  and,  in 
his  heart,  performs  the  same  cruel  office 
which  Divine  Justice  reserves  for  the 
chastisement  of  the  greatest  criminal. 

St.  Cyprian. 

De  Zelo. 

O  envious  man,  you  injure  yourself 
more  than  he  whom  you  would  injure,  and 
the  sword  with  which  you  wound  will 
recoil  and  wound  yourself. 

What  harm  did  Cain  do  to  Abel  "i 
Contrary  to  his  intention  he  did  him  the 
greatest  good,  for  he  caused  him  to  pass  to 
a  better  and  a  blessed  life,  and  he  himself 
was  plunged  into  an  abyss  of  woe.  In  what 
did  Esau  injure  Jacob  }  Did  not  his  envy 
prevent  him  from  being  enriched  in  the 
place  in  which  he  lived ;  and,  losing  the 
inheritance  and  the  blessing  of  his  father, 
did  he  not  die  a  miserable  death .?  What 
harm  did  the  brothers  of  Joseph  do  to 
Joseph,  whose  envy  went  so  far  as  to  wish 


to  shed  his  blood }  Were  they  not  driven 
to  the  last  extremity,  and  well-nigh  perish 
ing  with  hunger,  whilst  their  brother 
reigned  all  through  Egypt  ? 

It  is  ever  thus  ;  the  more  you  envy 
your  brother,  the  greater  good  you  confer 
upon  him.  God,  who  sees  all,  takes  the 
cause  of  the  innocent  in  hand,  and,  irri- 
tated by  the  injury  you  inflict,  deigns  to 
raise  up  him  whom  you  wish  to  lower, 
and  will  punish  you  to  the  full  extent  of 
your  crime. 

If  God  usually  punishes  those  who 
rejoice  at  the  misfortunes  of  their  enemies, 
how  much  more  will  He  punish  those  who, 
excited  by  envy,  seek  to  do  an  injury  to 
those  who  have  never  injured  them  ? 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Sermon  40. 

Envy  is  a  gnawing  pain  which  springs 
from  the  success  and  prosperity  of  another ; 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  envious  are 
never  exempt  from  trouble  and  vexation. 
If  an  abundant  harvest  fills  the  granaries 
of  a  neighbor,  if  success  crowns  his 
efforts,  the  envious  man  is  chagrined  and 
sad.  If  one  man  can  boast  of  prudence, 
talent,  and  eloquence  ;  if  another  is  rich, 
and  is  very  liberal  to  the  poor,  if  good 
works  are  praised  by  all  around,  the 
envious  man  is  shocked  and  grieved. 

The  envious,  however,  dare  not  speak; 
although  envy  makes  them  counterfeit 
gladness,  their  hearts  are  sore  within.  If 
you  ask  him  what  vexes  him,  he  dare  not 
tell  the  reason.  It  is  not  really  the 
happiness  of  his   friend  that  annoys  him, 


ENVY  AND  JEALOUSY, 


203 


neither  is  it  his  gaiety  that  makes  him  sad, 
nor  is  he  sorry  to  see  his  friend  prosper  ; 
but  it  is  that  he  is  persuaded  that  the  pros- 
perity of  others  is  the  cause  of  his  misery. 
This  is  what  the  envious  would  be  forced 
to  acknowledge,  if  they  spoke  the  truth 
sincerely ;  but  because  they  dare  not 
confess  so  shameful  a.  gin,  they,  in   secret, 


feed  a  sore  which  tortures  them  and  eats 
away  their  rest. 

As  the  shadow  ever  accompanies  the 
pedestrian  when  walking  in  the  sun,  so 
envy  throws  its  shadow  on  those  who  are 
successful  in  the  world. 

St.  Basil. 
Dt  Invidia. 


'.if 


FL-KTTERY.    * 


By  the  Author  of  "  Guerre  aux  Vices"  Saints  Basil  and  Jerome. 

"  It  Is  better  to  be  rebuked  by  a  wise  man,  than  to  be  deceived  with  flattery  of  fools." 

—  ECCLESIASTES  vii,  6. 


INS  which  flatter  us  are  always 
the  most  dangerous,  because 
they  please  our  self-love,  and 
they  favor  the  inclination  and 
humor  of  sinners.  It  is  on 
this  account  that  there  are  few 
who  distrust  it,  and  fewer  still  who  guard 
against  it.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
look  upon  a  vice  as  an  enemy,  that  so 
well  knows  how  to  flatter  the  disorderly 
passions  arid  corrupt  inclinations  of  our 
nature. 

St.  Jerome  says  that  flattery  is  always 
cunning  and  insidious  ;  and  indeed  flattery 
is  the  most  accommodating  of  vices.  It  is 
flattery  that  agreeably  harmonizes  with 
the  feelings  and  inclinations  of  men, 
whether  they  are  good  or  bad,  just  or 
unjust,  solely  to  humor  them,  while  the 
poison  works  within.  It  does  the  contrary 
of  what  the  apostle  did ;  it  is  all  to  all, 
corrupting  and  seducing  those  who  put 
their  trust  in  it ;  and  not  only  does  it  enter 
into  the  inclination  of  sinners,  but  it 
advises  them  ever  to  follow  the  disorderly 
motions  of  their  pernicious  passions   and 


interests,  for  their  own  gratification.  It 
praises  with  affected  applause  the  vicious 
and  criminal  actions  of  the  rich  and  pow- 
erful. 

But  the  malice  of  such  pernicious  com- 
placences goes  still  further,  when  it  prefers 
to  attack  the  good  and  just  and  censure 
their  virtues,  notwithstanding  the  curse 
which  this  draws  down.  "  He  that  justi- 
fieth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  condemneth 
the  just,  both  are  abominable  before  God," 
says  the  Book  of  Proverbs  {chap.  xvii.). 

If  you  wish  to  know  the  evil  effects  of 
flattery,  details  could  easily  be  given  ;  but 
it  may  be  said,  in  general  terms,  that 
through  this  detestable  flattery  truth  is 
betrayed,  minds  are  seduced,  the  most 
upright  hearts  and  intentions  are  cor- 
rupted ;  it  inspires  a  contempt  for  virtue, 
and  a  relish  for  vice ;  it  prevents  sinners 
from  being  converted,  and  confirms  them 
in  habitual  sin ;  and,  to  complete  their 
ultimate  loss,  it  induces  them  to  take  a 
delight  in  bad  actions,  which  they  hear  so 
praised,  Delectat  ea  facere,  qnce  videmus 
laudare,  says  St.  Augustine. 


FLATTERY. 


205 


Of  all  interested  men,  he  who  is  the 
most  selfish  is  the  flatterer,  because 
although  his  praises  cost  nothing,  still  he 
does  not  give  his  applauses  for  nothing.  It 
is  of  little  consequence  what  profit  he  gains, 
so  he  can  extract  usurious  interest  there- 
from. For  if  he  approves  of  the  vices  of 
others,  it  is  that  they  should  not  condemn 
his  own.  It  is  indifferent  to  him,  if  he 
flatters  that  which  is  good,  or  that  which 
is  bad,  so  that  he  sees  a  prospect  of  gain- 
ing something  by  it.  If  he  employs  his 
artifices  to  please  the  rich  and  noble,  he 
does  it  with  the  hope  of  securing  their 
favors  or  of  obtaining  their  patronage.  If 
he  bestows  his  praises  on  all  sorts  of 
people,  he  does  it  with  the  idea  of  receiv- 
ing something  in  return,  or  to  obtain 
something  he  has  in  view.  And  thus  it 
is  that  flatterers  corrupt  and  seduce  us. 

To  shield  ourselves  from  one  vice,  we 
must  take  care  not  to  fall  into  another, 
and  for  fear  of  being  taken  for  a  selfish 
flatterer,  we  must  not  in  any  way  be  cyni- 
cal or  churlish.  Those  saints  who  have 
respectfully  praised  one  another  were  not 
flatterers.  They  have  taught  us  that  we 
should  esteem,  praise,  and  love  virtue  and 
virtuous  persons  :  Bonce  vita  et  virtutis  et 
solet  et  debet  esse  laudatio,  says  St  Augus- 
tine. 

The  majority  of  good  Catholics,  being 
humble  and  timid,  require  to  be  encour- 
aged to  continue  to  be  good,  by  a  just 
meed  of  praise  which  their  virtue  deserves, 
and  we  should  be  convinced  that  there  is 
no  less  injustice  in  refusing  praises  to 
those  who  deserve   them,   than  to  flatter 


those  whose  wicked  conduct  has  rendered 
them  unworthy. 

This  right  medium  consists  chiefly  in 
three  things.  The  first  is,  never  to  praise 
wicked  and  vicious  persons,  nor  to  approve 
of  their  bad  conduct,  but  rather  to  keep 
silent.  If  pressed  to  give  your  opinion, 
declare  frankly  and  without  exaggeration 
in  vvhat  such  and  such  a  deed  may  be 
approved  of.  Secondly,  never  to  praise 
any  one  except  for  things  that  really 
deserve  praise,  and  do  this  with  all  sin- 
cerity. The  third  is,  to  be  sparing  of 
praise  of  good  people  in  their  presence, 
but  to  honor  and  praise  them  highly  when 
absent,  when  an  opportunity  occurs,  when 
we  can  do  so  without  affectation. 

Thus  we  should  destroy  flattery  and 
untruth,  and  we  should,  at  the  same  time, 
perform  acts  of  justice  and  charity. 

Guerre  aux  Vices. 

St.  Basil  remarks  that  vices  and  virtues 
are  so  alike  in  color  that  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  discern  the  difference.  Prodigal- 
ity, for  example,  has  somewhat  an  air  of 
magnificence ;  rashness  imitates,  by  its 
fits  and  starts,  the  generous  impulses  of 
valor  ;  hypocrisy  has  some  outward  resem- 
blance to  the  exterior  signs  of  devotion. 
This  it  is  that  gives  rise  to  the  abuse  of 
this  resemblance,  and  that  by  two  classes 
of  persons,  namely,  the  envious  and  the 
flatterers.  The  flatterer  takes  vices  ior 
virtues,  and  the  envious,  on  the  contrary, 
takes  virtues  for  vices.  The  flatterer,  to 
shield  the  vices  of  the  great,  gives  them 
the  color  of  virtues,  and  the  envious,  to 


306 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


obscure  the  lustre  of  virtues,  gives  them 
the  color  of  vices.  If  you  are  prodigal,  the 
flatterer  will  say  that  you  are  magnificent ; 
if  you  are  liberal,  the  envious  will  say  that 
you  are  a  prodigal.  If  you  are  rash,  the 
flatterer  will  say  that  you  are  generous  and 
brave ;  if  you  are  really  courageous,  the 
envious  will  say  that  you  are  rash. 

What*  does  the  flatterer  mean  by  such 
false  praises,  but  to  aggrandize  himself  and 
buiM  up  his  fortune  ?  What  do  the  envi- 
ous mean,  but  to  destroy  that  of  others  } 

St.  Basil. 


Nothing  so  corrupts  the  heart  and  mind 
as  flattery,  for  the  flatterer's  tongue  does 
more  harm  than  the  persecutor's  sword. 
We  are  dragged  downward  by  an  evil 
which  is  inherent  within  us ;  we  feel  favor- 
ably towards  those  who  flatter  us,  and 
although  in  our  reply  we  show,  or  pretend 
to  show,  that  we  are  unworthy  of  their 
praise,  we  nevertheless  receive  the  flatter- 
ing praise  with  a  secret  joy  and  pleasure. 

St.  Jerome. 
Epistle  121. 


^ 


CHAPTER  LXXIX. 


ON     GK7VV:BLING. 


? 


'^ 


% 


PiRES  GiRousT  and  Bourdaloue. 
"  The  people  sat  down  to  eat  and  drink,  and  then  rose  up  to  play."  —  Exodus  xxxii.  6. 


'AQUES  GIROUST,  the  Jesuit 
Father,  was  born  at  Beaufort, 
near  Anjou,  in  1624,  and  died  in 
Paris  in  1689,  aged  sixty-five. 
His  manner  of  preaching  was 
simple  and  void  of  display,  but 
this  very  simplicity  was  accom- 
panied with  such  earnest  fervor  and  unction, 
that  it  won  the  hearts  of  all  his  audience,  and 
was,  through  the  help  of  God,  the  means  of 
many  being  converted  to  a  new  life. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  all  immoder- 
ate amusements  are  sins ;  and  I  am  of 
opinion  that  there  is  not  one,  from  v^^hat- 
ever  way  we  look  at  it,  where  you  may  not 
find  many  irregularities  arising  therefrom. 
Why }  Well,  we  shall  see.  Pleasures 
and  amusements  are  determined  by  the 
result. 

In  reference  to  work,  when  it  is  finished 
they  may  be  looked  upon  as  relaxations  ; 
with  regard  to  any  heavy  labor  we  may 
have  to  perform,  then  such  recreations 
may  be  considered  as  preparations.  They 
are  then  allowable,  so  far  as  they  are  nec- 
essary, either  to  refresh  your  mind,  or  to 
give  you  additional  strength. 

vn 


Such  is  the  extent  All  that  extends 
beyond  is  against  God's  view  of  them,  and 
consequently  forbidden. 

Now,  who  does  not  often  see  that  the 
gaieties  of  the  world  are  neither  preceded 
by  work,  nor  followed  by  hard  labor.? 
They  are  sought  for,  for  the  love  of  the 
amusements  alone,  with  no  other  view 
than  that  of  tasting  their  sweetness,  or 
with  the  idea  of  leading  an  easy,  agreeable 
life,  thus  employing  their  whole  time 
immoderately,  or  without  stint ;  conse- 
quently it  is  this  excess  which  makes  it  so 
culpable,  and  which,  as  it  were,  reverses 
the  order  of  Providence. 

I  acknowledge  that  there  are  certain 
games  which  are  innocent,  provided  that 
they  are  not  carried  to  excess.  Recreation 
is  necessary  for  the  mind  as  well  as  for  the 
body ;  the  one  to  avoid  too  great  a  strain 
upon  the  brain,  the  other,  to  relieve  con- 
stant fatigues. 

But  gambling,  playing  the  whole  day, 
and  stealing  away  the  hours  of  night  when 
repose  and  sleep  are  needed,  amusements 
which  are  the  sole  occupation  when  they 


208 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


ought  to  occupy  the  least  portion  of  our 
time  here  on  earth — in  a  word,  gaieties 
which  we  notice  in  high  life,  all  such  as 
these,  I  condemn.  And  have  I  not  a 
right  to  condemn  them  ?  In  them  I  do 
not  find  the  intentions  of  God  ;  they  are 
not  even  the  teachings  of  nature.  I  do 
not  ask  you  if  you  live  as  Christians,  but 
as  men. 

Amusements  so  paltry,  so  evanescent, 
were  not  made  for  the  purpose  of  clouding 
the  intellect  of  a  reasonable  man. 

PfeRE  GiROUST. 

Advent  Sermon. 

You  love  gambling;  it  is  this  that 
destroys  the  conscience,  this  inordinate 
love  of  play ;  it  is  a  mania  which  is  no 
longer  an  amusement,  but  a  business,  a 
profession,  a  traffic,  without  stint  or 
measure  ;  and  if  I  may  dare  to  say  so,  it  is 
a  mania,  a  madness,  which  drags  you  down 
from  one  abyss  to  another  deeper  still. 
Abyssus  abyssum  invocat.  From  this  pas- 
sion arise  those  innumerable  sins  of  which 
they  are  the  consequence.  From  that 
mania  arise  neglect  of  our  duties,  misrule 
of  home,  pernicious  example  you  give  to 
your  children.  From  that  proceed  the 
squandering  away  of  your  property,  those 
unworthy  meannesses,  and,  if  I  may  use 
the  term,  those  trickeries,  which  proceed 
from  a  greediness  of  gain.  From  this 
mania  arise  quarrels,  oaths,  swearing,  and 
despair  when  all  is  lost.  From  that  pro- 
ceed those  shameful  resources,  which  you 
fancy  that  you  are  forced  to  have  recourse 
to.     Lastly,  from  this  proceeds   that  dis- 


honesty to  seek  for  any  excuse  to  supply 
yourself  with  funds  to  carry  on  the  sinful 
game. 

One  excess  brings  on  another.  Exces* 
in  the  time  employed  in  play  is  attended 
by  excess  in  the  sums  played  for.  To  play 
but  seldom,  yet  when  you  do  play  to 
hazard  much,  or  to  hazard  a  little,  but 
play  continually,  are  two  excesses,  both  of 
which  are  forbidden  by  the  law  of  God. 
But  over  and  above  these  two  excesses 
there  is  a  third,  which  is,  to  play  often^ 
and  every  time  you  play  to  venture  a 
large  sum.  Do  not,  however,  mistake  my 
meaning,  when  I  say  play  in  which  you 
hazard  a  large  sum.  I  speak  not  only  of 
the  great  and  the  rich,  but  of  all  i» 
general,  and  each  in  particular,  con* 
formably  to  their  means  and  station  in  life. 
What  is  nothing  for  one  is  much  for 
another.  One  may  easily  bear  what  would 
hurt  another ;  and  what  for  the  former 
would  be  a  small  loss  might  have  fatal 
consequences  for  the  latter. 


Nevertheless,  men  will  play  ;  and  it  is 
a  rule  of  life,  a  rule  to  which  they  unalter- 
ably adhere ;  so  that  no  consideration  caa 
draw  them  from  it.  Cost  what  it  will,  they 
will  go  on  ;  and  for  what  purpose  } 

O  my  brethren,  cut  off  this  love  of  play. 
It  is  far  more  easy  to  give  it  up  entirely, 
than  try  to  retrench  it,  or  leave  it  off  by 
degrees.  Quit  it  once  for  all,  and  make  a 
public  avowal  of  it. 

BOURDAIOOE. 


!iiiii!iii;iii  ""'  '■'r,iiiiniiiiii[r 


THE   RAISING   OF   JAIRUS     DAUGHTER. 


#    #    # 


errelRess  ©f  Keort- 


#   « 


Bishop  Mascaron,  PfeRES  Nouet  and  Nepvue. 

'  All  the  world  is  in  extreme  desolation,  because  there  is  no  one  who  meditates  in  his  heart." 

— ^Jeremias  xii.  ii. 


ULES  MASCARON,  the  son  ot  a 
celebrated  barrister,  was  born  at 
Marseilles,  in  1634.  The  richest 
inheritance  that  his  father  left  him 
was  his  own  forensic  eloquence. 
Early  in  life  he  joined  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Oratory,  and  was 
soon  made  a  professor  of  literature  ;  but  it 
was  his  extraordinary  talent  for  preaching  that 
gained  him  an  immense  reputation. 

This  young  orator,  after  having  visited  the 
principal  cities  in  France,  proceeded  to  Paris. 
Louis  XIV.,  who  was  not  slow  in  recognizing 
•talent,  engaged  him  to  occupy  the  pulpit  in 
the  Chapel  Royal,  and  it  was  at  this  time  that 
the  King  presented  him  with  the  Bishopric  of 
Tulle. 

His  funeral  orations  are  considered  to  be 
equal  to  those  of  Bossuet  and  Flechier.  In 
the  year  1758,  a  Collection  of  Funeral 
Orations  by  Bossuet,  Flechier,  and  Mascaron 
was  published,  and  the  volume  met  with  great 
success.  After  some  years  of  devoted  atten- 
tion to  his  diocese,  he  appeared  at  the  Court 
for  the  last  time  in  1694.  Louis  XIV.  was 
delighted  to  hear  him  again,  and  said  to  him, 
"  You  have  aged,  but  your  eloquence  is  as 
young  as  ever." 

This  eminent  prelate  died  on  the  i6th 
November,  1705,  aged  sixty-nine;  deeply 
regretted  by  all  his  clergy. 


St.  Augustine  compares  the  blindness 
of  a  soul  to  a  man  who  is  asleep.  When 
our  eyes  are  shut  during  sleep  we  are 
blind  ;  nevertheless  we  see  something,  for 
though  our  eyes  are  shut  our  imagination 
is  at  work.  We  dream  that  we  are  very 
rich,  we  fancy  that  we  are  living  in  the 
lap  of  luxury  ;  in  a  word,  we  picture  to 
our  mind  strange  events.  This  is  our 
case.  We  do  not  see  things  in  the  right 
light ;  we  do  not  hear  the  mute  language 
that  ought  to  lead  us  up  to  God.  No ! 
our  imagination  conjures  up  fantastic 
phantoms. 

We  thought  to  have  found  true  happi- 
ness in  the  wealth  and  riches  of  this 
world,  and  they  have  vanished.  We 
sought  for  earthly  joys,  and  these  pleas- 
ures have  become  insipid. 

When  our  soul  is  preparing  to  leave  the 
body,  then  our  eyes  will  be  opened,  and 
we  shall  then  feel  and  know  our  terrible 
darkness. 

Mascaron. 
Bishop  of  Tulle. 


i 


2IO 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


St.  Augustine  remarks  that  we  are  all 
born  blind  because  we  are  all  born  in  sin. 
We  are  all  bom  blind,  and  the  dimness 
of  our  sight  is  the  universal  scar  which 
original  sin  has  imprinted  on  every  heart, 
stifling  the  light  of  heaven  in  its  birth, 
and  surrounding  the  aurora  of  life  in  the 
darkness  of  death. 

Sin,  which  we  inherit  from  our  birth, 
leads  us  into  an  obscure  night,  deprives  us 
of  the  sight  of  the  Sovereign  Good,  and 
fills  us  with  errors  and  illusions. 

This  blindness  is  so  much  the  more  to 
be  deplored  because  it  grows  with  our 
growth,  and,  being  an  original  curse,  it 
becomes  free  and  voluntary  in  its  growth  ; 
so  much  so  that  our  malice  makes  a  per- 
sonal crime  out  of  an  hereditary  punish- 
ment, and  thus  it  corrupts  every  stream 
that  flows  from  so  poisonous  a  source. 

It  is  the  characteristic  of  sin  to  over- 
shadow every  action,  whether  it  be  the 
banishment  of  grace  which  is  the  light  of 
the  soul,  or  whether  it  blinds  the  under- 
standing, thus  rendering  it  incapable  of 
receiving  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  abandons  the  sinner,  and  leaves  him 
exposed  to  all  kinds  of  dangers  and  mis- 
fortunes. 

Oh !  unhappy  darkness,  exclaims  St. 
Augustine,  in  which  I  have  lived.  Oh  ! 
frightful  blindness,  which  has  hindered 
me  from  enjoying  the  light  of  heaven. 
Oh  !  deplorable  ignorance,  which  hid  the 
beauty  and  infinite  goodness  of  God.  Oh  ! 
beauty  ever  ancient,  beauty  ever  new, 
more  brilliant  than  the  light  of  the  sun, 


would  that  I  had  known  and  loved  you 
sooner !  Ah !  why  cannot  I  hide  the 
many  days  and  years  in  which  I  lived?' 
Oh  !  that  I  could  blot  them  out  with  my 
tears ! 

P^RE   NOUET. 
Meditations. 

Hardness  of  heart  leads  to  sad  results. 
Light  blinds  or  dazzles  a  hardened  heart, 
it  does  not  enlighten  it.  The  just  pun- 
ishments of  God,  which  weigh  heavily  on 
it,  only  make  it  rebellious  and  do  not 
subdue  it.  The  scourge  which  God 
inflicts  on  it  overwhelms  but  does  not 
humble  it ;  miracles  astonish  but  do  not 
cohvert  it. 

Would  you  wish  to  know  the  sure  marki 
of  hardness  of  heart  ?  St.  Bernard  will 
give  them  to  us.  A  hardened  heart,  he 
says,  is  a  heart  unbroken  by  remorse, 
unsoftened  by  devotion,  and  unmoved  by 
prayer.  It  yields  to  no  threats,  which  only 
harden  it  the  more  ;  it  is  unmindful  of  all 
the  blessings  of  God  and  unfaithful  to 
grace.  It  blushes  not  at  things  most 
shameful,  heeds  no  danger,  has  no  love 
for  brethren,  no  fear  of  God. 

It  forgets  the  past,  neglects  the  present, 
and  cares  not  for  the  future.  It  forgets 
its  duty,  and  finally  forgets  itself. 

There  is  the  picture  of  a  hardened  heart 

How  frightful !  how  terrible  ! 

Is  it  your  heart  "i  If  you  have  not  all 
the  marks,  do  you  not,  on  examinatioir, 
recognize  some  few  like  unto  them  } 

Le   PicRE  Nepouk. 
Reflections. 


-^^^>^^>^^^^ 


'^^^^^^^f^<r^*-*<^ 


CHAPTER   LXXXI. 


\*i  ',':  ',":  •*':  •.?.'  ••• 


•.*   •-•.•   ••-•   ••."   •-•••  •-•."   •-•.*   •-•."  '.»:   •-•-•   •*; 


:  *  ON  HYPOCRISY.  *  % 


•••  •••  •••  •••  •••  •••  ••• 


•-•.•  •>-•  •>-• 


iiaMBMViiaimMa 


BouRDALOUE  and  the  '■'■Dictionnaire  Morale 

"  The  hope  of  the  hypocrite  shall  perish ;  he  will  himself  condemn  his  own  folly  :  that  in  which  h* 
trusted  is  but  a  spider's  web."  —  Job  viii.  14. 


HE  Pharisees  were,  as  the 
Gospel  represents,  of  a  morti- 
fied exterior,  and  piqued  them- 
selves on  a  strict  observance 
of  the  laws ;  and  relying  on 
that  were  filled  with  a  self- 
satisfied  opinion  of  their  own  merit. 

On  this  principle  they  looked  upon 
themselves  as  perfect  and  irreproachable  : 
In  se  confidebunt  tanquain  justi.  They 
took  pains  to  keep  themselves  aloof  from 
others,  and  believed  themselves  to  be 
better  than  their  brethren. 

In  their  ordinary  devotions  they  fasted 
only  to  show  that  they  had  fasted,  and 
disfigured  their  features  so  as  to  attract 
the  notice  of  the  unsuspecting  multitude. 

Under  the  pretext  of  practising  auster- 
ity they  assumed  a  studied  appearance  of  a 
well  governed  life. 

Thus,  without  any  other  title  than  a 
sanctimonious  regularity,  they  thought 
that  they  were  entitled  to  occupy  the 
foremost  places  in  all  festivals  and  assem- 
blies.    These   are   the   marks   of    a  false 


devotion  and  hypocrisy ;  and  to  these  our 
Saviour  alluded. 

There  are  some  who  are  willing  to 
practise  Christian  virtue,  but  at  the  same 
time  they  wish  to  gain  the  credit.  Some 
who  do  not  like  to  be  unnoticed,  but  wish 
to  make  a  show,  and  to  be  different  from 
others ;  they  affect  humility,  and  do  not 
associate  with  all. 

Whence  comes  it  that  singularity  is  so 
sought  after  ?  Because  it  is  that  which 
excites  admiration,  which  is  the  charm  of 
vanity. 

If  there  is  anything  out  of  the  way,  it  is 
there  that  they  seek  for  it.  And  even  in 
their  penances  they  wish  to  attract  notice. 

Unlike  St.  Augustine,  who,  when  he  was 
meditating  his  conversion,  wished  to  keep 
it  secret  lest  the  world  might  think  that 
his  former  wickedness  was  only  a  pretense 
to  show  off  his  present  virtue. 

A  parade  of  regularity  and  mortification 
induces  them  to.  usurp  a  certain  kind  of 
superiority,  which  neither  God  nor  man 
gives    them.      For,   after    that,   they   set 


212 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


themselves  up  as  censors  of  all  the  world, 
and  they,  like  to  the  Pharisees,  consider 
themselves  worthy  of  the  highest  places 
in  the  Church  and  State.  They  unscru- 
pulously meddle  with  everything ;  and, 
what  is  more  dangerous,  they,  under  the 
pretence  of  piety,  are  not  aware  of  their 
own  failings,  and  so  degenerate  into  an 
ambition  more  criminal  than  that  with 
which  the  Son  of  God  reproached  the 
Pharisees. 

BOURDALOUE. 

If  you  wish  to  know  the  difference 
there  is  between  a  hypocrite  and  a  just 
man,  between  showy  and  solid  piety, 
between  human  motives  and  Christian 
motives,  here  are  some  marks. 

Human  virtue  seeks  for  witnesses  who 
praise,  and  its  wish  is  to  appear  to  be, 
than  to  be.  True  piety  loves  to  be  hidden, 
contented  with  being  seen  by  God,  and 
with  the  witness  of  its  own  conscience. 
Worldly  goodness  is  full  of  presumption  ; 
there  is  no  accident  which  it  thinks  cannot 
be  repaired,  no  obstacle  which  cannot  be 
overcome ;  whereas  true  virtue  is  ever 
mistrustful  of  self;  it  is  never  rash,  and 
is  always  anxious  to  avoid  occasions  of  sin, 
or  to  fly  from  the  presence  of  objects 
which  may  have  been  the  cause  of  former 
falls. 

Human  virtue  is  proud,  overbearing, 
and  contemptuous  ;  it  knows  not  what  it  is 
to  yield,  to  be  humble,  or  to  obey ;  it  looks 
down  disdainfully  on  those  who  have  no 
merit ;  it  examines  with  a  critical,  malig- 
nant  eye  those   who   are   reputed   to   be 


good,  and  turning  to  itself,  it  is  flattered 
at  possessing  something  out  of  the  ordinary 
way. 

True  piety  is  humble  and  submissive, 
glad  to  be  surpassed  by  others  ;  and  if  there 
be  any  rigor  to  exercise,  it  is  against  itself; 
and  if  there  be  any  indulgence  or  consider- 
ation to  bestow,  it  is  given  to  others. 

Human  goodness  is  interested ;  self- 
interest  is  the  main  motive  of  all  its 
actions,  so  that  if  there  is  no  fortune  to 
gain,  no  glory  to  establish,  no  reputation 
to  preserve,  such  goodness  remains  inac- 
tive so  long  as  self  is  not  disturbed. 

True  virtue  makes  a  man  thoroughly 
disinterested,  in  his  reputation,  in  his 
worldly  goods,  in  the  contempt  which 
others  display,  in  the  praises  which  are 
showered  down  upon  him. 

Finally,  human  virtue  is  fostered  by 
pride,  is  constant  through  obstinacy, 
liberal  through  vanity,  honest  through 
interest,  affable  and  mild  through  policy, 
and  even  humble  through  a  refinement  of 
self-love. 

All  these  false  and  imposing  pretensions 
to  virtue,  not  having  God  in  view,  are  like 
those  empty  titles,  which  nobles,  who 
having  sold  their  lands,  still  preserve  their 
title  and  coats  of  arms. 

Those  people  whom  the  word  believed 
to  be  so  generous,  so  faithful,  so  affable, 
so  patient,  so  honest,  so  sincere,  are  like 
unto  handsome  mausoleums,  on  the  out- 
side of  which  are  depicted  representations 
of  every  virtue,  and  inside  you  find  a 
frightful  corruption. 

From  the  "  Dictionnaire  Moral.'^ 


BOURDALOVE. 


"  Why  stand  you  here  all  the  day  Idle  ?  "  —  Matthew  xx.  6. 


HERE  is,  says  Holy  Writ,  a 
great  occupation,  imposed  not 
on  any  one  in  particular,  but 
on  every  one,  and  a  heavy 
yoke,  which  all  the  children  of 
Adam  are  compelled  to  bear. 
But  where  are  these  children  ?  Is  there 
no  exception  to  this  universal  law  ?  "  From 
him  that  sitteth  on  a  throne  of  glory,  unto 
him  that  is  humbled  in  earth  and  ashes  " 
{Eccles.  xl.  3). 

The  children  of  Adam  include  every- 
body, from  royalty  to  the  meanest  beggar, 
"from  him  that  wcareth  purple  and  beareth 
the  crown,  even  to  him  that  is  covered 
with  rough  linen." 

This  sentence  excludes  no  one  ;  princes 
and  grandees  of  the  world  are  included 
with  miserable  wretches  and  with  slaves. 

In  fact,  my  dear  brother,  whoever  you 
may  be,  I  ask  you  what  dispenses  you 
from  work  ?  Is  it  because  you  are  high 
in  the  world,  as  if  your  grandeur  could 
wipe  out  the  stain  of  your  origin,  or  exempt 
you  from  that  universal  curse  which  God 
has  pronounced  on  the  whole  human  race, 


namely,  to  eat  your  bread  with  the  sweat 
of  your  brow  1 

But  tell  me,  that  high  rank,  that  noble 
birth,  that  distinguished  position  which 
you  make  so  much  of,  are  they  higher 
than  kings  and  sovereign  pontiffs  1 

Listen  to  the  words  of  St.  Bernard 
when  he  wrote  to  the  Pope  Eugenius  : — 
"I  beseech  you,"  said  he,  "with  all  tre 
respect  I  owe  to  your  Holiness,  not  to 
consider  that  you  are  raised  above  all  the 
world,  but  take  care  that  you  are  born  to 
work,  aye,  even  more  than  others ;  and  if 
you  wish  to  be  exempt  you  must  first  of 
^  all  wipe  out  the  stain  of  original  sin,  which 
the  lustre  of  your  purple  and  your  tiara 
can  never  hide." 

Consider,  then,  that  a  man  who  is  born 
a  slave,  clothed  in  the  livery  of  sin,  must 
only  think  of  work,  and  endure  great 
fatigue  in  order  that  he  may  better  his 
condition  in  this  world. 

If  we  come  to  the  difference  of  sex,  we 
shall  see  that  women  are  no  less  compelled 
to  work ;  that  they  must  busy  themselves 
in   household   duties,  and,    however  easy 


214 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


these  duties  may  appear,  they  must  still  be 
attended  to.  Solomon,  wise  as  he  was, 
did  not  despise  them,  for,  after  having 
sought  for  a  brave  woman,  and  after  he 
had  found  one,  he  says,  she  put  her  hands 
to  her  work,  and  that  she  rejoiced  in 
laborious  employments  :  Manum  suam 
mis  it  ad  fortia. 

There  is  no  condition  of  life  among 
men  where  idleness  may  not  become  a  sin, 
and  the  higher  the  position,  idleness  and 
sloth  are  the  more  guilty.  For  instance, 
a  young  man  of  high  connection  who 
remains  idle  in  youth,  without  a  wish  to 
cultivate  his  mind  by  learning  and  acquire 
such  a  knowledge  requisite  to  prepare  him 
for  a  post,  when,  through  influence,  he 
may  be  appointed  to  a  responsible  posi- 
tion, how  will  he  acquit  himself .''  God 
will  not  give  him  an  infused  science,  for 
that  would  be  a  miracle.  What  will  he  do, 
then  }  Why,  he  will  be  ignorant  of  the 
duties  of  his  profession ;  and  if,  for 
example,  he  comes  to  be  a  judge,  he  will 
judge  badly. 

.  Granted  that  he  has  the  good  intention 
of  administering  justice  ;  from  the  want 
of  legal  knowledge  he  cannot,  and  he  will 
be  responsible  for  all  the  losses  and  injury 
that  parties  may  have  suffered.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  it  is  not  just  and  right  that  he 
should  learn  experience  at  the  expense  of 


others  ;  and,  however  good  his  intention 
may  be,  a  poor  man  may  perchance  lose  a 
lawsuit  which  will  deprive  him  of  all  his 
property.  On  this  I  cannot  say  too  much, 
for,  if  he  be  judge,  he  has  another  kind  of 
idleness  to  battle  with,  and  that  is,  he  will 
not  take  the  trouble  to  examine  into  mat- 
ters, for  he  loves  his  pleasures  more  than 
the  careful  examination  of  right  and 
wrong. 

I  should  never  finish  if  I  were  to  run 
through  every  condition  of  life.  I  could 
say  that,  through  idleness  and  sloth,  it  has 
happened  that  preachers  and  directors  of 
souls  have  acquitted  themselves  so  badly 
that  their  sloth  has  produced  frightful 
disorders  in  the  functions  of  their  ministry. 

I  could  also  say  much  on  the  negligence 
of  mothers,  a  negligence  which  is  the  cause 
of  the  confusion  we  often  notice  in  house- 
holds ;  for  when  the  mistress  of  the  house 
is  fond  of  frequenting  theatres,  balls,  &c., 
what  are  the  servants  doing,  and  what  will 
become  of  the  children  } 

Instead  of  that,  if  she  attended  to  her 
home  duties  all  would  go  well ;  her  ser- 
vants would  do  their  duty,  her  children 
would  be  instructed,  and  would  not  be 
brought  up,  as  they  often  unfortunately 
are,  in  idleness  and  sloth. 

BOURDALOUE. 

From  his  Lenten  Sermons. 


CHAPTKR    IvXXXIII. 

#  #  # 


ON     IGNORANCE. 


l^ 


PfeRE  La  Font. 
"  For  some  have  not  the  knowledge  of  God  :  I  speak  it  to  your  shame." — i  Corinthians  xv.  34. 


,IERRE  DE  LA  FONT,  this  zealous 
and  charitable  servant  of  God,  was 
born  at  Avignon.  He  became 
Prior  of  Valabrbgue,  and  held  also 
a  high  office  in  the  church  of 
Uzfes.  Wishing  to  found  a  semi- 
nary in  the  episcopal  city,  he 
resigned  his  priorship,  in  order  to  give  Lis 
whole  time  and  attention  to  the  college. 
Being  elected  the  superior,  he  wrote  and  pub- 
lished five  volumes,  called  "  Entretiens  Ecclesi- 
astiques'^  for  the  instruction  of  his  pupils.  An 
extract  from  this  book  will  be  found  further 
on,     (See  Alphabetical  List  of  Authors.) 

This  pious  and  learned  ecclesiastic  ended 
his  career  of  usefulness  at  the  commencement 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

If  one  could  not  sin  through  ignorance, 
it  would  be  wrong,  says  St.  Bernard,  to 
blame  the  persecutors  of  the  apostles  and 
martyrs,  since  they  did  not  believe  that 
they  committed  wrong  by  so  cruelly 
putting  them  to  death  ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  considered  that  they  rendered 
a  great  service  to  their  gods  by  massacring 
their  enemies. 

It  would  also  have  been  of  little  use 
that  Jesus,  hanging  on  the  cross,  should 
have  prayed  for  His  murderers,  since,  not 
knowing  what  they  did,  they  were  free  from 

215 


sin,  and  that  even,  according  to  St.  Paul, 
had  they  known  the  King  of  Glory,  they 
would  not  have  nailed  Him  to  the  cross. 

See,  then,  concludes  this  Father,  into 
what  a  profound  ignorance  those  were 
plunged,  who  believed  that  they  could  sin 
through  ignorance.  From  this,  we  must 
always  understand  that  a  voluntary,  cul- 
pable ignorance  arises  from  a  wanton 
negligence  of  being  instructed. 

According  to  the  teaching  of  St. 
Thomas,  we  have  two  rules  for  our  conduct 
and  actions,  namely,  the  law  of  God  and 
our  own  conscience. 

Now  it  is  not  enough,  in  order  to  consti- 
tute a  good  action,  that  it  should  be  con- 
formable to  one  of  these  rules ;  it  suflfices 
to  render  it  bad  if  it  is  opposed  to  one  of 
these  two  rules.  Thus,  one  is  not  exempt 
from  sin,  continues  this  saintly  Doctor, 
when  it  violates  any  precept  of  the  law, 
even  if  it  follows  the  judgment  of  a  false 
conscience. 

And  in  this  same  sense,  St.  Augustine 
says  that  people  take  that  for  good  which 
is  in  itself  bad,  and  that  to  persevere  in 
this   erroneous  belief,  they   are  not   free 


2l6 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE   SAINTS,  ETC. 


from  sin,  since  this  false  persuasion  is  in 
itself  a  sin  :  Si  quis  bonum.  putaverit  esse 
quod  malum  est,  et  fecerit,  hoc  putando 
ubique  peccat  {Epis.  cliv.).  And  if  you 
wish  to  know  why  this  error  and  igno- 
rance is  a  sin,  because  one  has  not  been 
willing,  or  has  neglected  to  know  the  law ; 
for  if  one  is  in  invincible  ignorance,  then 
that  ignorance  and  that  error,  being 
involuntary,  would  no  longer  be  sin. 

One  cannot  excuse  from  sin  those  here- 
tics who  live  among  Catholics,  although 
they  doubt  not  the  truth  of  their  own 
religion,  and  although  they  think  that  they 
are  in  the  right  path,  because  they  have 
every  means  of  clearing  up  their  doubts, 
and  opportunities  are  not  wanting  to 
disabuse  them,  if  they  really  wished  to  be 
instructed  in  the  faith. 

But  obstinacy  joined  to  prejudice,  con- 
venience, and  advantages  which  they  find 
in  the  state  of  life  in  which  they  have 
been  reared,  or  which  they  may  have 
embraced  through  debauchery,  or  through 
error,  they  persist  in  their  culpable  igno- 
rance. 

Thus,  when  such  as  these,  in  their  fan- 
cied security,  blaspheme  against  the  true 
religion,  which  they  look  upon  as  false  ; 
when  they  cry  it  down  ;  when  they  pettily 
persecute  the  defenders  of  it,  or  revile 
them  by  cruel  calumny,  and  inflict  on 
them  outrage  and  insult,  they  are  not 
exempt  from  sin,  although  they  may  have, 
through  ignorance,  been  driven  to  excess, 
and  by  this  means  called  to  their  aid  a 
false  zeal,  which  is  so  opposed  to  the  law 
of  God     This  ignorance  will  never  excuse 


them  of  all  these  crimes,  since  it  is  an 
inexcusable  sin  to  be  a  heretic,  and  not 
take  every  means  in  their  power  to  unde 
ceive  themselves. 

We   must,    however,    remark   that    the 
care   required  by   some  who   plead  i^no 
ranee    as    an   excuse  does   not   apply  to, 
others,  who  need  a  more  searching  inquiry 
into  the  truth. 

If  it  only  depended  on  some  trivial 
point,  such  as  if  a  certain  day  was  a 
feast-day  or  a  fast-day,  a  competent 
authority  can  be  applied  to  ;  and  if  there 
be  some  mistake,  it  can  be  easily  or 
readily  explained.  But  when  it  refers  to 
a  matter  of  equity,  such  as  if  a  contract 
is  usurious  or  not ;  or  if  it  be  permitted  to 
expose  to  public  view  engravings  or 
pictures  of  scandalous  nudities,  then  we 
ought  not  to  be  content  with  consulting 
any  one  who  may  be  of  our  own  opinion. 

When  any  one  has  on  hand  an  impor- 
tant lawsuit,  does  he  not  apply  to  the 
ablest  lawyer  ?  Or,  when  we  are  seized 
with  a  dangerous  illness,  do  we  not  seek 
the  advice  of  the  most  experienced  and 
cleverest  physician } 

Can  any  one,  then,  look  upon  the  laws 
of  God  and  the  precepts  of  the  Church  as 
simply  an  invincible  ignorance,  when  they 
can  be  so  easily  explained  by  simply  tak- 
ing the  same  pains  they  employ  in  tem- 
poral affairs  ? 

To  act  otherwise  is  simply  to  show  a 
manifest  indifference  for  their  eternal 
salvation. 

Rev.  PfeRE  La  Font. 
Sixth  after  Pent. 


On  Immodest  Attire,  Fashion,  etc. 


St.  Chrysostom  and  St.  Cyprian. 

"  The  attire  of  the  body,  and  the  laughter  of  the  teeth,  and  the  gait  of  the  woman,  show  what  she 
is."  —  EccLESiASTicus  xix.  29. 


ROM  whom  do  those  women 
attract  notice  —  women  who 
are  of  the  world  most  worldly 
—  women  whose  vanity  leads 
them  to  employ  every  artifice 
to  attract  remark  and  win 
esteem  ?  Is  it  from  the  good  and  pious  ? 
Oh,  no !  for  they  look  upon  them  with 
horror,  seeing  that  they  dishonor  Jesus 
Christ  and  ruin  His  religion.  Is  it  from 
clever  people  ?  No,  for  they  regard  them 
with  indignation,  seeing  that  by  their  vain 
display  they  are  anxious  to  astonish  and 
take  them  by  surprise.  Is  it  from  rakes 
and  libertines  they  seek  esteem  .•*  From 
these,  doubtless,  they  would  rather  fly 
than  seek.  Oh,  if  they  only  knew  how 
they  speak  of  them,  how  coarsely  they 
criticise  them,  their  confusion  would  be 
equal  to  their  pride. 

You  show  yourselves  in  public,  ye 
worldlings,  with  all  that  furniture  of 
vanity.  You  do  not  even  spare  the 
temple  of  the  living  God,  whose  sanctity 
should  not  be  violated  by  your   luxuries, 

217 


for  the  church  was  not  built  for  the  dis- 
play of  all  such  vanities.  We  should 
appear  therein  richly  clothed  with  grace 
and  virtue,  not  decked  out  with  gold  and 
jewels.  Nevertheless,  you  attend  church 
dressed  out  as  if  you  were  going  to  a  ball, 
or  like  actresses  on  the  stage,  so  careful 
are  you  to  be  noticed,  or  rather  to  be 
laughed  at,  by  those  who  see  you. 

When  divine  service  is  over,  and  all  are 
returning  homewards,  your  vanities  and 
follies  are  the  theme  of  their  conversation  ; 
they  forget  the  important  instructions  left 
us  by  St.  Paul  and  the  prophets,  and  can 
only  talk  of  the  value  of  your  beautiful 
dresses  and  of  the  lustre  of  your  jewelry. 

Tell  us,  I  entreat,  what  are  the  useful 
advantages  to  be  drawn  from  these 
precious  stones,  and  from  these  costly 
dresses }  You  tell  me  that  you  are 
satisfied  with  yourself,  and  that  you  take 
delight  in  that  magnificence.  But  alas ! 
I  ask  what  benefit  you  derive  from  your 
vanities,  and  they  only  tell  me  of  the  harm 
they  do. 


2l8 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


There  is  nothing  more  deplorable  than 
to  be  ever  running  after  frivolous  fashions, 
to  take  a  pleasure  in  studying  them. 
Shameful  and  shocking  must  that  slavery 
be  when  its  golden  chains  are  enjoyed. 

How  can  a  Christian  female  apply 
herself  as  she  ought  to  any  exercise  of 
devotion  or  solid  piety  ?  how  can  she 
despise  the  follies  of  the  age  if  she 
encourages  a  taste  for  finery?  In  time 
she  will  experience  so  great  a  distaste  for 
prayer  that  she  will  not  like  to  hear  it 
named. 

You  will  perhaps  reply  that  you  have 
made  yourself  admired  by  all  who  saw  you. 
But  this  is  an  additional  misfortune,  that 
these  costly  trinkets  should  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  feed  your  growing  vanity  and 
pride  ! 

Is  it  not  an  evil  most  grievous  to  be 
overwhelmed  with  cares  so  vain  and 
restless,  to  neglect  the  beauty  of  the  soul 
and  the  love  of  one's  salvation  ;  to  fill 
one's  self  with  pride,  vanity,  and  conceit ; 
to  be,  as  it  were,  intoxicated  with  the  love 
of  the  world ;  willingly  to  give  up  going  to 
those  sacred  places  where  your  thoughts 
should  be  raised  to  God  ;  to  have  no  fear 
of  prostituting  the  dignity  of  your  soul, 
and  subject  that  soul  to  things  so  base 
and  so  unworthy  "i 

You  will  perchance  reply,  that  when 
you  frequent  assemblies  and  promenades 
every  one  turns  round  to  look  at  you.  It 
is  for  that  very  reason  you  should  shrink 
from  gaudy  attire  in  order  that  you  should 
not  expose  yourself  to  the  gaze  of  every 
man,  that  you  should   not  give  any   one 


an    opportunity    for    making    scandalous 
remarks. 

Not  one  of  those  who  gaze  upon  you 
will  hold  you  in  the  esteem  you  imagine 
you  have  secured.  You  will  be  the 
laughing-stock  of  every  one,  and  people 
will  set  you  down  as  a  vain,  ambitious 
woman,  as  one  who  is  wishing  to  be 
admired,  as  one  absorbed  in  the  love  and 
vanities  of  the  world. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Passim. 

Do  ye  not  tremble,  ye  gay  and  worldly 
women,  at  the  thought  that,  when  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  shall  come  to  judge  the 
living  and  the  dead.  He  will  bid  you  leave 
His  presence  forevermore,  and  that  He 
will  thus  reproach  you  ? 

Depart  from  Me,  you  are  not  My  work, 
and  I  cannot  trace  the  least  resemblance 
to  your  former  self.  The  paint,  powder, 
false  curls,  and  other  vain  appliances 
have  so  altered  and  disguised  you  that  I 
cannot  recognize  that  you  once  belonged 
to  Me.  You  will  not  be  able  to  see  Me, 
disguised  as  you  are  by  face,  eyes,  and 
features  so  utterly  spoiled  and  disguised 
by  My  enemy  the  devil.  You  have 
followed  him ;  you  have  selected  the 
brilliant  hues  of  the  serpent's  skin ;  it  is 
from  your  enemy  you  have  learned  and 
kept  those  embellishments  and  fineries ; 
you  will  be  with  him  forever  and  forever. 
My  kingdom  is  not  for  such  as  you,  and 
no  part  of  it  can  you  ever  share  with  Me 

St.  Cyprian. 
Dt  Habitu   Virginum. 


CHAPTER    LXXXV. 


^'"^  -M,.  M,.-.M.M,:  M,.  M,'M-.\M.  M',.M.  '^,  M-.  Ml,  MM,,  ^K  W,  'M,  X  X  Mi  M  M  'M  .M  M,,M.  M  % 


:!" 


¥^ 


"HI  (I  I  rrnn  I  nm  1 1 1  rri  irrri  nrnmTrrrrn" 
ON     I7VIPURITY. 


■*     ■''-      .<%.     .<^     .<%     .<«;o     .<^:  i^  ^^.:  vJSc:  ^^,     .^    .^ftj..     .■^.     .^.     .^>      ■>■»,..<»,.     .^*>.   ,.<^, 


St.  Basil,  and  P^res  Houdry  and  De  la  Rue. 

"  When  concupiscence  has  conceived  it  bringeth  forth  sin :  when  it  is  completed,  begetteth  death." 

—  James  i.  15. 


■OU  will  sometimes  meet  with  old 
men,  whose  gravity  and  age 
give  them  an  appearance  of 
severity,  who  are  modest  in 
society,  and  who  are  much 
esteemed  for  their  apparent 
goodness,  but  who  secretly  and  heartily 
indulge  in  every  sort  of  vice,  which  they 
carefully  conceal  from  human  eye. 

They,  in  their  imagination,  picture 
objects  which  they  delight  in  ;  the  idea 
flatters  them,  and  leads  them  to  indulge 
in  indelicate  pleasures,  unseen  and 
unnoticed. 

These  sins  are  committed  in  the  heart, 
and  will  there  remain  hidden  until  the 
coming  of  our  Lord,  who  will  bring  to 
light  every  dark  mystery,  and  will  expose 
to  the  whole  world  the  secrets  of  the 
heart. 

We  must,  then,  particularly  watch  over 
our  thoughts,  for  deeds  which  spring  from 
our  free-will  require  time,  assistance,  and 
opportunity,  but  the  workings  of  the  brain 
are  active   in  a  moment,  without  trouble, 

219 


without    hindrance,    without    waiting    for 
opportunity. 

St.  Basil. 

Not  only  is  this  passion  a  sin,  but  it  is 
the  epitome  of  every  sin  ;  it  includes  sins 
of  the  eye,  sins  of  word,  sins  of  thought, 
sins  of  desire. 

As  for  sins  of  deed,  who  would  dare  to 
paint  them  .■•  I  have  no  wish  to  place  so 
foul  a  sight  before  you. 

Property,  riches,  talent,  heart,  will  be, 
and  on  every  possible  opportunity  are,  all 
employed  in  its  service. 

Desires  are  fondly  cherished,  when 
deeds  cannot  satisfy. 

A  lascivious  man  is  a  man  of  sin, 
because  he  disseminates  sin  wheresoever 
he  may  be ;  in  every  place,  in  public,  in 
private,  in  intrigues,  &c. 

The  evils  which  impurity  causes  to  those 
who  indulge  in  this  vice  are  numberless ; 
it  spares  nothing ;  it  undermines  the  health, 
and  youth  is  soon  succeeded  by  a  peevish, 
dissolute,  premature  old  age. 


220 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


There  is  no  trouble  they  will  not  under- 
take, no  constitution  they  will  not  sacrifice, 
no  amount  of  money  they  will  not 
squander  away.  Have  they  ruined  their 
prospects  in  life  ?  To  indulge  in  luxury, 
and  continue  to  satisfy  their  lustful  desires, 
they  will  seek  to  find  means  at  any  price. 

But  this  vice  is  not  content  with  being 
the  cause  of  ruin  of  families,  but  it  haunts 
them  in  their  dreams. 

From  this  arise  jealousies,  divorces,  and 
sad  estrangements.  From  this  succeed 
assassination,  murder,  poison,  conspiracy, 
and  all  felonious  plots  to  supplant  a 
dangerous  rival,  or  get  rid  of  a  jealous 
accomplice. 

Meditate  for  a  while  on  the  scourges 
and  punishments  which  God  has  inflicted 
on  this  sin.  Holy  Scripture  is  content  to 
threaten  other  vices,  but  see  how  it  inveighs 
against  and  casts  a  thunder-bolt  on  this. 

The  Deluge,  was  it  not  a  punishment } 
The  burning  of  a  whole  city,  was  it  not 
the  result  of  a  just  vengeance } 

If  this  sin  was  the  reason  why  God 
repented  of  having  created  man,  and  made 
him  resolve  to  annihilate  him,  how  can  you 
look  upon  it  as  a  pardonable  sin  > 

The  waters  spread  over  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  flames  consume  Sodom  —  do 
not  these  teach  you  that  God  is  the 
defender  of  purity,  the  avenger  of 
incontinence  ? 

Is  it  that  such  sins  should  have  become 
less  enormous,  that  God  the  Son  deigned 
to  be  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  .? 

Ah  !  place  before  you  the  thought  of 
St.    Augustine.      "  What  !    shall    I    pur- 


chase torments  without  end  for  a  vain 
and  transient  pleasure  .-'  Pleasures  will 
pass  away,  but  eternity  will  never  pass 
away  ;  pleasures  vanish,  but  the  penalty 
remains." 

Rev.  Pi;RE  V.  Houdry. 


[Charles  De  La  Rue  was  born  in  Paris 
in  the  year  1643.  He  entered  the  Jesuit 
College,  and  subsequently  became  Professor 
of  the  Humanities  and  Rhetoric.  He  early 
distinguished  himself  by  his  talent  for  poetry. 
In  the  year  1667  he  wrote  a  long  Latin  poem 
on  the  conquest  of  Louis  XVI. ;  this  the  great 
Corneille  translated,  and  presented  the  Latin 
original  and  French  versification  to  the  king, 
who  was  pleased  to  express  his  gracious 
approval. 

The  learned  Jesuit  petitioned  to  be  sent  to 
the  missions  in  Canada,  but  was  refused,  as 
his  superiors  deemed  it  best  that  he  should 
work  out  his  salvation  in  France. 

The  published  works  of  this  illustrious 
Latin  scholar  are  numerous. 

He  died  in  Paris  in  the  year  1725,  aged 
eighty-two.] 

God,  speaking  to  Noah,  told  him  that 
His  spirit  would  not  dwell  in  man  because 
he  was  only  flesh.  Non  pcrmanebit  spiri- 
tus  mens  in  homing  quia  caro  est.  Never- 
theless, I  hear  that  the  unchaste  allege 
this  as  a  reason  for  making  this  sin 
excusable  —  human  weakness,  which  is 
only  flesh  ;  but  I  say  that  for  this  reason 
immodesty  and  impurity  will  be  punished 
by  God. 

It  is  for  that,  all  should  be  more  cautious 
and  be  not  without  fear.  Quia  caro  est. 
It  is  for  that,  one  ought  to  seek  for  the 
help  of  that  grace  which  God  has  prom- 


IMPURITY. 


221 


ised  to  all.  Quia  caro  est.  It  is  for  that, 
that  man,  being  so  weak  and  frail,  should 
ever  have  recourse  to  prayer,  to  occa- 
sional retreats,  and  to  fly  from  all  occasions 
of  sin.  Quia  caro  est.  It  is  for  that,  you 
should    not    rashly    expose    yourself     to 


temptation,  or  be  found  frequenting  dan- 
gerous places,  where  there  are  immodest 
eyes  upon  you.  And  this  for  fear  of 
losing  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
departs  from  the  impure.  Quia  caro  est. 
Rev.  P^re  De  La  Rue. 


:^          ;^           ^:           ^1^          :^^          4^ 
W          ^           ^           ^          W          W 

CHAPTER   LXXXVI. 

•l^ 

ON     INGRATITUDE. 

^      ^      ^      ^      ^      ^ 

■<^         ■^l^          "^Fl^          ■^(^          'W'         ■^W 

St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Ambrose  and  Bourdaloue. 

"  Of  the  ten  lepers  cared,  there  is  no  one  found  to  return  and  give  glory  to  God  but  this  stranger." 
—  Luke  xvii.  i8.         . 


*T  would  be  a  monstrous  ingrati- 
tude   to    receive    daily    many 
blessings  of  the  Divine  good- 
ness, and  not  to  acknowledge 
your  gratitude,  if  not  in  deeds,  at 
any  rate,  in  words  and  canticles. 
Besides  that,  if  this  gratitude  is  due  to 
Him,  it  is  no  less  advantageous   to   our- 
selves.    God  has  no  need  of   us,  but  we 
have  every  need  of  Him. 

The  thanksgiving  which  we  offer  to 
Him  adds  nothing  to  what  He  is,  but  it 
helps  us  to  love  Him  more,  and  to  repose 
a  greater  confidence  in  Him. 

For  if  the  remembrance  of  benefits  we 
have  received  from  men  induces  us  to  love 
them  more,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
meditating  on  the  graces  which  Almighty 
God  has  showered  upon  us,  we  should 
naturally  feel  more  desire  to  love  Him, 
more  prompt  to  obey  Him. 

St.  Chrysostom. 

We  ought  to  imitate  the  liberality  of 
the    soil,    which    repays,    with     usurious 

222 


interest,  the  smallest  seed  that  is  sown 
therein.  Holy  Scripture  compares  an 
ungrateful  person  to  a  field  or  vine,  which 
remains  barren  if  not  carefully  cultivated  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  a  grateful  man  is  like 
a  fruitful  field,  and  which  increases  in 
value  a  hundredfold. 

It  is  thus  that  we  must  act  towards  those 
from  whom  we  have  received  benefits,  and 
be  like  the  ungrateful  and  avaricious  land, 
which  retains  the  seed. 

It  is  not  every  one  who  has  the  power 
of  doing  good,  but  we  can  always  show 
our  gratitude,  for  ingratitude  is  an  unpar- 
donable vice. 

St.  Ambrose. 

St.  Bernard,  pondering  on  the  many 
graces  which  God  had  bestowed  upon 
him,  and  of  His  immense  love  for  us  all, 
cries  out  :  "  O  Lord,  I  have  nothing  to 
give  you  in  return  for  so  many  blessings  I 
have  received  from  Your  merciful  good- 
ness. When  I  look  upon  my  own  noth- 
ingrness    I  am  so  confused  that  I  dare  not 


INGRATITUDE. 


223 


raise  my  eyes,  but  when  I  consider  that 
You  are  rich  in  Yourself,  that  you  have 
no  need  of  me,  and  that  You  seek  for  my 
heart  and  not  my  riches,  ah  !  I  am  quite 
consoled.  When  I  see  in  the  gospel  that 
a  poor  woman,  who  drops  two  little  pieces 
of  money  in  the  poor-box,  receives  from 
Your  lips  more  praises  than  do  those  rich 
Pharisees,  who  place  therein  large  sums, 
I  begin  to  hope. 

"  I  have  only  two  small  pieces,  and 
these  are,  my  heart  and  my  body.  You 
are  the  master  of  the  latter,  take  Thou 
possession  of  the  former.  I  give  it  to  You  ; 
it  is  Yours  on  the  principle  of  justice, 
love,  and  gratitude." 

A  faithful  and  truly  grateful  soul  ought 
to  imitate  the  conduct  of  that  prince 
mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Esther,  where  it 
is  said  that  he  wrote  down  and  kept  an 
account  of  all  the  services  his  brave  fol- 
lowers had  done  for  him  during  his  reign, 
in  order  that,  by  reading  of  them  often,  he 
was  forced  to  acknowledge  them. 

This  is  what  a  faithful  soul  should  do, 
in  order  to  remind  him  of  the  many  graces 
and  favors  God  has  bestowed  upon  him, 
during  the  whole  course  of  his  life.  Ah  ! 
what  would  such  a  soul  do .-'  Would  it 
not  read  over  the  list  with  care,  and  pon- 
<ier  on  it  every  day } 

See,  here  is  the  time  when,  by  an  espe- 
cial grace,  I  was  called  to  fulfil  duties  in 
the  church  or  in  the  world.     Here  are  so 


many  favors  received  ;  here  so  many  holy 
inspirations  ;  here  so  many  good  works  ; 
here  so  many  averted  dangers  ;  in  a  word, 
here  are  so  many  benefits  received.  Think 
of  them,  O  my  soul,  and  never  forget  them, 
and  say  with  the  prophet :  "  I  will  bless 
my  God  forever  and  ever,  and  I  will  never 
cease  to  sing  His  praise."  The  last 
thought  when  I  retire  to  rest  will  be  to 
thank  God,  and  the  first  prayer  on  awak- 
ing shall  be  to  bless  Him. 

If  we  closely  examine  the  conduct  of  the 
greater  portion  of  sinners,  we  would  be 
easily  convinced  that  there  are  gifts  and 
blessings  of  God  which  are  made  use  of 
for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  their  sins. 
If  God  has  given  extra  beauty  to  that 
woman,  to  what  use  does  she  devote  it } 
Alas !  to  idolize  her  body,  and  to  draw 
around  her  a  crowd  of  admirers.  If  God 
has  given  health  and  strength  to  that 
man,  of  what  use  are  they  to  him  }  for 
he  destroys  them  both  with  debauchery 
and  vice. 

If  to  another  has  been  given  the  gift  of 
knowledge  and  science,  does  he  not  use 
them  to  disseminate  his  own  erroneous 
opinions,  or  to  impugn  the  dogmas  of  our 
holy  mother  the  church  ?  If  to  another, 
fortune  and  riches,  are  not  these  squan- 
dered away  in  pleasure  or  ambition  .? 

And  thus  it  is  with  other  gifts,  which 
are  all  received  from  heaven. 

BOURDALOUE. 


•I  l-l  l'++l  l-l  I    M  ■!  I    I  r  H 


INTEMPERANGE; 


I- ++++++++  -  r  I  I  I  I  I  I  r  M  I  I  i  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I  I 


P^RES  DE  LA  CoLOMBifeRE  and  HouDRY,  and  St.  Ambrose. 

♦*  Woe  to  you  that  rise  up  early  in  the  morning  to  follow  drunkenness,  and  to  drink  till  the  evenings 
to  be  inflamed  with  wine." —  Isaias  v.  ir. 


REASONABLE  man  eats  in 
order  to  give  strength  to  his 
body,  lest  its  weakness  might 
have  an  effect  on  his  mind; 
but  those  who  are  addicted  to 
intemperance  eat  even  to 
clouding  their  intellect  and  ruining  their 
body.  They  eat  merely  for  the  sake  of 
eating.  There  are  some  people  whose 
body  is  of  no  use  to  the  intellect  (unlike 
the  saints,  who  complained  of  having  a 
body,  which  occasioned  so  much  trouble 
to  the  mind) ;  such  as  these  would  like  to 
be  deprived  of  the  qualms  of  conscience, 
in  order  to  partake  of  the  pleasures  of 
beasts,  pleasures  they  constantly  seek  and 
sigh  for. 

They  do  not  eat  to  live,  since  nothing  is 
so  pernicious  to  health  as  excess  in  delica- 
cies and  made  dishes,  and  nothing  is  so 
conducive  to  a  healthy  and  long  life  as  a 
frugal  and  well-regulated  table. 

Is  it  that  we  are  slaves  of  our  body,  and 
that  everything  ought  to  be  sacrifioed  to 
gratify  that  insatiable  animal .?     One  ought 

224 


to  take  food  as  one  would  take  remedies. 
Necessity  ought  to  rule  our  inclination,  so 
as  to  free  us  from  the  inconvenience  of 
hunger,  and  not  that  concupiscence  which  ■' 
lays  a  snare  in  the  pleasure  that  follows  ; 
that  solace,  which  we  seek  for  in  eating- 
anddrinking. 

Thus  we  do,  for  this  single  pleasure^ 
what  we  ought  to  do  through  necessity ; 
from  this  follows  that  we  seek  to  deceive 
ourselves,  persuading  ourselves  that  we 
owe  to  our  health  what  we  give  to  the 
passion  of  intemperance. 

Rev.    PfeRE   DE   LA    COLOMBltRE. 

Christian  Reflections. 

All  the  Doctors  of  the  Church  tell  us  I 
that     that    state     of    intoxication    which 
deprives  us  of  grace  and    reason  at  the  | 
same  time  is  a  mortal  sin. 

It  is  this  that  St  Augustine  calls  a  great  ,,; 
sin,  a  monster  of  crime ;  in  fact,  it  is  a 
brutal  stupidity  and  a  wanton  blindness  to  | 
sell  (like  another  Esau)  one's  right  to  the 
inheritance  of  heaven,  the  hope  of  an  eter- 


INTEMPERA  NCE. 


225 


nal  happiness,  for  the  sake  of  some  glasses 
of  wine ;  rivalling  that  madman  who  sold 
his  claim  to  the  paternal  estate  for  a  few 
lentils,  to  satisfy  his  inordinate  appetite. 

But  St.  Paul  expressly  names  it,  and 
places  the  vice  of  drunkenness  on  the  list 
of  those  sins  which  are  excluded  from 
heaven.  Nolite  errare,  do  not  be  deceived, 
says  he  ;  do  not  flatter  yourself  that  it  is 
a  venial  sin  :  "  Drunkards  shall  not  pos- 
sess the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  (i  Cor.  vii.). 

In  a  former  chapter  he  says  that  this 
kingdom  and  happiness  which  are  destined 
for  us  are  not  intended  for  those  who  eat 
and  drink.  Those,  therefore,  who  pamper 
their  appetites,  those  who  are  slaves  of 
intemperance,  have  no  claim  or  right. 

Drunkenness  is  the  source  of  an  infinite 
number  of  sins,  but  among  those  which  are 
its  boon  companions  the  most  universal  is 
that  of  impurity.  Take  heed  and  avoid 
drinking  to  excess,  says  the  Apostle 
{Ephes.  v.),  because  it  infallibly  enkindles 
the  shocking  vice  of  impurity.  Again,  it 
is  St.  Jerome  who  says  that  he  who  is 
always  full  of  wine  is  easily  led  to  the 
commission  of  shameful  brutalities,  and  he 
confirms  this  truth  by  quoting  the  example 
of  Loth :  Qucm  Sodoma  non  vicit  vina 
vicerunt.  What  more  astounding  than  to 
see  a  man  who  was  preserved  in  innocence 
in  the  centre  of  the  city  of  Sodom ;  he 
drinks  a  little  too  much  wine,  and  com- 
mits a  frightful  incest. 

A  man  addicted  to  wine,  says  St.  Chrys- 
ostom,  is  fit  for  nothing,  for  of  what  use 
is  such  a  man }  Would  he  be  able  to 
keep  a  secret }     Two  or  three  glasses  of 


wine  would  make  him  so  talkative  that  he 
would  reveal  everything.  How  could  you 
confide  an  affair  of  importance  to  him } 
No  !  says  the  saint,  such  a  man  is  useless, 
he  is  fit  for  nothing,  he  is  a  fool,  he  must 
be  left  to  himself,  he  does  not  deserve  a 
thought  :  Ebriosus  ad  omnia  negotia 
ineptui.  This  same  Father  represents  the 
ugliness  and  infamy  of  this  vice  in  such 
animated  language  that  strikes  one  with 
horror.  How  shameful  is  intoxication,  he 
exclaims ;  can  any  one  imagine  a  man  more 
despicable  than  he  who  is  habitually  tipsy } 
He  lowers  himself  in  the  eyes  of  his  ser- 
vants, it  makes  him  a  laughing-stock  to 
his  enemies,  and  even  his  friends  put  him 
down  as  a  fool.  All  look  upon  him  as  an 
object  deserving  of  the  contempt  and* 
hatred  of  all. 

If  there  be  any  here  who  are  addicted  to 
this  vice,  hear  the  words  which  the 
Prophet  Joel  addresses  to  you  on  the  part 
of  God  :  "Awake,  ye  that  are  drunk,  and 
weep  and  mourn,  all  ye  that  take  delight  in 
drinking  sweet  wine "  ;  arise  from  your 
negligence,  at  the  sound  of  the  threats  of 
the  anger  of  God  ;  weep  and  send  up  your 
sighs  to  heaven  in  order  to  avert  His  jus- 
tice, which  is  ready  to  deliver  the  world 
from  a  useless  burden  and  a  scandal  to  all 
men. 

Instead  of  drowning  your  intellect  in 
wine,  apply  it  to  more  serious  work  ;  avoid 
the  impending  misery,  and  henceforth  lead 
a  life  more  worthy  of  a  man  and  a  Chris- 
tian. Give  up  a  habit  which  renders  you 
unfit  to  associate  with  men.  Detest  a 
vice  which  is  as  odious  as  it  is  wicked  ;  fly 


1 


226 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


from  the  society  of  those  who  encourage 
and  join  you  in  those  unworthy  debauche- 
ries, dissipations  which  will  easily  lead  to 
the  loss  of  honor,  health,  the  life  of  your 
body,  the  loss  of  your  soul,  and  event- 
ually drag  you  to  the  gates  of  eternal 
perdition. 

"Woe  to  you  that  rise  early  in  the  morn- 
ing to  follow  drunkenness,  and  to  drink  till 
the  evening,  to  be  inflamed  with  wine," 
says  the  Prophet  Isaiah  ;  and  St.  Paul  says, 
that  such  people  have  no  other  god  but 
their  belly,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say  that 
they  are  idolaters,  for  they  make  a  god  of 
their  own  body  for  no  other  purpose  than 
that  of  satisfying  an  inordinate  appetite, 
and  thus  idolizing  their  stomach. 
•  The  misfortune  of  this  kind  of  men  is 
such  that  the  apostle,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  can  only  deplore  their  blindness  and 
look  upon  their  misery  as  meriting  God's 


vengeance:  Nunc  autem  et  Jlens  dico^ 
inimicos  cruets  Chrisii,  quorum  finis  interu 
ius,  et  gloria  in  eonfusione  ipsorum. 

P^RE  HOUDRY. 

Excess  in  eating  and  drinking  has  killed 
many  a  man,  frugality  has  killed  no  one ; 
immoderate  use  of  wine  has  injured  many 
a  constitution,  temperance  has  never  done 
any  harm.  Many  have  died  in  the  midst 
of  banquets,  and  have  soiled  the  very 
tables  with  their  heated  blood. 

You  invite  your  friends  to  a  feast,  and 
you  lead  them  to  death ;  you  ask  them  to  a 
merry-making,  and  you  conduct  them  to 
a  tomb  ;  you  promise  them  the  greatest 
delicacies,  and  you  condemn  them  to  the 
most  exquisite  tortures  ;  you  fill  them  with 
wines,  and  lo  !  it  is  their  poison. 

St.  Ambrose. 
Dejejuuia, 


I 

1 


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♦•♦••♦•++-i».4.+-i)i.-i>.+-f**-*.4..*"*.-iii-  4.  ■i.^■lil.^^^4■^^^+^4,^^J^^^^ 


T 


*   CHAPTER  LXXXVIII.    ♦ 


+  ■♦•*•  + 


N 


^jfer'-afe::^^ 


ON    I2YIN6  A   AND   //  TRIGKERY. 


-^ 


rfl 
W 


P^REs  HouDRY,  Heliodore,  and  St.  Augustine. 

"  God  hateth  a  deceitful  witness  that  uttereth  lies."  —  Proverbs  vi.  19. 

*'  Let  no  man  overreach  nor  circumvent  his  brother  in  business."  —  Thessalonians  iv.  6. 


iE  have  in  the  New  Testament 
several  examples  of  duplicity 
and  trickery. 

The  dissimulation  and  pre- 
tended concern  Herod  the 
Ascalonite  displayed  to  the 
Three  Kings  when  he  asked  them  to 
return  to  Jerusalem  and  tell  him  where 
the  Messiah  was  born,  so  that  he  might 
go  and  adore  the  new-born  King.  As  he 
fully  intended  to  murder  the  Infant  Jesus, 
this  lying  deceiver  will  cause  the  name  of 
Herod  to  be  held  in  horror  for  all  ages. 

The  second  Herod,  called  the  Tetrarch, 
was  the  successor  of  the  first,  and  was  the 
Governor  when  Jesus  was  sent  to  be  tried. 
He  was  a  man  full  of  deceit,  and  our  Lord 
gave  him  the  name  of  the  fox  to  work  his 
cunning  and  duplicity ;  and,  far  from 
wishing  to  perform  miracles  before  him, 
our  Saviour  did  not  deign  to  answer  him 
a  word. 

The  most  evident  punishment  that  God 
has  ever  exercised  on  those  who  fail  in 

S27 


sincerity  and  use  a  lying  deceit  was  that 
of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  related  in  the 
fifth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ; 
they  having  sold  their  piece  of  land,  and 
having,  by  fraud,  kept  back  part  of  the 
price  of  the  land,  contrary  to  the  promise 
they  had  made  to  bring  the  whole. 

Their  bad  faith  cost  them  their  lives. 
They  were  masters  of  the  money  which 
they  could  have  kept  without  injustice ; 
but  because  they  told  untruths,  and  agreed 
together  to  tempt  the  spirit  of  the  Lord, 
they  were  punished  for  their  deceit. 

Rev.  PfeRE  V.  Houdry,  S.  J. 

One  of  the  strongest  reasons  that  can 
be  urged  against  lying  is  the  infamous 
consequences  that  accrue  from  such  a 
habit. 

A  lie  covers  its  author  with  confusion, 
and  a  man  who  has  acquired  the  habit  of 
telling  falsehoods  becomes,  in  fact,  the 
universal  horror  of  all  who  know  him. 
Because  a  lie  usually  precedes  many  other 


228 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


vices,  it  makes  use  of  candor  and  truth 
only  through  motives  of  avarice,  pride, 
jealousy,  impurity,  impiety,  or  some  other 
sin  ;  consequently,  these  can  only  proceed 
from  a  mass  of  corruption. 

These  are  the  reasons  why  we  have  so 
bad  an  opinion  of  liars,  and  this  is  why 
the  Holy  Scripture  describes  the  liar  as 
a  foul  blot  and  an  everlasting  shame. 

Now,  you  who  cannot  endure  to  be 
charged  with  practising  this  vice ;  you 
who  would  expose  your  life  and  salvation, 
and  impel  you  to  wipe  out  the  implied 
reproach  with  your  blood  if  the  law  did 
not  put  a  stop  to  your  blind  fury ;  you 
who  blush  and  are  ashamed  that  men 
should  know  what  you  cannot  endure  to 
be  charged  with ;  listen  to  and  reflect  on 
the  threats  and  judgments  of  the  God  of 
truth,  for  He  has  so  great  a  horror  of 
lying  and  deceit  that  He  has  said  :  Perdes 
omncs  qui  loquuntur  mendacium. 

It  would  take  up  too  much  space  to  give 
all  the  reasons  which  would  induce  us  to 
give  up  lying  and  deceit.  It  is  sufficient 
to  know  that  the  lie  increases  other 
greater  sins,  that  it  lessens  the  simplicity 
of  virtue,  and  it  scandalizes  truth. 
Avarice  is  rendered  more  criminal,  when, 
in  order  to  secure  or  purchase  another 
person's  property,  it  makes  use  of  a  false 
oath  ;  pride  is  more  sinful  when  it  circu- 
lates false  reports  in  order  to  gain  the 
approbation  of  some  or  to  avoid  some 
affront.  Hatred  is  rendered  more  intense 
when  it  forges  imaginary  crimes  in  order 


to  deprive  the  innocent  of  their  honor. 
Heresy  is  more  detestable  when  it  design- 
edly misinterprets  the  sense  and  meaning 
of  Holy  Scripture,  the  Fathers,  and  the 
precepts  of  the  Church.  Virtue  loses  its 
simplicity  when  deceit  is  introduced. 
Humility  is  not  entirely  innocent  if  it 
induces  a  man  to  lie  in  order  to  hide  his 
perfection.  Mercy  becomes  sinful,  if  it 
excite  a  man  to  make  use  of  a  falsehood 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  relief  to  the 
poor  or  with  the  intention  of  checking  the 
vices  of  his  neighbor.  Justice  partakes 
of  injustice,  when,  by  use  of  an  untruth, 
it  ascertains  the  truth  of  an  important 
fact. 

Other  virtues  cannot  possibly  preserve 
their  purity,   however  good  the  intention 
may  be,  if  a  lie  or  a  deceit  be  made  use  of. 
Father  Heliodore  of  Paris  (Capuchin). 

When  the  tongue  says  one  thing,  and 
the  heart  means  another ;  this  is  deceit, 
and  a  lie. 

If  through  humility  you  circulate  a  lie, 
if  you  had  not  committed  a  sin  of  lying 
before,  you  become,  by  lying,  what  you 
were  not  before,  a  sinner. 

The  sin  of  lying  is  not  solely  committed 
by  word  of  mouth,  but  by  deeds  designedly 
carried  out  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving. 
It  is  a  lie  to  call  yourself  a  Christian  when 
you  do  not  practise  the  works  of  Jesus 
Christ 

St.  Augustine. 
EnchiridoH. 


^ 


CHAPTER   LXXXIX 


On  Prosperitj,  its  Dangers,  and  Prosperity  of  the  Wicked. 


:|: 


.? 


"vA-jja 


St.  Augustine  and  Massillon. 


"  Why  then  do  the  wicked  live  ?     Are  they  advanced  and  strengthened  with  riches  ?     Their  houses 
are  secure  and  peaceable,  and  the  rod  of  God  is  not  upon  them."  —  Job  xxi.  7-9. 


HE  continued  prosperity  of  sin- 
ners is  the  greatest  of  all  mis- 
fortunes for  them.  The  less 
our  Lord  disturbs  their  torpor, 
the  more  He  punishes  them 
after.  It  is  at  that  time  that 
vicious  habits  increase  in  power  day  by  day; 
it  is  then  that  they  indulge  themselves  the 
more,  that  they  delude  themselves,  that 
they  are  blinded  more  and  more  to  the 
important  interests  of  their  salvation. 

But  the  mad  multitude  does  not  reason 
thus.  According  to  the  idea  of  the  major- 
ity, the  world  is  pleased  when  the  greater 
part  of  common  people  are  like  princes 
through  good  fortune,  although  they  would 
be  poor,  and  the  very  reverse  of  pious  ; 
when  theatres  are  thriving,  although  relig- 
ion may  be  despised  ;  when  luxury  attracts 
the  notice  of  all,  although  Christian  charity 
would  be  neglected ;  when  the  dissolute 
well  nigh  exhaust  the  well-filled  purse  to 
satisfy  their  excessive  wants,  although 
the  poor  can  find  none  to  relieve  their 
extremest  need. 

Nevertheless,  if  God  permits  .  these 
disorders  to  reign  in  the   world,  be   sure 

229 


that  at  that  time  He  is  the  more  irritated 
against  us.  His  most  terrible  vengeance 
is  to  leave  for  a  while  crimes  unpunished. 
If,  on  the  contrary.  He  deprives  us  of 
every  kind  of  luxurious  pleasure,  of  good 
living,  of  theatres  and  other  amusements, 
of  the  extravagance  of  the  age,  it  is  then 
He  manifests  to  us  His  mercy. 

St.  Augustine. 
From  his  Fifth  Letter  to  Marcellinus. 

Opportunities  and  all  exterior  things 
contribute  to  withdraw  the  prosperous  man 
from  the  way  of  salvation,  and  these  are 
for  him  so  many  obstacles,  too  difficult 
for  a  soul  accustomed  to  effeminacy  to 
surmount.  Everything  concurs  to  feed 
and  cherish  vices  in  his  heart,  more  espe- 
cially the  most  dangerous  passions,  and  a 
crowd  of  objects  fascinates  his  every 
sense. 

Those  miserable  parasites  of  the  fortune 
of  a  great  man  make  a  study  of  his  weak- 
nesses, and  neglect  nothing  which  can 
give  him  pleasure ;  theatres,  games, 
acquaintances,  flatteries,  intrigues  cleverly 
begun  and  as  cleverly  carried  out,  nothing 


2%0 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


is  forgotten  ;  each  one  seeks  to  take  him 
by  surprise,  and  each  one  glories  when  that 
success  is  gained. 

These  flatterers  who  gather  round  about 
him,  studiously  contrive  to  bring  fresh 
incentives  to  feed  his  passions.  Thus 
everything  concurs  to  make  even  the 
contented  forget  that  there  is  a  holy  and  a 
happy  land,  to  which  they  ought  to  aspire 
to  reach. 

It  is  here,  O  Lord,  that  I  adore  Thy 
secret  judgments  ;  for,  seeing  on  the  earth 
the  good  in  trouble,  and  the  wicked  laden 
with  the  blessings  of  prosperity,  the  one 
in  misery,  the  other  in  plenty,  the  one  in 
poverty,  the  other  in  prosperity,  it  cannot 
be  wondered  at  that  I  should  be  surprised 
at  a  sight  which  appears  to  be  so  contrary 
to  Thy  wise  and  just  providence.  When 
I  see  the  splendidly  garnished  table  of  the 
proud  rich  man,  whilst  a  poor  Lazarus 
begs  for  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  his 
table,  and  is  even  cruelly  refused  ;  when  I 
see  so  many  unworthy  wretches  supera- 
bundantly supplied  with  all  that  contributes 
to  ease  and  comfort,  whilst  so  many  good 
and  honest  people  are  in  want  of  even  the 
necessaries  of  life,  I  confess  to  Thee,  says 
the  Prophet,  that  my  feet  shake  under  me, 
and  I  am  tempted  to  question  Divine 
Providence  for  showing  too  much  indul- 
gence to  the  wicked,  and  too  much 
harshness  to  the  good,  or  that  I  should  go 
so  far  as  to  accuse  Thee  of  injustice. 

For  why,  I  say  to  myself,  should  that 
man  who  is  only  nominally  a  Christian, 
and  a  heathen  in  his  manners  and  actions 
■ —  why  does  he  enjoy  an  easy  life,  a  peace 


here  on  earth,  whilst  the  faithful  and 
pious  man  groans  and  sighs  under  the 
weight  of  his  miseries }  Why  should 
everything  smile  on  the  rich  unjust  .?  The 
princely  treasures  are  only  open  for  him, 
every  luxury  shines  for  him,  the  hail  and 
storm  do  not  injure  his  lands,  the  earth, 
the  sky,  the  elements,  seem  to  contribute 
to  the  joy  and  pleasure  of  the  sinner^ 
while  the  good  poor  man  dwells  here  on 
earth,  helpless  and  unassisted  ;  and  whilst 
the  former  is  well  nigh  satiated  with  the 
best  of  everything,  the  good  man  sees 
himself  alone  and  abandoned  by  all, 
despised  by  the  world,  and  deprived  of 
help. 

Do  npt  fall  into  the  fatal  error  of 
believing  that  worldly  prosperity  may  be  a 
favor  which  God  grants  to  His  favored 
ones.  God  often  in  His  anger  gives 
riches  and  honors  which  are  prayed  for, 
and  He  grants  them  by  punishing,  says 
St.  Augustine.  He  would  have  destined 
you  to  live  a  retired  life  in  humility  and 
lowliness,  in  order  to  lead  you  by  those 
means  to  the  height  of  glory ;  but  you 
have  obstinately  rejected  His  merciful 
intentions;  you  have  mapped  out  your  own 
way  of  life,  and,  intoxicated  with  success, 
you  have  tried  to  subject  His  will  to  your 
own  ;  you  have  made  your  own  choice,  He 
grants  what  you  ask  for,  and  He  hears  you 
in  His  anger.  Riches,  honors,  dignities» 
fortune,  grandeur,  success,  and  robust, 
health  are  yours  for  a  time ;  all  these, 
however,  are  given  to  you  as  a  punishment 

Massillon. 
From  a  Sermon  on  Prosperity, 


'^ 

^°1  ^ 

CHAPTER    XC.                               *      # 

i^  ^ 

*    #    #    #    # 

ON    RASH    JaDGMENt      j 

+ 

:  ♦ 

:  « 
:  * 

o)o<<o 

*    *    #    *    * 

Saints  Francis  de  Sales,  John  of  God,  and  Augustine, 
and  L'Abb^  de  la  Trappe. 

"Judge  not,  that  you  may  not  be  judged:  for  with  what  judgment  you  judge,  you  shall  be  judged. 

MATTHliW   Vil.    1. 


UDGE  not,  and  you  shall  not 
be  judged,  says  the  Saviour 
of  our  souls  :  "  Condemn  not, 
and  you  shall  not  be  con- 
demned "  {St.  Luke  vi.  37). 
No,  says  the  holy  Apostle 
(i  Cor.  iv.  5),  "Judge  not  before  the  time, 
until  the  Lord  come,  who  both  will  bring 
to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness, 
and  will  make  manifest  the  counsels  of 
the  heart." 

Oh,  how  displeasing  are  rash  judgments 
to  God!  The  judgments  of  the  children 
of  men  are  rash,  because  they  are  not  the 
judges  one  of  another,  and  therefore  usurp 
to  themselves  the  office  of  our  Lord. 
They  are  rash,  because  the  principal  malice 
of  sin  depends  on  the  intent  of  the  heart, 
which  is  an  impenetrable  secret  to  us. 
They  are  not  only  rash,  but  also  imperti- 
nent, because  every  one  has  enough  to  do 
to  judge  himself  without  taking  upon  him 
to  judge  his  neighbor. 

In  order  to  our  being  hereafter  judged, 
it  is  equally  necessary  we  should   refrain 

331 


from  judging  others  as  to  be  careful  to 
judge  ourselves.  For,  as  our  Lord  forbids 
the  one,  so  the  Apostle  enjoins  the  other, 
saying,  that  if  we  judged  ourselves  we 
should  not  be  judged. 

But,  O  good  God !  we  act  quite  the 
contrary  ;  for,  by  judging  our  neighbor  on 
every  occasion,  we  do  that  which  is  for- 
bidden ;  and,  by  not  judging  ourselves,  we 
neglect  to  put  that  which  we  are  strictly 
commanded  into  practice. 

We  must  apply  remedies  against  rash 
judgments,  according  to  their  different 
causes.  There  are  some  hearts  naturally 
so  sour,  bitter,  and  harsh,  as  to  make 
everything  bitter  and  sour  \\r.\i  they 
receive,  turning  judgment,  as  the  Prophet 
Amos  says,  into  wormwood,  by  never 
judging  their  neighbor  but  with  rigor  and 
harshness. 

Some  judge  rashly,  not  through  harsh- 
ness, but  through  pride ;  imagining  that, 
in  the  same  proportion  as  they  depress 
the  honor  of  other  men,  they  raise  their 
own.     "I  am  not  like  the  rest  of  men," 


232 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


said    the     foolish    Pharisee    {Luke    xviii. 
II). 

Others,  to  excuse  themselves  to  them- 
selves, and  to  assuage  the  remorse  of  their 
own  consciences,  willingly  judge  others  to 
be  guilty  of  the  same  kind  of  vice  to  which 
they  themselves  are  addicted,  or  of  some 
other  as  great,  thinking  that  the  multitude 
of  offenders  make  the  sin  the  less  blamable. 

Others  judge  through  passion  and  preju- 
dice, always  thinking  well  of  what  they 
love,  and  ill  of  what  they  hate. 

In  fine,  fear,  ambition,  and  other  such 
weaknesses  of  the  mind,  frequently  con- 
tribute towards  the  breeding  of  suspicious 
and  rash  judgments. 

St.  Francis  De  Sales. 
Devout  Life. 


[St.  John  of  God  was  born  in  1495,  in  a 
small  town  in  Portugal  called  Monte  Majorel- 
Novo.  His  parents  were  so  poor  that  he  was 
compelled  to  work  as  a  servant.  A  sermon 
he  heard  from  the  blessed  John  of  Avila  so 
moved  him  that  he  resolved  to  consecrate  the 
remainder  of  his  life  to  God  and  His  poor. 
The  zeal  of  this  saint  overcame  every  obstacle. 
He  began  his  work  in  a  small  house  in  Gren- 
ada, and  from  this  poor  dwelling  arose  a 
magnificent  hospital  which  exists  to  this  day. 
It  was  there  that  St.  John  laid  the  first  founda- 
tion of  an  Order  which  was  approved  of  by 
St.  Pius  V.  in  1572. 

The  life  of  this  grand  saint,  by  Canon 
Cianfogni,  has  been  ably  translated  under  the 
editorship  of  the  Rev.  Father  John  Bowden, 
and  is  published  by  R.  Washbourne.] 

How  dare  we  judge  others  }  Circum- 
stances are  so  varied  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  that  we  should  not  make  a  mis- 
take.    It  is  the  magistrate's  duty  to  judge 


the  guilty  ;  our  duty,  as  regards  our  neigh 
bor,  is  ever  to  take  the  defensive  side. 

Nothing  shows  the  wisdom  and  truth  of 
those  words  from  Holy  Writ,  "Judge  not, 
and  you  will  not  be  judged  "  —  "  Condemn 
not,  and  you  will  not  be  condemned  "  — 
as  the  injustice  and  rashness  of  our  judg- 
ments. 

To  judge,  we  must  know  the  heart  of 
the  person  accused,  and  this  is  a  sanc- 
tuary reserved  for  God  alone. 

Ah !  if  we  only  knew  our  own  short- 
comings,   we    should    rather  accuse  and 

judge  ourselves. 

St.  John  of  God. 

It  is  the  ordinary  custom  of  those  who 
have  not  within  them  the  Spirit  of  God, 
to  be  scandalized  at  the  most  virtuous  and 
edifying  of  actions. 

This  we  see  in  the  gospel  of  St.  Luke : 
"  A  sinner,  knowing  that  Jesus  sat  at 
meat  in  the  Pharisee's  house,  brought  an 
alabaster  box  of  ointment,  and  standing 
behind  at  His  feet,  she  began  to  wash  His 
feet  with  her  tears."  This  woman  out- 
wardly displayed  her  love  and  respect ;  she 
threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  the  Son  of 
God,  full  of  grief,  incapable  of  fear,  and 
pierced  with  a  lively  sorrow  for  having 
offended  Him. 

>  Such  were  the  feelings  with  which  our 
Lord  had  inspired  her. 

However,  the  Pharisee  formed  a  rash 
judgment;  for  he  said,  "This  man,  if  he 
were  a  prophet,  would  know  surely  who 
and  what  manner  of  woman  this  is  that 
touched  Him,  that  she  is  a  sinner." 


RASH  JUDGMENT. 


233 


But  the  Saviour,  who  knew  her  better, 
judged  otherwise  ;  for  she  had  blotted  out 
her  iniquities  by  the  abundance  of  her 
tears,  by  the  excess  of  her  love,  and  by  her 
contrition.  Amando  veritatem,  lavit  lacJiry- 
mis  maculas  criminis. 

This  is  an  example  which  ought  indeed 
to  be  consoling  to  those  who,  in  actions 
which  they  have  performed  for  the  honor 
and  glory  of  God,  may  have  drawn  upon 
.  themselves  rash  and  false  judgments, 
censure,  and  condemnation  of  others. 

L'  Abb^  de  la  Trappe. 
Reflections. 


Rash  judgment  seldom  hurts  the  one 
upon  whom  it  falls,  but  the  one  who 
judges  rashly  cannot  fail  to  injure  himself. 

There  are  two  things  we  should  guard 
against  in  forming  rash  judgments  ;  the 
first  is,  when  it  is  uncertain  from  what 
motive  such  and  such  a  thing  may  have 
been  done ;  the  second  is,  when  we  can- 
not foresee  what  may,  one  day,  be  the 
state  of  that  man,  who  now  appears  to  be 
either  good  or  bad. 

St.  Augustine. 
On  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 


'>^^>^^'^^^ 


^^!^%t5<^- 


CHAPTKR    XCI. 


■  IIBU«IIBNBIIWia 


••J    •••    •••    ••;    •*•*•    ;••    •*•*•    ••;    •*•*•    {•J    W    ^•J    W    C*I*    W    ••!•    {•}    {•}    {•} 

*   ON    SCKNDKL.  * 

••*•  W  'Mi  i*i  "A  "A"  "Iv  W  'X'  'I?!*  W  W  'X*  iv  'I'J  {•;  {•;  ',*:  ',*! 


BOURDALOUE,    St.    CYPRIAN,   and   PiRE   HOUDRY. 

"  It  must  needs  be  that  scandals  come  ;  but  nevertheless,  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  scandal 
cometh."  —  Matthew  xviii.  7. 


,  CANDAL  is  a  diabolical  sin,  and 
the  reason  which  St.  Chrysos- 
tom  gives  us  is  conclusive 
enough.  For  (according  to  the 
Gospel)  the  particular  character- 
istic of  Satan  is  that  he  was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning  :  Ille  homicida 
erat  ah  initio ;  and  he  has  not  only  been  a 
homicide,  continues  this  holy  Doctor,  but 
because,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
he  has  been  the  cause  of  souls  being  lost 
by  seducing  them,  by  drawing  them  into 
snares,  by  making  them  yield  to  tempta- 
tion, by  putting  every  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  their  conversion. 

Now,  is  not  this  the  constant  employ- 
ment of  the  libertine,  the  vicious  man,  the 
man  swayed  by  the  spirit  of  debauchery, 
who  seeks  on  all  sides  (if  I  may  dare  to  use 
the  expression)  for  an  easy  prey  for  his 
sensuality  ?  What  doth  he  besides,  and  in 
what  is  his  scandalous  life  taken  up }  Is 
it  not  in  deceiving  and  damaging  souls,  in 
taking  advantage  of  their  weakness,  in 
imposing  on  their  simplicity,  in  making 
the  most  of  their  imprudence,  in  flattering 

234 


their  vanity,  in  undermining  their  religion, 
in  triumphing  over  their  modesty,  in  dissi- 
pating their  just  fears,  in  rendering 
ineffectual  all  their  good  desires  ?  Is  it 
not  in  .keeping  them  from  the  ways  of 
God,  when,  touched  with  His  grace,  they 
become  conscious  of  their  misery,  and 
sincerely  desirous  of  recovering  their 
innocence  ? 

Are  not  these,  O  sinner,  the  deeds  of 
darkness  in  which  your  infamous  life  is 
spent }  Is  it  not  then  the  employment  of 
the  devil  in  which  you  have  been  engaged  ? 

You  do,  then,  the  office  of  the  evil  one, 
and  all  the  more  dangerously,  because  they 
whom  you  scandalize,  being  accustomed  to 
be  led  by  the  senses,  are  the  more  exposed 
to  your  baneful  insinuations,  and  more 
impressed  by  them,  since  you  move  amongst 
them  a  visible  and  incarnate  demon.  The 
devil  was,  of  himself,  a  murderer  from  the 
beginning,  but  is  a  murderer  through  you. 
It  is  you  who  are  his  deputy,  who  furnish 
him  with  weapons,  you  who  carry  on  his 
work,  you  who,  in  his  place,  have  become 
the   tempter,   the   murderer  of  souls,   by 


SCANDAL. 


235 


sacrificing  these  unfortunate  victims  to 
your  passions  and  pleasures  •  Ille  homicida 
erat  ab  initio. 

BOUIJJALOUE. 

A  dv<n  t  Sermon. 

St.  Cyprian,  who  lived  in  the  third 
century,  in  explaining  the  reason  why  God 
permits  that  His  own  should  be  perse- 
cuted, gives  us  a  picture  of  the  manners 
and  customs  of  his  time. 

Bellarmin,  in  his  work  "  On  the  Sighs 

'of  the  Dove,"  quotes  the  whole  passage, 

and  says  :  "  Would  to  God  that  we  had  not 

reason   to    bewail    the   same     scandalous 

practices  in  our  time." 

Each  one  thinks  only  of  enriching  him- 
■self;  and  forgetting  what  the  first  Chris- 
tians had  done  at  the  time  of  the  apostles, 
and  what  they  ought  always  to  do,  they 
cherished  so  great  a  longing  for  riches, 
that  they  fancied  that  they  never  could 
accumulate  sufficient.  There  was  no 
devotion  in  the  priests,  no  faith  in  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  no  regularity  in 
their  manners,  no  charity  in  their  works. 

The  women  painted  their  faces,  the  men 
knew  how  to  change  the  color  of  the  hair, 
ind  they  quite  made  an  art  of  dyeing. 
'You  could  detect  something  approaching 
to  lasciviousness  in  their  eyes  and  looks, 
and  so  careful  was  their  studied  talk,  that 
they  sought  to  impose  on  the  simple,  and 
tried  to  deceive  each  other. 

They  swore  not  only  unnecessarily,  but 
falsely.  They,  with  insupportable  conceit, 
despised  the  orders  of  their  superiors. 
They  had   no    fear    of    slandering    their 


neighbor,     and     they     in     their     hearts 
cherished  mortal  hatreds. 

Several  prelates,  who  ought  to  have 
induced  people  to  be  pious  by  showing  a 
good  example,  neglected  their  duty,  quitted 
their  dioceses,  abandoned  their  flocks,  and 
went  into  far-off  countries  in  order  to 
carry  on  a  business  that  was  mean  and 
unworthy  of  them.  They  took  no  heed  of 
the  pressing  wants  of  the  few  that  were 
faithful.  Their  only  endeavor  was  to  amass 
riches,  to  deprive  others  of  their  lands,  and 
to  multiply  their  wealth  by  usury. 

St.  Cyprian. 

There  is  nothing  that  St.  Augustine 
deplores  more  in  his  Confessions,  than  the 
misery  of  the  bad  example  he  had  followed 
when  a  youth.  He  was  naturally  inclined 
to  be  good,  he  had  even  received  a  suffi- 
ciently good  education,  and  he  confesses, 
without  flattery  or  vanity,  in  a  book  in 
which  he  seeks  his  own  confusion,  that  he 
would  have  never  committed  the  atrocities 
of  a  dissipated,  ill-regulated  life,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  bad  example  that  his  compan- 
ions had  given  him.  Here  are  the  words 
he  uses :  "  O  friendship,  worse  than  the 
most  cruel  enmity,  which  seduced  my  mind, 
and  dragged  me  on  to  sin  —  '  Let  us  go  ' 
—  *  Let  us  do ' —  still  dinning  incessantly 
in  my  ears  so  vividly,  that  it  is  shameful 
to  have  some  shame  for  acting  so  ill." 

We  have,  in  the  words  and  experience 
of  this  glorious  saint,  an  example  and  an 
evident  proof  of  the  boldness  and  impU' 
dence  which  ever  accompany  scandal. 

Le  PtRE  Vincent  Houdry,  S.  f. 


CHAPTER     XCII. 


ON     SELF-LOME. 


1^ 


PiiREs  Louis  de  Grenada,  Camaret,  and  St.  Augustink. 

"  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in  this  world,  keepeth  it  unto  lifa 
eternal."  —  John  xii,  25. 


RIGINAL  sin  gave  birth  to  the 
tyrannical  empire  of  love  of 
self,  and  it  so  poisons  an  ill- 
regulated  mind,  that  it  loves 
naught  else  but  self,  and  even 
ignores  God. 
St.  Thomas  says  that  this  false  love  is 
the  root  of  every  sin  committed  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  and  that  it  is  the 
source  and  cause  of  all  that  is  most 
miserable. 

This  is  very  true,  since  it  is  sinful  self- 
love  alone  that  makes  us  desire  all 
inordinate  affections  for  the  enjoyments 
here  below,  and  makes  us  forget  God  and 
the  observance  of  His  commandments. 

Every  kind  of  misery  we  see  in  the 
world  springs  from  the  root  which  ripens 
on  this  infectious  tree. 

From  this  arises  that  anxiety  which 
men  manifest  for  their  own  affairs,  and  for 
that  negligence  of  all  that  appertains  to 
God.  From  that  comes  this  delicacy  on 
all  points  of  honor,  whilst  they  think  little 
of  God's  honor. 


It  is  this  that  so  interests  them  in  all 
that  is  for  their  worldly  advantage,  and 
makes  them  so  indifferent  to  the  service 
due  to  God. 

No  work  is  deemed  too  difficult,  if  it  be 
for  their  temporal  welfare,  while  for  God 
they  take  no  pains.  The  loss  of  a  slight 
temporal  advantage  drives  them  nearly 
wild ;  but  they  have  no  thought  of  losing 
their  immortal  souls.  The  love  of 
pleasure  fosters  a  distaste  for  all  that  is 
good ;  in  fine,  they  labor  incessantly  for 
success  in  this  life,  and  never  prepare  for 
the  life  to  come. 

Louis  de  Grenada. 
Meditations,  vi. 

The  difference  between  self-love  and 
charity  is  shown  by  the  movements  and 
workings  of  each. 

I.  Self-love  showeth  that  he  neglects 
nothing  that  may  reflect  on  himself,  on  the 
good  he  has  done  ;  he  wishes  to  be  secretly 
admired,  and  hears  of  the  praises  of  others 
with  contempt ;  whereas  charity  praiseth 


SELF-LOVE. 


237 


and  admireth  virtue  in  others,  as  some- 
thing out  of  the  common  ;  and  if  it  be 
reflected  on  himself,  he  looks  upon  himself 
as  an  object  worthy  of  the  vengeance  of 
Heaven. 

2.  Self-love  is  violent,  impetuous,  fan- 
tasticai,  and  imperious  ;  he  wishes  to  com- 
mand and  to  be  obeyed.  In  the  place  of 
this,  charity,  according  to  the  apostle,  is 
mild  and  meek ;  it  yields  easily  to  others, 
and  awaits  with  patience  for  success, 
which,  if  not  obtained,  blesseth  those  who 
persecute  him, 

3.  Self-love  is  always  wrapped  up  in 
self.  If  he  go  out  of  the  way  to  do  some 
virtuous  action,  he  does  it  to  draw  down 
praises  he  may  receive,  or,  at  any  rate, 
hopes  to  receive. 

4.  Self-love  looks  after  his  own  interest, 
does  nothing  but  what  may  accrue  to  his 
advantage ;  instead  of  that,  charity  does 
not  seek  its  own,  but  looks  only  to  God's 
interest. 

5.  Self  love  is  singular ;  it  wishes  for 
out-of-the-way  things,  particular  devotions  ; 
loves  and  seeks  for  distinction  ;  whereas 
charity  flies  from  all  kinds  of  singularity, 
and  wishes  for  nothing  particular. 

6.  Self-love  in  devotion  seeks  for  sweet- 
ness, and  when  that  fails,  feels  dis- 
couraged ;  but  charity  seeks  for  the  will  of 
God  alone,  and  on  this  will  he  depends. 

We  must  watch  continually  over  our- 
selves, and  over  every  movement  of  the 
will,  to  repress  a  number  of  selfish  frailties, 
which,  on  examination,  will  be  found  to  be 
as  minute  as  they  are  continuous. 


There  are  so  many  petty  interests  vfhich 
centre  in  self,  even  among  those  who  are 
pious,  that  it  is  incumbent  upon  us  to  be 
ever  on  our  guard. 

There  are  so  many  little  meannesses 
which  overshadow  our  best  actions,  which, 
if  encouraged,  will  diminish  merit,  and  be 
the  cause  of  attempting  much,  but  advanc- 
ing very  slowly. 

Men,  for  the  most  part,  flatter  them- 
selves that  they  seek  God  alone,  but  they 
search  for  Him  through  the  medium  of 
self  ;  and  they  prefer  ease  and  reputation, 
and  thereby  encourage  secret  pride  and 
self-love. 

PfeRE  Camaret- 

Two  loves,  one  good,  the  other  bad ;  one 
sweet,  the  other  bitter  ;  the  two  cannot 
agree,  or  dwell  together  in  a  sinner's 
heart.  It  is  this,  therefore,  if  any  one 
loves  aught  but  Thee,  O  Lord,  Thy  love  is 
not  in  him. 

Doubtless  it  is  a  grand  and  wholesome 
doctrine  how  to  guard  against  that  self-love 
which  is  so  capable  of  being  your  ruin,  and 
with  what  hatred  you  should  hate  yourself, 
if  you  wish  to  escape  from  eternal  punish- 
ment. If  you  love  yourself  with  an  inor- 
dinate love,  then  you  should  hate  yourself 
indeed ;  if  you  cherish  a  proper  hatred  of 
yourself,  then  you  have  a  proper  love  of 
yourself. 

Do  not  then  love  yourself  in  this  life, 
lest  you  lose  your  soul  in  the  life  to  come. 

St.  Augustine. 
On  John  i.  4. 


FfiNELON,  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  and  Lanctantius. 
"  He  that  loveth  danger  shall  perish  in  it."  —  Eccles.  iii.  27. 


,fiNELON,  Archbishop  of  Cambrai, 
was  born  of  a  rich  and  noble 
family  at  Perigord,  on  the  6th  of 
August,  165 1.  His  uncle,  the 
Marquis  of  Fdnelon,  brought  him 
up  as  his  own  son,  superintended 
his  education,  and  sent  him  to  the 
Abbd  Trouson,  the  Superior  of  Saint  Sulpice 
in  Paris.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  took 
holy  orders,  and  undertook  the  arduous  duties 
of  parish  priest  of  Saint  Sulpice.  Three  years 
after  his  ordination,  the  Archbishop  of  Paris 
intrusted  him  with  the  direction  of  the 
Nouvelles-Catholiques.  In  1689,  Louis  XIV. 
confided  to  him  the  education  of  his  grand- 
children, tha  Dukes  of  Burgundy,  Anjou,  and 
Berri,  and  rewarded  his  services  by  nominat- 
ing him  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Cambrai. 

It  would  occupy  too  long  a  space  to  enu- 
merate his  many  excellent  works,  to  treat  of  his 
misunderstanding  with  Bossuet,  to  tell  of  his 
kumble  submission  to  the  Holy  See,  &c.,  &c. 
The  "Life  of  Fe'nelon,"  by  M.  De  Bausset, 
published  in  18 17,  in  four  vols.,  is  replete 
with  interest.  This  illustrious  prelate  died  on 
the  7th  of  January,  1715,  aged  sixty-three. 
No  one  more  deplored  his  loss  than  did  Pope 
Clement  XL,  who  intended  to  send  him  the 
Cardinal's  cap. 

Fenelon,  in  his  "  Christian  Instruction 
for    the    Education    of    Young    Ladies," 

33S 


quotes  the  opinions  of  the  early  Fathers 
of  the  Church  on  this  subject.    He  says  — 

St,  Augustine  confesses  that  the  affec- 
tion he  had  for  shows  and  theatres  had 
been  the  cause  of  his  continued  indul- 
gence in  sensuality,  and  that  he  always 
came  away  more  unchaste  than  when  he 
entered,  because,  he  says,  what  one  sees 
or  what  one  hears  excites  bad  thoughts, 
seduces  the  mind,  and  corrupts  the  heart. 

St.  Cyprian  afBrms  that  theatres  are  a 
school  of  impurity,  and  a  place  wherein 
modesty  is  prostituted. 

Salvian,  Bishop  of  Marseilles,  says,  that 
in  his  time,  it  was  the  custom  at  the 
Sacrament  of  Baptism  to  make  an  extra- 
renunciation,  namely,  a  promise  to  avoid 
going  to  theatres. 

St.  Chrysostom  wishes  that  all  would 
fly  from  theatres  as  from  a  plague. 

Tertullian,  in  his  book  on  "  Spectacles^' 
shows  and  proves  that  the  Christian 
religion  has  an  extreme  aversion  for  all 
sorts  of  public  amusements,  that  it  abhors 
them,  and  it  cannot  in  any  way  approve 
of  them. 


THEATRES,  BALLS,   ETC. 


239 


Minutius  Felix  inveighs  against  dan- 
gerous pastimes  in  an  "  Apology  "  he  pub- 
lished in  defence  of  the  Christians. 

F^NELON. 

Although  balls  and  dancing  be  recrea- 
tions in  their  own  nature  indifferent,  yet, 
according  to  the  ordinary  manner  in  which 
they  are  conducted,  they  preponderate 
very  much  on  the  side  of  evil,  and  are,  in 
consequence,  extremely  dangerous.  Being 
generally  carried  on  in  the  darkness  and 
obscurity  of  night,  it  is  by  no  means 
surprising  that  several  vicious  circum- 
stances should  obtain  easy  admittance, 
since  the  subject  is  of  itself  so  susceptible 
of  evil.  The  amateurs  of  these  diversions, 
by  sitting  up  late  at  night,  disable  them- 
selves from  discharging  their  duty  to  God 
on  the  morning  of  the  day  following. 

Is  it  not,  then,  a  kind  of  madness  to 
exchange  the  day  for  the  night,  light  for 
darkness,  and  good  works  for  criminal 
fooleries }  Every  one  strives  who  shall 
carry  most  vanity  to  the  ball ;  and  vanity 
is  so  congenial  to  evil  affections  as  well  as 
to  dangerous  familiarities  that  both  are 
easily  engendered  by  dancing 

Balls,  dancing,  and  other  nocturnal 
meetings  ordinarily  attract  the  reigning 
vices  and  sins  together,  namely,  quarrels, 
€nvy,  scoffing,  and  wanton  loves ;  and  as 
these  exercises  open  the  pores  of  the 
todies  of  those  that  use  them,  so  they  rJso 
open  the  pores  of  their  hearts,  and  expose 
them  to  the  danger  of  some  serpent  taking 
the  advantage  to  breathe  loose  words  or 
lascivious  suggestions  into  the  ear,  or  of  a 


basilisk  casting  an  impure  look  or  wanton 
glance  of  love  into  the  heart,  which,  being 
thus  opened,  is  easily  seized  upon  and 
poisoned. 

These  idle  recreations  are  ordinarily 
very  dangerous ;  they  chase  away  the 
spirit  of  devotion,  and  leave  the  soul  in  a 
languishing  condition  ;  they  cool  the  fer- 
vor of  charity,  and  excite  a  thousand  evil 
affections  in  the  soul,  and  therefore  they 
are  not  to  be  used  but  with  the  greatest 
caution. 

But  physicians  say,  that  after  mush- 
rooms we  must  drink  good  wine ;  and  I 
say,  that  after  dancing  it  is  necessary  to 
refresh  our  souls  with  good  and  holy  con- 
siderations, to  prevent  the  baneful  effects 
of  these  dangerous  impressions,  which  the 
vain  pleasure  taken  in  dancing  may  have 
left  in  our  minds.  But  what  consider- 
ations } 

1.  Consider  that  during  the  time  you 
were  at  the  ball  innumerable  souls  were 
burning  in  the  flames  of  hell,  for  the  sins 
they  had  committed  in  dancing,  or  were 
occasioned  by  their  dances. 

2.  That  many  religious  and  devout 
persons,  of  both  sexes,  were  at  that  very 
time  in  the  presence  of  God,  singing  His 
praises  and  contemplating  His  beauty. 
Ah  !  how  much  more  profitably  was  their 
time  employed  than  yours  ! 

3.  That  whilst  you  were  dancing  many 
souls  departed  out  of  this  world  in  great 
anguish,  and  that  thousands  of  thousands 
of  men  and  women  then  suffered  great 
pains  in  their  beds,  in  hospitals,  in  the 
streets,  by  the  gout,  the  stone,  or  burning 


240 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


fevers.  Alas !  they  had  no  rest,  and  will 
you  have  no  compassion  for  them  ?  And 
do  you  not  think  that  you  shall  one  day 
groan  as  they  did,  whilst  others  shall 
dance  as  you  did  ? 

4.  That  our  Blessed  Saviour,  His 
Virgin  Mother,  the  Angels  and  Saints, 
beheld  you  at  the  ball.  Ah  !  how  greatly 
did  they  pity  you,  seeing  your  heart 
pleased  with  so  vain  an  amusement,  and 
taken  up  with  such  childish  toys  ! 

5.  Alas !  whilst  you  were  there,  Time 
was  passing  away,  and  Death  was 
approaching  nearer :  behold  how  he 
mocks  you,  and  invites  you  to  his  dance, 
in  which  the  groans  of  your  friends  shall 
serve  for  the  music,  and  where  you  shall 
make  but  one  step  from  this  life  to  the 
next.     The  dance  of  death  is,  alas !  the 


true  pastime  of  mortals,  since  by  it  wc 
instantly  pass  from  the  vain  amusements 
of  this  world  to  the  eternal  pains  or  pleas- 
ures of  the  next. 

I  have  set  you  down  these  little  con- 
siderations. God  will  suggest  to  you 
many  more  to  the  like  effect,  provided  you 
fear  Him. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales. 
Devout  Life. 

I  know   not   where  you  will  find  more 

corruption    and   vice    than    in  a   theatre. 

Beautiful   language  causes   sin   to  appear 

charming,  and  fine  poetry  and  a  pleasing 

delivery  seduce  the  mind,  and  lead  it  as 

it  wills. 

Lanctantius.* 


*This  great  orator  lived  in  the  third  century. 


On  IC'fiE^t,  LarcEny,  ^tc. 


PiRE  Lejeune  de  l'Oratoire. 
"  Woe  to  him  that  heapeth  together  that  which  is  not  his  own."  —  Habacuc  ii.  6. 


T  is  seldom  indeed  that  larceny 
and  injustice  can  be  separated 
from  avarice ;  at  any  rate,  the 
wrong  inflicted  on  one's  neigh- 
bor is  the  same.  This  is  what 
the  prophet  Osee  insinuates, 
when  he  says  that  theft  has  spread  like 
the  Deluge  amongst  men. 

No  need,  my  brethren,  to  confine  thieves 
to  the  woods  and  forests  ;  they  are  to  be 
found  everywhere,  and  however  infamous 
this  vice  may  be,  there  are  very  many  in 
the  world,  who,  although  looked  upon  as 
honest,  respectable  men,  are  quite  as  guilty. 
It  is  very  true  that  when  we  hear,  as  we 
often  do,  of  highwaymen  and  house- 
breakers breaking  into  houses  and 
carrying  off  all  they  can,  respectable  men 
are  not  to  be  found  in  their  company ;  but 
when  it  has  been  shown  that  there  are 
many  kinds  of  larceny  which  the  world 
does  not  consider  as  shameful,  nay,  even 
some  are  looked  upon  as  honorable,  you 
must  then  be  convinced  that  the  prophet 
is  right,  when  he  says,  that  "  Theft  is 
spread  amongst  men  like  a  deluge." 

241 


If  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that  those 
who  have  acquired  riches  through  defraud- 
ing another  of  his  property  can  be  saved 
without  making  restitution,  when  they 
have  the  power  to  do  so  ;  it  is  also,  on  the 
other  hand,  almost  impossible  that  they 
could  do  so,  if  they  are  possessed  with  a 
vicious  self-interested  passion. 

One  may  say  that  this  kind  of  impossi' 
bility  is  to  be  found  in  the  moral  actions 
of  men,  where  there  are  so  many  difficul- 
ties which  hinder  them  from  putting  them 
into  execution,  where  there  are  so  many 
obstacles  to  overcome,  and  where  miracles 
of  graces  are  needed  to  induce  us  to  make 
extraordinary  efforts. 

Experience  has  shown  us  that  the 
restitution  of  stolen  property  should  be 
placed  in  the  rank  of  impossibilities  of 
this  kind,  since  out  of  the  incalculable 
number  of  persons  who  have  been  unjust 
enough  to  defraud,  very  few  indeed  have 
been  found  who  have  been  just  and 
honorable  enough  to  restore  it.  Almost 
all  the  restitutions  that  are  made  consist 
of  some  crowns  which  a  servant  may  have 


242 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC, 


Stolen  from  his  master;  but,  for  those 
thieves  who  retain  large  sums  of  others' 
property,  those  money-lenders,  whose 
riches  consist  of  accumulations  of  usurious 
interest,  those  masters  of  chicanery,  who 
have  cunningly  obtained  through  favor, 
friends,  or  court  influence,  property  which 
was  not  theirs,  —  to  gentry  such  as  these 
it  would  be  useless  to  speak  of  restitution ; 
it  would  be  a  recommendation  to  which 
they  would  not  willingly  listen. 

That  shows  that  there  is  a  species  of 
secret  impossibility  in  an  act  of  justice 
which,  in  practice,  we  find  so  rare. 

It  is  not,  say  you,  our  intention  to  die 
holding  the  property  of  another  person ; 
it  is  our  intention  to  return  it  through  our 
will,  but  not  now.  What  if  you  die 
without  making  your  last  will,  what  will 
fiappen  then  }  And  if  your  will  is  not 
properly  drawn  up  or  not  properly  attested, 
your  heirs  may  easily  upset  the  will,  or 
fail  to  carry  out  your  intentions  ;  what 
will  become  of  you  then  .?  And  even  if 
all  this  should  not  occur,  do  you  not  see 
that  by  deferring  to  make  restitution, 
which  you  could  now  do,  you  render  it 
most  difficult,  since  you  would  be  com- 
pelled not  only  to  pay  the  principal,  but 
it  would  be  incumbent  on  you  to  make 
some  satisfaction  for  the  injury  caused  by 
your  delay. 

You  cannot  keep  for  long  those  ill- 
gotten  goods ;  they  will  be  the  cause  of 
an  unhappiness  which  will  last  forever. 
Notwithstanding  you  hold  it  now,  you 
must,  when  you  die,  leave  that  money 
which  you  cannot  now  give  up,   and  you 


will  then  be  compelled  to  do  necessarily 
and  fruitlessly  what  you  could  now  do 
willingly  and  meritoriously.  Ah  !  would 
it  not  be  much  better  to  make  a  willing 
restitution  now,  than  to  make  it  at  the 
hour  of  death,  when,  perchance,  you  may 
do  it  with  regret,  through  constraint,  and 
without  reward  ?  Would  it  not  be  better, 
says  St.  Bernard,  to  despise  those  benefits 
with  honor  and  with  an  interior  conscien- 
tious satisfaction,  than  to  lose  them  and 
part  with  them  all  with  a  great  but  useless 
grief  .-•  Would  it  not  be  far  more  prudent 
to  give  them  up  willingly  for  the  love  of 
Christ,  than  to  leave  them  behind  you, 
whether  you  like  it  or  not .'' 

I  tell  you  now,  beseechingly,  since  it  is 
for  the  salvation  of  your  soul,  Redde  quod 
debes —  Return  what  thou  owest.  Ah  ! 
have  some  compassion  on  yourself; 
restore  to  that  tradesman,  to  that  work- 
man, that  servant,  what  you  owe  them, 
make  some  reparation  to  that  poor  widow 
whose  pittance  you  have  kept  back,  repair 
the  injury  you  have  inflicted  on  that  poor 
family  by  the  sale  of  worthless  shares  ;  in 
a  word,  give  up  property  which  does  not 
belong  to  you.  Redde  quod  debes  —  Pay 
what  you  owe. 

I  say  this  now,  beseechingly,  but  recol- 
lect that  Death  will  one  day  sternly  say, 
"  Depart,  wretched  man ;  leave  a  housa 
which  is  not  legitimately  yours ;  leave 
behind  thee  monies  which  you  cannot 
carry  away  with  you." 

Le  PtRE  Lejeune  de  l'Oratoire. 
Sur  le  Larcin. 


^^@i)@i^ 


Saints  Chrysostom,  Ambrose,  and  Alphonse  Rodriguez,  S.J. 
Let  us  not  b€  made  desirous  of  vainglory,  provoking  one  another."  —  Galatians  v.  26. 


HE  yearning  after  glory  is  a 
strange  passion.  It  displays 
itself  in  a  hundred  different 
ways.  Some  wish  to  be  hon- 
ored, some  wish  to  be  in  regal 
power,  some  aspire  to  be  rich, 
and  others  sigh  to  be  strong  and  robust. 

This  tyrannic  passion,  passing  still  fur- 
ther on,  induces  some  to  seek  for  glory  by 
their  alms-deeds,  others  by  their  fasts  and 
mortifications,  some  by  their  ostentatious 
prayers,  others  by  their  learning  and  sci- 
ence ;  so  various  are  the  forms  of  this 
monster  vice. 

One  need  not  be  astonished  that  men 
seek  after  the  emoluments  and  grandeur 
of  this  world,  but  what  is  more  astonish- 
ing (and  what  more  blamable),  that  any 
one  can  be  found  who  is  proud  and  vain 
of  his  good  works,  of  his  fasts,  his  prayers, 
and  of  his  alms.  I  confess  that  I  am 
pierced  to  the  heart  when  I  see  such  holy 
actions  tarnished  by  secret  vanity.  I  feel 
as  much  grieved  as  I  should  be  if  I  heard 
of  an  illustrious  princess,  of  whom  much 

243 


was  expected,  giving  herself  up  to  all  sorts 
of  debauchery  and  vice. 

Men  soon  find  that  there  is  no  one  more 
importunate  than  he  who,  filled  with  vain- 
glory, praises  himself,  gives  himself  airs, 
and  places  on  his  head  a  wreath  of 
incense.  He  is  laughed  at  for  his  vanity, 
and  the  more  they  notice  that  he  boasts  of 
himself,  the  more  they  endeavor  to  humili- 
ate him. 

In  fact,  the  more  you  try  to  attract  the 
praise  of  the  world  by  your  own  vanity 
and  vainglory,  the  more  will  people  either 
avoid  you  or  laugh  at  you. 

Thus  it  happens  that  the  result  is  con- 
trary to  our  expectations  ;  we  are  anxious 
that  the  world  should  praise  us,  and 
exclaim,  "  What  a  good  man  !  how  char- 
itable he  is  !  "  But  people  will  say,  "  What 
a  vain  man !  how  easy  to  see  that  he 
wishes  to  please  men,  rather  than  please 
God." 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  hide  the  good 
you  do,  it  is  then  that  God  will  praise  you ; 
He  even  will  not  allow  any  holy  action  to 


244 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


remain  long  concealed.  You  may  try  to 
suppress  the  performance  of  good  deeds ; 
He  will  take  care  to  make  them  known, 
aye,  better  known  than  you  could  possi- 
bly have  intended. 

You  see,  then,  that  there  is  nothing 
more  antagonistic  to  glory  and  honor, 
when  you  seek  to  do  good  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  being  seen,  known,  and 
admired. 

It  is  the  way  of  doing  quite  the  con- 
trary to  what  you  intended,  since,  instead 
of  showing  off  your  goodness,  you  will 
only  cause  your  vanity  to  be  known  to  all 
men,  and  punished  by  Almighty  God. 

This  vice  seems,  as  it  were,  to  smother 
all  our  reasoning  faculties,  so  much  so, 
that  one  would  say  that  he  who  is  a  slave 
to  vainglory  had  lost  his  senses. 

You  would  look  upon  that  man  as  a 
madman  who,  being  short  of  stature, 
would  really  believe  that  he  was  growing 
so  tall  that  he  would  soon  be  able  to  look 
down  on  the  highest  mountain.  After 
this  extravagance,  you  would  need  no 
further  proof  of  his  insanity. 

So,  in  like  manner,  when  you  see  a  man 
who  considers  himself  to  be  above  all  his 
fellow-creatures,  and  would  be  offended 
were  he  compelled  to  mix  with  the  com- 
mon herd  of  men,  you  would  seek  for  no 
other  proof  of  his  madness.  He  is  even 
more  ridiculous  than  those  who  have  lost 
the  use  of  reason,  for  he  voluntarily 
reduces  himself  to  that  pitiable  state  of 
extravagant  folly. 

St.  Chrysostom. 

Fifty-eight  on  St.  Matthew. 


Public  approbation  has  but  little  effect 
on  a  man  who  has  acted  from  good  and 
conscientious  motives  ;  such  a  man  mer- 
its as  much  again  as  he  seems  to  have 
disregarded  before. 

Those  who  seek  with  too  much  eager- 
ness for  the  esteem  and  applause  of  the 
world,  receive  during  this  life  the  reward 
of  their  good  works,  but  merit  nothing 
for  eternity.  This  is  a  maxim  drawn  from 
Holy  Scripture. 

I,  however,  tell  you,  that  all  those  alms 
that  are  given  to  create  a  sensation  are 
not  meritorious  ;  that  those  who,  with  a 
flourish  of  trumpets,  proclaim  to  the  world 
the  good  they  have  done,  have  already 
received  their  reward ;  and  even  those 
who  make  a  parade  of  their  fasts  and  mor- 
tifications lose  all  the  merit  by  vain  osten- 
tation. 

Our  Saviour  teaches  us  to  do  good  by 
stealth.  It  is  God,  not  men,  we  ought  to 
study  to  please.  The  reward  which  men 
can  give  us  is  frivolous  and  transient,  but 
God  reserves  for  us  an  infinite  reward,  an 
eternal  recompense. 

St.  Ambrose. 

OfficA. 

All  the  saints  admonish  us  to  be  on  our 
guard  against  vainglory,  because,  say  they, 
it  is  a  cunning  thief,  which  often  steals 
from  us  our  best  actions,  and  which  insin- 
uates itself  so  secretly,  that  it  has  struck 
its  blow  even  before  we  have  perceived  it. 
St.  Gregory  says  that  vainglory  is  like  a 
robber,  who  first  craftily   insinuates   him^ 


VAINGLORY. 


245 


self  into  the  company  of  a  traveller,  pre- 
tending to  go  the  same  way  as  he  does, 
and  afterwards  robs  and  kills  him  when  he 
is  least  upon  his  guard,  and  when  he  thinks 
himself  most  secure.  "  I  confess,"  says 
the  saint,  in  the  last  chapter  of  his  Morals, 
"  that  when  I  go  about  to  examine  my 
own  intention,  even  while  I  am  writing 
this,  I  think  that  I  have  no  other  will  than 
to  please  God ;  but  notwithstanding,  while 
I  am  not  upon  my  guard,  I  find  that  a  cer- 
tain desire  of  pleasing  men  intermixes  itself, 
and  methinks  I  feel  some  vain  satisfaction 
for  having  performed  it  well.  How  it 
comes  to  pass  I  know  not,  but  I  perceive 
that,  while  I  go  on,  what  I  do  is  not  so 
free  from  dust  and  chaff  as  it  was  in  the 
beginning.  For  I  know  that  I  began  it  at 
first   with  the  sole  view  of  pleasing  God  ; 


but  now  I  perceive  other  considerations 
mixing  themselves,  which  render  my 
intention  less  upright  and  pure  than  it 
was." 

What  sufficiently  demonstrates  the 
deformity  of  the  vice  is  that  the  saints 
and  divines  rank  it  amongst  those  sins 
ordinarily  called  mortal,  or  which  are 
more  properly  styled  capital  sins  ;  because 
they  are,  as  it  were,  the  head  and  source 
of  all  others.  Some  reckon  eight  of  this 
nature,  and  say  that  the  first  is  anger  and 
the  second  vainglory ;  but  the  common 
opinion  of  saints,  and  that  which  is 
received  by  the  Church,  is  that  there  are 
seven  capital  sins. 

Alphonse  Rodriguez,  S.  J. 
See  next  "  Half  Hour,''  No.  96. 


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j^M^  ^k^  :^ifc  :^ifc 
^           W            ^            ^ 

CHAPTER 

XCVI. 

•I* 

•l^ 

ON  OaR   BAB 

PASSIONS. 

-01- 

• 

,, .li.i..l..ll«li«ii.ll«ll.n.l..il.ii.ii.li.i..lilii.iilMin.i.. 11.11. 11. illn.ii. mil. 11.11. 11. M*ilMiiii,i. ..•„■■„. „.,„„1P1. 111.1.11. nil. ■II1..I. II. n. 11. 11.11. 11. 11.11. 

■^      ^^       ^fe      ^^ 

•s^            ^^^              '^             ^^^ 

P^RES  Rodriguez,  Nepvue,  and  St.  Philip  Nkri. 
"  For  this  cause  God  delivered  them  up  to  shameful  afflictions." —  Romans  i.  26.    . 


'LPHONSE  RODRIGUEZ,  the 
Jesuit  Father,  was  born  at  Valla- 
dolid  in  1526.  For  some  years 
he  was  Professor  of  Moral  The- 
ology, and  was  afterwards  Rector 
of  Monte  Rey,  in  Galicia.  With 
this  office,  he  united  that  of 
Master  of  Novices,  among  whom  he  had  the 
honor  of  instructing  the  learned  Suarez.  He 
died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  at  Seville,  on  the 
aist  of  February,  16 16,  at  the  great  age  of 
ninety.  This  pious  Jesuit  Father  is  chiefly 
known  as  the  author  of  "  Practice  of  Christian 
Perfection,"  a  work  which  should  be  read 
over  and  over  again  by  every  Catholic.  An 
excellent  edition  of  this  work,  for  the  laity,  is 
published  in  two  volumes  by  Burns,  Gates 
&Co. 

We  must  not  confound  this  father  with  the 
Blessed  Alphonse  Rodriguez,  a  lay  brother, 
who  died  at  Majorca,  October  31,  i6i7»,  and 
whose  beatification  was  decreed  by  Clement 
XIII.  and  Leo  XII. 

Pagan  philosophers  all  agree  that 
wisdom  consists  in  a  tranquillity  of  the 
soul,  which  it  enjoys  when  the  sensual 
appetites  are  entirely  subdued.  It  is  then 
that,  there  being  no  violent  passions  to 
trouble  the  peace  of  the  soul  by  inordinate 

24S 


desires,  or  by  darkening  the  understand- 
ing, which  is  sure  to  be  the  case  when 
they  are  in  agitation ;  for  the  peculiar 
property  of  passion  is  to  blind  the  reason 
and  diminish  within  us  the  liberty  of  our 
own  free  will. 

But,  when  the  passions  are  lulled,  the 
understanding  has  purer  lights  to  know 
what  is  right,  and  the  will  has  freer  liberty 
to  embrace  what  is  correct  and  good. 

Now,  this  peace  and  quietude  God 
wishes  to  find  in  our  heart,  in  order  that 
He  may  dwell  therein,  and  wills  to  infuse 
wisdom  within  us,  and  to  bestow  His 
graces  upon  us.  The  mortification  of  our 
passions  and  the  control  of  our  appetites 
are  the  only  means  of  obtaining  that  peace 
and  of  securing  that  tranquillity. 

One  can  obtain  peace  only  by  going  to 
war ;  if  you  do  not  wish  to  battle  with 
your  passions,  to  curb  your  inordinate 
desires,  to  gain  a  victory  over  self,  you 
will  never  obtain  that  peace,  and  you  will 
never  be  master  of  yourself  if  you  are  not 
the  conqueror. 


CHRIST     RAISING   LAZARUS. 


OUR  BAD  PASSIONS. 


247 


It  mu«=t  \.p  reckoned  as  a  certain  truth 
that  the  intemperateness  of  our  appetites 
and  the  perverse  inclinations  of  our  flesh 
are  the  greatest  obstacles  we  have,  not 
only  to  our  salvation,  but,  still  more,  to 
our  progress  in  virtue. 

What  has  often  been  said  is,  that  the 
flesh  is  our  greatest  enemy,  because,  in 
fact,  from  that  spring  all  our  bad  passions, 
all  our  disorders  and  our  falls.  "  From 
whence  are  wars  and  contentions  among 
you  ?  "  says  the  Apostle  James  :  "  are  they 
not  hence  from  your  concupiscences  which 
war  in  your  members  ? " 

Sensuality,  concupiscence,  and  the  unruli- 
ness  of  self-love  are  the  cause  of  all  our 
wars  in  our  members,  of  all  the  sins,  of  all 
the  imperfections  we  commit,  and  conse- 
quently are  the  greatest  hindrance  we 
meet  with  in  our  way  of  perfection  and 
salvation. 

From  whence  it  is  easy  to  see  that  real 
mortification  consists  in  repairing  the  dis- 
order of  our  passions,  that  is  to  say,  by 
overcoming  the  evil  propensities  of  our 
passions  and  the  obstinacy  of  our  self- 
f*  love. 

A.  Rodriguez,  S.  J. 
On  Mortification. 

One  can  safely  say  that  there  is  no 
Yirtue  more  recommended  by  Jesus  Christ 
than  the  mortification  of  our  passions, 

A  large  portion  of  the  Gospel  tends  to 
make  us  understand  its  necessity,  and 
there  is  no  truth  more  often  repeated, 
more  often  expressed.  You  read  therein 
of  the   cross,   of  sufferings,  of  death,   of 


denying  yourself,  of  hatred  of  self,  of  the 
violence  we  must  use,  of  the  narrow  way 
whereon  we  must  necessarily  enter. 

At  one  time  our  Saviour  tells  us  that  he 
who  wishes  to  come  after  Me  must  deny 
himself,  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  Me ; 
at  another  time.  He  assures  us  that  since 
the  preaching  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  that 
is  to  say,  since  the  promulgation  of  the 
new  law,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  only 
taken  by  violence,  and  that  only  those 
who  use  violence  can  gain  it  ;  at  another 
time  He  tells  us  that  the  road  which  leads 
to  life  is  narrow,  and  there  are  few  who 
enter  on  it,  and  it  is  on  that  account  He 
exhorts  us  to  enter  thereon. 

Now,  what  does  our  Lord  wish  to  infer 
from  this  necessity  of  carrying  one's 
cross,  of  denying  one's  self,  of  entering 
into  the  narrow  path,  of  doing  violence } 
He  points  out  the  obligation  we  all  have 
of  repressing  the  bent  of  our  natural  incli- 
nations, which,  coming  from  a  corrupt 
source,  are  always  unruly,  and  of  continu- 
ally fighting  against  our  passions,  espe- 
cially those  which  are  the  most  dangerous, 
because  they  all  usually  lead  to  evil  conse- 
quences. 

If  mortification  is  a  remedy  for  past 
sins,  it  is  a  preservative  against  evils  to 
come.  We  have,  as  children  of  Adam, 
received  with  our  inherited  original  sin  a 
strong  repugnance  to  do  good,  a  violent 
inclination  to  do  that  which  is  wrong ;  we 
cannot  get  rid  of  this  inclination.  Can 
we  give  in  to  this  repugnance  without 
falling  into  disorder  "i  Neither  can  we  safely 
resist     without    using    violence,    without 


248 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


incessantly  battling  with  our  bad  passions  ; 
and  is  not  this  the  chief  exercise  of  Chris- 
tian mortification  ? 

We  are  all  born  proud,  ambitious,  chol- 
eric, vindictive,  self-interested,  sensual  — 
this  we  are  naturally- — you  see,  then,  that 
we  must  cease  to  be  wicked  if  we  wish  to 
be  Christians,  if  we  are  anxious  to  work 
out  our  salvation. 

To  effect  this,  must  we  not  always 
vratch  over  ourselves,  must  we  not  ever  be 


engaged  in  a  spiritual  combat,  and,  con 
sequently,  must  we  not  practise  continual 
mortification  ? 

Le   PfeRE   NEPVUE. 
Esprit  du  Christianisme. 

To  mortify  one  passion,  no  matter  how 
small,  is  a  greater  help  in  the  spiritual  life 
than  many  abstinences,  fasts,  and  disd- 
plines. 

St.  Philip  Neri. 


W^^W^^j 


'% 


ALMS-BEEBS. 


^ 


PfeRE  HouDRY,  St.  Chrysostom,  and  Father  Faber. 

"According  to  thy  ability,  be  merciful.     If  thou  have  much,  give  abundantly;  if  thou  have  little, 
take  care  even  so  to  bestow  willingly  a  little."  —  Tobias  iv.  8. 


F  the  great  advantage  to  be  de- 
rived from  almsgiving,  and  of 
the  love  which  we  ought  to 
feel  in  bestowing,  with  liberal- 
ity, every  kind  of  help  to  the 
'  '  poor,   there   is   nothing    more 

impressive  than  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mat- 
thew, where  the  Apostle  relates  what  our 
Saviour  will  say  and  do  on  the  last  great 
day  —  the  day  of  judgment. 

The  elect  are  ranged  on  the  right,  and 
the  reprobate  on  the  left.  Jesus,  fixing 
His  eyes  on  the  wicked  on  the  left,  will 
pronounce  those  terrible  words :  "Go!  ye 
accursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  And  to 
justify  this  frightful  sentence.  He  will 
add :  "  I  was  hungry,  and  you  gave  Me 
nothing  to  eat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  you 
gave  Me  no  drink ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
you  had  no  wish  to  receive  Me;  I  was 
naked,  and  you  clothed  Me  not;  I  was 
sick,  and  you  did  not  pay  Me  a  single 
visit.  Go  !  ye  accursed,  depart  from  Me." 
Listen  and  tremble,  you  who,  far  from 
protecting   the  widow   and   orphan,  have 


unjustly  oppressed  them ;  you,  who  are 
enriched  with  the  spoils  of  the  unfortu- 
nate ;  you,  who  have  heard,  without  being 
moved,  their  complaints  and  their  groans ; 
you,  who  have  even  insulted  their  pov- 
erty ;  you,  who,  by  taking  advantage  of  a 
bad  season,  have  rendered  the  poor  more 
miserable  by  assisting  in  keeping  up  or 
by  raising  the  price  of  necessaries,  or  by 
usurious  interest  have  drained  their  little 
savings ;  you,  in  fine,  who  have  designedly 
shut  up  your  bowels  of  compassion, — 
come  and  hear  the  Supreme  Judge  pro- 
nounce the  sentence  of  your  condem- 
nation. Discedite,  maledicti — Withdraw 
from  me,  ye  accursed.  And  where  are 
they  to  go,  Lord  .^  Iti  ignetn  ceternum  — 
Into  eternal  fire.     Why.? 

Because,  says  the  Lord,  I  was  hungry, 
and  you  gave  Me  nothing  to  eat  —  Esurivi 
enint  et  non  dedisti  mihi  tnaiiducare.  I 
was  ill,  and  in  prison,  and  you  have  not 
visited  Me — Infirmus  et  hi  carcere,  et  non 
visitastis  me.  I  have  suffered  extreme 
want,  in  the  persons  of  My  poor,  which 
you  ought  to  have  looked   upon   as   My 


250 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


members,  and  you  have  not  seen  to  this. 
It  is  thus  that  the  Lord  of  Justice,  on  the 
day  of  wrath,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
world,  will  compel  the  merciless  rich  to 
seal  their  own  condemnation. 

Can  one,  after  that,  question  the  obliga- 
tion of  this  precept,  since  the  Supreme 
Judge  seems  to  forget  the  other  breaches 
of  His  laws,  to  condemn  the  sinner  on 
this  precept  alone. ^ 

R.  P.  Vincent  Houdry,  S.  J. 

St.  Chrysostom,  in  his  Homily  on  this 
subject,  says  that  God,  when  He  deigned 
to  become  Incarnate,  was  so  united  to 
poverty,  with  such  an  inexpressible  union, 
that  the  poor  is  a  tabernacle  where  God  is 
hidden,  in  the  same  way  as  He  is  veiled  in 
our  ciboriums.  So  that  it  is  the  poor  who 
beg,  but  it  is  God  who  receives  the  alms ; 
God  is  our  debtor,  and  it  is  the  Almighty 
who  wishes  to  repay  us.  By  this  means, 
although  He  is  invisible.  He  is  still  with 
us  in  the  person  of  His  poor.  He  receives 
the  alms,  and,  in  return.  He  loads  us  with 
His  graces  and  blessings. 

St.  Chrysostom. 

I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that  a 
professedly    pious    person,   who    is    very 


guarded  in  giving  alms,  has  the  genuine 
spirit  of  inward  repentance.  Now,  in  the 
present  day,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see 
pious  people  acting  as  if  they  really 
thought  their  piety  in  other  respects  was 
almost  a  dispensation  from  almsgiving. 
Others,  again,  when  they  give,  give  in 
ways  which  minister  to  their  own  humors  ; 
so  that,  even  in  almsgiving,  self-love  shall 
find  its  account. 

Moreover,  generosity  is  not  almsgiving. 
The  quantity  given  must  have  reference 
to  the  means  of  the  giver,  but  more  to 
the  amount  of  sacrifice  and  self-denial 
which  his  alms  entail  upon  him.  Expen- 
siveness  is  perhaps  not  a  distinct  sin  in 
itself,  though  even  that  may  be  ques- 
tioned ;  but  it  is  the  mother  of  many  sins, 
and  it  is  remarkably  uncongenial  to  the 
spiritual  life.  Yet  pious  people  are  par- 
ticularly given  to  be  expensive,  when  they 
have  the  means. 

An  alms  which  does  not  put  the  giver 
to  inconvenience  is  rather  a  kindness  than 
an  alms  ;  and  certainly  the  alms  which  is 
to  be  a  satisfactory  evidence  of  inward 
repentance  ought  to  reach  the  point  of 
causing  some  palpable  inconvenience,  of 
involving  some  solid  self-denial. 

Father  Faber  (Orat.). 
spiritual  Conferences, 


^ 


CHAPTER  XCVIII. 


'^B^''^^?— - 


K  tCeepiRg  \9ie.  Q©ai{n(SLnd(ne.n{§. 


T 


T 


^^^i 


PfeRE  Lambert. 


"  My  son,  keep  my  commandments,  and  thou  shalt  live ;  and  my  law  as  the  apple  of  thy  eye." 

—  Proverbs  vii.  i. 


HE  word  Decalogue  signifies  a 
law  which  comprises  ten  com- 
mandments, the  purely  excel- 
lent, the  most  just,  and  the 
most  comformable  to  the  law 
of  equity  that  could  be  given 
to  the  world,  whether  we  consider  the 
author,  who  is  God  Himself ;  whether  we 
look  to  their  end  since  they  have  for  their 
aim,  not  a  decaying  or  perishable  benefit, 
but  an  eternity  of  happiness  ;  whether,  in 
fine,  we  consider  the  things  they  contain, 
since  therein  there  is  no  virtue  which  they 
do  not  command,  no  vice  they  do  not 
forbid. 

St.  Augustine  says  the  Decalogue  is 
an  abridgment  of  every  law  {Qucsst.  401, 
sufi.  Exodus).  St.  Augustine  also  says 
that  in  the  new  law  the  commandments 
are  less  numerous,  more  easy,  and  more 
beneficial. 

The  law  of  God,  does  it  appear  to  us  to 
be  difficult?  It  is  because  we  have  so 
little  love.  The  law  of  God,  in  all  that  it 
embraces,  is  sweet  to  him  whose  heart  is 
full    of    charity.      Love,  says    St.     John, 

Ml 


consists   in  keeping  His   commandments, 
and  His  commandments  are  not  painful. 

They  are  not  painful  when  love  induces 
us  to  keep  them.  If  they  should  appear 
to  be  painful  or  laborious,  it  is  that  your 
heart  is  full  of  the  love  of  the  world,  full 
of  self-love,  and  destitute  of  the  love  of 
God.  St.  Augustine  makes  our  Saviour 
speak,  and  puts  into  His  mouth  the 
following  words  and  complaints  :  Avarice 
commands  the  hardest  tasks  ;  see  what  I 
command,  and  make  the  comparison. 
Avarice  induces  men  to  cross  the  seas,  to 
go  into  unknown,  undiscovered  countries, 
and  a  thousand  perils  are  eagerly  sought. 
Avarice  is  obeyed,  all  My  commandments 
are  set  at  nought.  Is  it .  not  shameful 
that  the  world  should  have  more  authority 
than  God  1  that  they  should  plead  difficulty 
when  it  is  God  who  speaks,  that  they 
should  daily  surmount  the  most  difficult 
obstacles,  when  it  is  a  question  of  pleasing 
or  getting  on  in  the  world  1 

It  is  a  general  principle  in  all  that  God 
enjoins,  that  He  asks  and  seeks  first  above 
all  —  our   hearts.       Does   not   God   com- 


252 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


mand  us  to  give  alms  ?  He  wishes, 
however,  that  we  should  do  these  acts  of 
charity  from  a  pure  motive,  that  is  to  say, 
from  the  heart ;  and  He  Himself  says 
that  He  loves  the  cheerful  giver.  God 
asks  us  for  good  works,  exterior  homage, 
proofs  of  our  entire  dependence  on  Him  as 
His  creatures.  He  gives  us  to  understand 
that  if  these  good  works  do  not  proceed 
from  the  heart,  He  will  reject  such  gifts, 
and  class  us  with  those  hypocrites  who 
honor  Him  with  their  lips,  whilst  their 
hearts  are  far  from  Him. 

Those,  then,  are  displeasing  to  God  who 
in  their  heart  disown  actions  which  they 
consider  they    are     obliged  to    perform 


through  a  natural  human  benevolence,  or 
through  a  love  of  display.  Those,  again, 
do  not  obey  the  commandments  as  they 
ought,^  who  indulge  in  murmuring,  grum- 
bling, and  in  seeking  for  excuses. 

It  was  the  fault  of  the  Jews  that  so 
often  caused  God  to  be  angry  with  them, 
for  their  mistrusts  and  murmurs. 

I  hear  the  Lord  complain  so  touchingly, 
"  How  long  will  this  impious  and  ungrate- 
ful people  murmur  against  me  }  "  {Numbers 
X.)  And  you  know  how  this  people  had 
been  punished,  and  with  what  severity 
God  chastised  them. 

Lambert. 
Ecclesiastical  Discourses. 


Vv9  (b  c)^sV£)  to  c)^sv9 


CHAPTER   XCIX. 


^ 
^1^ 


^^il# 


*     # 
#     #     #     #     # 


ON    CONSCIENCE. 


« 


# 


#      #      #      #      # 

Bourdaloue; 
"  Our  glory  is  here,  the  testimony  of  our  conscience." — 2  Corinthians  i.  12. 


T  the  very  moment  we  commit  a 
sin  we   feel  within  a  remorse 
of  conscience,  and  this  is  the 
reproach    for     the     sin     com- 
mitted.    Now  I  say  that   this 
remorse  is  a   grace,  for  what 
is  a  grace  ?    How  many  are  ignorant  of  it  ? 
or,  rather,  how  many  ignore  it,  although 
it  is  received  every  day  ?     Grace,  say  the 
theologians,  is  a  help  which  God  gives  to 
man,  in  order  that  he  may  act  upon  it,  and 
so  merit  heaven  ;  and,  if  he  be  a  sinner,  in 
order  that  he  may  work  out  his  salvation 
by  penance. 

Now  all  this  perfectly  tallies  with  that 
synderesis,  that  is  to  say,  to  that  remorse 
of  conscience  which  grows  within  us  after 
sin.  For  it  is  certain  that  God  is  the 
author  of  it,  that  it  is  solely  through  love 
that  He  excites  it  in  us,  and  that  He  uses 
it  as  a  means  of  working  out  our 
conversion. 

Whence  comes  the  conclusion  that  this 

remorse  has  all  the  qualities  of  a  genuine 

i^  grace.''  for  there  is  nothing  more  certain 

than  that  God  is  the  source  from  whence 

263 


it  arises,  since  the  Scripture  declares  chf 
same  thing  to  us  in  a  thousand  places. 
Yes,  it  is  I,  says  the  Almighty,  speaking 
to  a  sinner,  it  is  I  who  will  reproach  you 
for  the  enormity  of  your  sin.  When,  after 
committing  it,  your  conscience  disturbs 
you,  attribute  your  disquiet  to  Me,  and  do 
not  seek  elsewhere  from  whence  comes 
this  remorse.  A  hundred  times,  after 
having  yielded  to  temptation,  you  would 
try  to  conceal  from  yourself  your  cow- 
ardice ;  you  would  wish  to  turn  away  your 
eyes  so  as  not  to  see  your  sin  ;  and  you 
fancy  that  I  shall  do  the  same  and  fall  in 
with  your  notions,  but  you  deceive  your- 
self:  "Thou  thoughtest  unjustly,  that  I 
was  as  thyself"  (Ps.  xlix.)  ;  for,  being 
your  Lord  and  your  God,  I  will  always  be 
your  accuser,  and,  as  often  as  you  shall 
commit  an  offence  against  Me,  I  will, 
whether  you  will  or  not,  lay  before  you 
your  iniquity  and  the  horror  I  have  of  sin. 
"  I  will  reprove  thee,  and  set  them  before 
thy  face  "  (Ps.  xh'x.). 

You   see,  Christians,  how  that  God   is 
the   principal    author  of  remorse  of  con- 


254 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


science.  But  what  motive  has  He  for 
this  ?  I  have  said  that  it  is  through  love, 
through  a  miracle  of  His  goodness,  an 
effusion  of  His  mercy. 

Does  He  not  explain  Himself  to  the 
same  purpose  to  His  beloved  disciple  in 
the  Revelation  ?  Ego,  quod  amo,  arguo. 
Those  whom  I  love  I  rebuke  and  chastise 
{Apocalypse  xxxv)  ;  and  it  is  by  chastising 
them  that  I  show  my  love  for  them.  But 
what  occasion  for  other  testimony  than 
the  word  of  our  Saviour  when  He 
announced  to  His  apostles  the  coming  of 
the  Holy  Ghost :  "  When  He  shall  come, 
He  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin  "  {John 
xvi.).  And  by  whom  will  it  be  reproved  ? 
By  the  Spirit  of  truth,  which  I  shall  send 
for  that  purpose.  And  what  does  He 
mean  by  the  Spirit  of  truth  }  The  sub- 
stantial love  of  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
the  Divine  Person,  who  is  charity  itself. 
Observe,  then,  dear  brethren,  that  it  is 
the  love  of  God  which  reproves  when  we 
are  sinners  :  "  He  will  reprove  the  world 
of  sin."  And  now  is  there  the  least  room 
to  doubt  that  the  remorse  of  our  con- 
science is  not  a  grace  } 

It  is  not  an  external  but  an  internal 
grace,  as  it  is  in  the  very  bottom  of  our 
souls  that  this  gnawing  worm  of  remorse 
is  found.  Wherefore  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  tells  us  that  God  "hath  sent 
forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  our 
hearts,  crying  out  "  {Galatiatis  iv.).  This 
Divine  Spirit  (as  St.  Augustine  observes) 
cries  out,  not  after  the  manner  of  a 
preacher  who  speaks  to  us  and  reproaches 


us  with  the  viciousness  of  our  life  ;  for  not 
all  the  preachers  in  the  world  have  it  in 
their  power  to  probe  the  conscience  ;  and, 
however  their  words  may  strike  the  ear, 
they  are  far  from  reaching  the  human 
heart.  But  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  better 
to  be  heard  by  us,  holds,  as  I  may  say. 
His  place  in  the  centre  of  us  ;  and  from 
thence  (says  St.  Augustine)  He  inces- 
santly cries  out  in  opposition  to  our 
passions,  censures  our  pleasures,  and 
condemns  our  sins.  Ah  !  Christians,  can 
we  carry  our  ingratitude  to  that  pitch,  as 
to  think  the  contradiction  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  an  importunate  rigor,  and  not  con- 
fess that  it  is  a  gift  of  His  grace,  a  mercy 
on  the  sinner,  a  help  of  salvation,  and  a 
favorable  means  of  bringing  him  back  to 
God  }  Can  we  be  so  blind  as  to  suppose 
the  sting  which  pains  us  an  insupportable 
pain,  and  wish  to  be  rid  of  it  ^ 

No,  my  Lord,  we  will  never  entertain 
such  dangerous  notions  ;  and  as  we  are 
assured  that  it  is  Your  Spirit,  the  Divine 
Comforter,  which  infuses  these  salutary 
remorses  within  us,  we  will  always  receive 
them  as  benefactions  from  Thy  hand,  and 
far  from  complaining,  will  only  think  of 
giving  fresh  proofs  of  our  love  and  grati- 
tude, by  our  fidelity. 

BOURDALOUE. 

Front  his  Sermons. 

When  God  will  be  your  judge.  He  will 

require  no  better  witness  than  your  own 

conscience. 

St.  Augustike. 

Oh  Psalm  xxxvii 


CHAPTER     C. 


On  1^2  6onYBi|sion  o"^  ^innEi|s. 


i^ 


BouRDALOUE  and  PiRE  Houdry: 

"  If  you  seek  the  Lord  your  God  you  will  find  him,  provided  always,  you  seek  with  all  your  heart, 
and  in  the  bitter  tribulation  of  your  soul."  —  Deuteronomy  iv.  29. 


'T  is  an  error  to  maintain  that  the 
tears  our  Lord  shed,  dispense 
us  from  shedding  our  own,  for 
tears  are  indispensably  neces- 
sary, principally  those  which 
St.  Augustine  calls  the  tears 
of  the  heart,  since  it  is  by  these  is  com- 
menced our  spiritual  conversion. 

The  conversion  of  Magdalen  began  with 
tears :  C(Bpit  rigare  pedes  ejus.  She  wept 
more  for  herself  than  she  did  for  her 
brother  Lazarus. 

It  was  through  contrition  that  David 
expiated  his  sins,  for  he  wept  night  and 
day,  and  watered  his  couch  with  his  tears. 
It  was  by  that,  St.  Peter  blotted  out  his 
crime,  for  it  is  written,  that  he  went  out 
and  wept  bitterly. 

When  one  begs  pardon  for  a  fault,  we 
may  fail  of  convincing  others  of  our  sin- 
cerity, for  words  are  not  always  the  true 
interpreters  of  the  heart ;  but  with  respect 
to  tears,  they  have  less  cunning,  and  are 
far  more  eloquent,  because  they  disclose 
the  soul's  deepest  sorrow  :  Lacryma  totunt 
J)rodit  affectum. 

266 


It  is  in  this  that  consists  true  penance, 
an  index  of  an  abiding  sorrow  for  having 
offended  God,  which  then  prompts  us  to 
do  our  utmost  to  satisfy  His  justice. 

For  it  is  of  little  worth  to  acknowledge 
our  sins  (the  wicked,  the  hypocrite,  often 
see  their  crimes,  but  are  not  sufficiently 
aware  of  their  enormity),  but  we  must  also 
feel  an  inward  grief,  a  salutary  compunc- 
tion of  heart,  and  that  bitterness  of  soul 
which  the  Apostle  calls  sadness  unto 
God.  From  these  arise  our  sighs,  our 
wish  to  cover  our  head  with  ashes,  our 
dejected  look,  that  make  one  strike  the 
breast,  that  suggest  the  discipline  and 
hair-shirt ;  that  sorrow  from  which  pro- 
ceed deep  regrets  for  the  past,  fear  for  the 
future,  and  anguish  for  the  present ;  that 
sadness  which  complains  like  the  dove, 
and  which  make  tears  supply  the  place  of 
food,  according  to  the  expression  of  David. 

Infallible  are  the  marks  of  repentance, 
when  the  feelings  are  so  acute  that  it 
pierces  the  wounded  conscience ;  not  only 
does  it  rend  our  hearts  within,  but 
outwardly  it  escapes  in  sighs  and  tears. 


256 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Thus  the  royal  prophet  tells  us  that  he 
bedewed  his  bed  with  his  tears  ;  thus,  also, 
the  sinner  in  the  Gospel  washed  the  feet 
of  Jesus,  and  mingled  with  the  ointment 
^he  tears  of  a  breaking  heart. 

See  how  efficacious  is  the  remedy  of 
such  happy  tears,  so  different  from  our 
ordinary  worldly  weepings. 

In  vain  you  weep  when  you  are  over- 
whelmed with  debt,  and  when  you  are 
pressed  hard  by  creditors.  In  vain  you 
weep  when  you  are  lying  on  a  bed  of 
sickness,  racked,  perchance,  with  pains. 
In  vain  you  weep  for  a  dear  one  dead. 
Rivers  of  tears  will  not  blot  out  such  griefs. 

But  oh !  marvellous  virtue  of  the 
tears  of  penance  !  They  cancel  debt,  they 
cure  your  sickness,  they  restore  you  to 
life.  And  provided  that  you  weep  from 
the  heart,  behold,  you  will  be  transformed 
into  new  creatures,  and  you  will  begin  to 
lead  a  life  of  heavenly  spirituality. 

BOURDALOUE. 

Scripture  speaks  of  a  converted  man  as 
a  new  man,  because,  in  fact,  it  produces  a 
wonderful  renewal  in  a  regenerated 
creature.  He  is  no  longer  himself,  he  is 
another  man,  another  being,  everything  is 
changed.  He  cannot  recognize  the  past ; 
on  whatever  side  you  look,  you  find  a  new 
man.  He  has  other  eyes,  eyes  so  full  of 
renewed  faith  that  they  penetrate  unto 
heaven ;  they  now  perceive  the  celestial 
light  of  truth,  and  the  beauty  of  holiness 


and  sanctity,  and  fathom  the  unseen  and 
distant  future.  He  has  other  ears,  ears 
attentive  and  obedient,  that  take  pleasure 
in  hearing  the  word  of  God,  and  they 
listen  to  the  oracles  of  heaven. 

He  has  another  taste,  by  which  he 
relishes  spiritual  delights  ;  he  has  far 
better  feelings  than  he  had  before.  He 
has  a  horror  of  sin,  and  a  fear  of  offending 
God  ;  his  anger  is  zeal  for  the  glory  of 
God ;  his  joy  is  the  peace  of  his  con- 
science ;  his  love,  a  love  for  God  and 
his  neighbor ;  his  hatred,  his  former  love 
of  self ;  his  hope,  the  search  for  heavenly 
things  ;  his  occupations  are  in  good 
works  ;  his  recreation  the  praises  of  God ; 
his  life  a  continual  practice  of  piety.  You 
would  say  that  his  nature  was  totally 
altered  and  changed. 

This  change  of  grace  is  not  the  work  of 
a  single  day.  When  the  strong  arm  of 
grace  takes  possession  of  a  heart  it 
progresses  with  difficulty ;  a  house  built 
on  a  rock  does  not  overturn  with  the  first 
gust  of  wind  ;  the  devil,  in  quiet  posses- 
sion of  a  soul,  does  not  yield  to  the  first 
effort  to  drive  him  away. 

In  the  same  way,  grace  of  conversion 
is  not  suddenly  established  in  a  heart ;  its 
progress  is  slow,  almost  imperceptible  ;  it 
is  only  by  degrees  that  the  work  is 
perfected.  We  must  first  fight  against 
our  dominant  passions,  the  dire  enemies  of 
our  salvation. 

Rev.  Pi:RE  Vincent  Houdry. 


-^'^^>^*>'>^'T^Hr^if?;:5<-^ 


CHAPTER    CI. 


'Jfi  iv  '•?•  •?•'  i?«*  '.*':  •ti  i?»*  •?•'  i?V  '1?^  i?I*  i?i  i?V  •!•;  i*V  i*C"  i*:  {•; 

*  On  the  Employment  of  Time.  S 


.*•*.  •,••  •,••  •••  •.••  •;•;  •.•• 


••.•    •-•.•    •-•.•    'J*!    W    •-•-•    •>.• 


Fathers  Segneri  and  Croiset. 


**  Therefore,  whilst  we  hare  time,  let  us  work  good  to  all  men."  —  Ephesians  vi.  13. 


OD  allows  us  ample  time  to  do 
good  :  "  I  gave  her  a  time  that 
she  might  do  penance  "  (A/>oc. 
ii).  But  when  this  time,  of 
which  we  are  now  the  masters, 
shall  be  ended,  we  can  no 
longer  have  a  single  moment  at  our  dis- 
posal:  "Time  shall  be  no  longer"  {Apoc. 
X.).  It  is  then  that  our  Lord's  time  will 
•have  arrived,  that  time  which  He  has 
fixed,  and  then  He  will  ask  how  we  have 
employed  that  which  He  had  given.  Ah  ! 
what  a  severe  account  will  He  not  demand  ! 
Vocavtt  adversum  me  tempus  ( Thren. 
iii.). 

Let  us  examine  ourselves  and  see  how 
we  employ  our  time.  Is  it  employed  in 
useful  things,  or  is  it  frittered  away  in 
seeking  after  vain  pursuits  .■' 

God  gives  us  this  time  in  order  that  it 
may  assist  us  in  working  out  our  own 
salvation,  and  we  lose  it,  or,  rather,  we  make 
use  of  it  in  such  a  manner  as  will  even- 
tually lead  to  eternal  loss.  Oh  !  what  a 
«se  to  make  of  a  blessing,  which  ought  to 

257 


be  fostered  with  so  much  care  and  so 
much  wisdom. 

We  shall  know  the  value  of  time  when 
we  shall  have  allowed  it  to  pass  away,  and 
when  our  Lord's  time  will  have  arrived  ; 
and  that  time  is  not  far  off:  "Her  time  is 
near  at  hand,  and  her  days  shall  not  be 
prolonged,"  says  Isaias  (xiv.). 

The  wise  man  is  not  satisfied  with 
comparing  the  days  of  our  life  to  those  of 
a  traveller,  in  order  to  express  its  short 
duration ;  he  says,  further  on,  that  this 
short  time  passes  away  so  quickly  that  he 
can  but  compare  it  to  a  shadow  :  Velut 
tcmbra  prcEterit. 

How  likely  we  are  to  lose  it,  and  what 
dangers  do  we  not  incur,  if  we  do  not 
take  especial  care  to  make  a  good  use  of 
that  which  God  has  given  us. 

A  traveller  pressed  for  time  thinks  only 
of  how  soon  he  can  complete  his  labors  ; 
he  deprives  himself  of  sleep,  of  his  meals, 
his  relaxations,  in  fact,  all  that  he  can 
shorten  or  cut  off  ;  if  we  do  not  make  a 
profitable  use    of    the    little    time    that 


258 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


remains   to  work  out    our  salvation,  what  1 
do  we  not  risk  ? 

The  loss  of  your  time  does  not  produce 
a  less  evil  than  the  eternal  loss  of  your 
soul. 

What,  then,  is  the  blindness  of  world- 
lings, who  pass  their  days  in  boasting 
projects  of  fame  and  fortune?  A  traveller 
whom  the  love  of  his  own  dear  country 
urges  his  return,  does  he  amuse  himself  on 
the  road  with  trifles  ?  What  are  the 
largest  fortunes  in  the  world,  or  the 
grandest  establishments  on  earth,  in  com- 
parison to  a  happy  eternity,  to  which  every 
Christian  should  aspire  ?  Nothing  but 
trifles  and  mere  playthings. 

My  days,  alas  !  are  reckoned  up,  and 
the  number  is  but  very  small.  I  will 
husband  these  my  days  with  care,  so  that 
I  may  reach  at  last  the  heavenly  home. 

Le  PtRE  Paul  Segneri,  S.  J. 
Meditations. 

God  gives  me  this  day  to  work  out  my 
salvation.  Ought  we  not  to  meditate  on 
this,  for  are  we  certain  of  seeing  to-mor- 
row ?  To-day  well  employed  may  be 
worth  an  eternity  of  happiness  and  glory. 
If  God  had  vouchsafed  to  have  given  the 
same  grace  to  those  who  have  finished 
their  career ;  if  a  soul  could  come  out  of 
hell,  or  purgatory,  even  for  one  day,  with 
the  power  of  expiating  its  sins  by  penance 
and  prayer,  what  would  it  not  do }  In  so 
short,  so  precious  a  time,  would  a  single 
moment  be  lost  "i     Doubtless  no  ! 

Even  those  who  are  in  heaven,  would 
they  not  deem  it  an  inestimable  favor,  if 


they  had  another  day  to  merit  some  new 
degree  of  holiness  which  would  unite  them 
more  closely  to  God  ? 

Why  should  we  not  make  use  of  this 
short  time  in  a  similar  way  ? 

Let  us  apply  to  ourselves  what  the  wise 
man  says  in  Ecclesiasticus  (xiv.)  :  "  De- 
fraud not  thyself  of  the  good  day,  and  let 
not  the  part  of  a  good  gift  overpass  thee." 
Be  mindful,  and  do  not  let  slip  any  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  good :  we  can  then  listen 
to,  and  follow  faithfully,  the  voice  and 
inspirations  of  God. 

Let  us  do  our  utmost  to  carry  out  the 
advice  of  the  wise  man,  and  in  the  most 
excellent  and  perfect  way :  "  He  hath 
made  all  things  good  in  their  time," 

Let  us  also  follow  that  other  advice  of 
Ecclesiastes,  namely,  —  Do  without  delay 
all  that  is  in  your  power,  because  in  hell 
(which  is  full  of  souls  who  have  made  bad 
use  of  time)  there  will  be  no  time  to  do 
good,  neither  will  there  be  knowledge  nor 
wisdom  to  teach  us. 

Our  life  is  made  up  of  a  number  of 
years,  which  quickly  succeed  each  other; 
they  pass  away  without  a  hope  of  our  ever 
seeing  another  day,  or  another  hour  ever 
return. 

This  series  of  years,  of  months,  of  days^ 
which  God  has  given  us  for  the  purpose  of 
saving  our  souls,  are  properly  the  talent 
which  the  Almighty  has  been  pleased  to 
entrust  to  us.  This  we  ought  to  make 
much  of,  as  we  shall  necessarily  have  to 
give  a  strict  account.  Since  we  have  been 
in  the  world,  no  year  has  passed  but  that 
it  has  been  the  last  year  for  very  many. 


THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  TIME. 


259 


and  the  year  now  silently  gliding  away 
will  terminate  the  career  of   many  more. 

How  sad  for  those  who  have  lost,  per- 
haps, every  day  of  the  year  ! 

Have  we  nothing  to  reproach  ourselves 
with  ?  How  have  we  employed  each  day? 
We  have  worked  hard  for  the  world,  have 
we  gained  much  for  heaven  ?  For  if  we 
have  done  nothing  for  eternity,  we  have 
lost  a  year. 

Now,  at  least,  let  us  usefully  make  use 
of  the  little  time  that  remains. 

Le  P^re  Croiset. 
Exercises  tU  Pieti. 


The  three  following  paragraphs  are  from 
the  "  Maxims  and  Sayings  "  of  Saint  Philip 

Neri :  — 

We  must  not  be  behind  time  in  doing 
good,  for  death  will  not  be  behind  his  time. 

Happy  is  the  youth,  because  he  has  time 
before  him  to  do  good. 

In  order  to  begin  well,  and  to  finish 
better,  it  is  quite  necessary  to  hear  Mass 
every  day,  unless  there  be  some  lawful 
hindrance  in  the  way. 

And  St.  Bonaventura  tells  us  that  there 
is  no  greater  loss  than  the  loss  of  time. 


ON      FKITH. 


Flechier  and  PfeRE  La  Fomt. 


"Lord!  I  believe;  help  my  unbelief."  —  Mark  ix.  13, 


INQUISITIVE  speculation  de- 
stroys that  simplicity  which 
seeks  only  to  bend  to  author- 
ity, and  submit  the  reason  and 
will  to  the  weight  of  the 
Divine  Word,  without  wishing 
to  penetrate  the  depth  of  the  mysteries, 
and  entering  into  vain  and  useless  argu- 
ments. 

This  simplicity  is  founded  on  the  respect 
due  to  God,  and  on  the  deference  we  ought 
to  pay  to  His  Word. 

The  mind  ought  to  be  as  submissive  to 
all  that  our  Saviour  has  said,  as  the  will 
should  be  amenable  to  all  that  He  com- 
mands ;  and  as  it  is  our  duty  to  curb  our 
natural  inclinations,  to  obey  the  laws  of 
God,  so  we  must  control  our  feelings  and 
repugnances,  to  acquiesce  in  His  truths. 

It  is  not  that  faith  has  not  reason  and 
prudence,  or  that  it  elevates  itself  above 
reason,  but,  as  St.  Bernard  remarks,  it  is 
not  amenable  to  reason,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
founded  on  the  truth  of  the  doctrine 
which  it  has  received.     I  did  not  fix  my 

900 


faith  on  the  penetration  of  my  own  intel 
lect,  but  on  the  authority  of  God,  who  can 
neither  deceive  nor  be  deceived.  The 
truth  which  I  do  not  fathom  is  enveloped 
in  its  origin. 

Far  from  seeking  faith  out  of  God  by 
the  puny  effects  of  my  reason,  I  adore  it 
in  the  bosom  of  God,  where  it  has  exist- 
ence, invisible  though  it  may  be,  and 
hidden  from  the  eyes  of  men. 

We  often  hear  worldly  people  say,  "  Let 
me  witness  but  one  miracle,  and  I  will 
be  converted."  They  deceive  themselves, 
Their  wonder  would  be  excited,  but  it 
would  leave  no  impression  on  their  hearts. 
They  would  admire  the  power  of  the 
Almighty,  but  they  would  not  increase  in 
love  and  charity.  They  might  be  con- 
vinced, but  they  would  not  be  converted ; 
and  since  neither  the  authority  of  Holy 
Writ,  nor  the  interior  voice  of  conscience, 
nor  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  nor  the 
inspirations  of  heaven,  induce  them  lo 
believe,  the  light  impression  of  a  miracle 
would  be  very  soon  effaced. 


FAITH. 


261 


It  would  require  to  be  renewed  in  their 
every  action  ;  and  the  desire  of  witnessing 
one  is  only  a  pretext,  or  an  excuse,  for 
their  unbelief,  and  not  as  a  remedy,  or  an 
assistance  they  desire  for  perfecting  their 
faith. 

Faith  is  that  column  of  vapor  of  which 
Scripture  speaks,  which  obscures  the 
daylight  and  enlightens  the  night.  It 
is  that  holy  mixture  of  darkness  and 
light,  of  infallible  truths  and  less  evident 
proofs.  It  is  that  enigma  mentioned  by 
St.  Paul,  which  is  seen  through  a  glass 
darkly. 

It  is,  in  fine,  that  truth,  which,  being 
revealed,  causes  the  joy  and  happiness  of 
the  blessed,  and  which,  even  when  veiled, 
is  the  hope  and  comfort  of  the  saints  on 
earth. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  Jesus  Christ 
chided  one  of  His  Apostles,  "To  believe, 
you  have  seen  and  touched  Me."  You  are 
indebted  to  your  eyes  and  hands,  when 
you  ought  to  have  trusted  to  My  word. 
You  have  acquiesced  in  a  visible  and  pal- 
pable truth.  It  is  out  of  curiosity,  not 
devotion. 

Rejoice  in  the  grace  which  I  have  been 
willing  to  confer  upon  you;  but  transfer 
the  reward  to  those  who  have  believed 
what  they  have  not  seen,  and  who,  paying 
deference  to  the  power  of  My  word,  not- 
withstanding the  contradiction  of  reason 
and  sense,  make  a  public  avowal  of  a  truth 
which  is  not  certainly  unknown,  but  which 
is  nevertheless  incomprehensible. 

Flechier. 
Panegyrique  sur  St.  Thomas. 


It  is  far  from  my  intention  to  quote  all 
the  magnificent  eulogies  which  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church  have  written  on  Faith,  in 
order  to  point  out  the  beauties  and  force 
of  their  language.  I  do  not  pause  to  show 
you  that  it  is,  according  to  the  great 
apostle,  as  it  were  the  spiritual  foundation 
of  every  virtue,  and  that  it  is  through 
faith   that  man  begins  to  draw  nearer  to 

God. 

I  need  not  tell  you,  with  St.  Chrysostom 
and  St.  Augustine,  that  it  is  a  purely 
gratuitous  gift  of  God,  preceded  by  no 
merit,  but  from  which  proceed  all  merits, 
and  that  it  is  the  source  and  beginning  of 
the  righteousness  of  men  :  Origojitstitm, 
sanctitatis  caput,  undi  oinnis  justitia  sumit 
initiuvi. 

I  will  not  tell  you,  with  St.  Bernardine  of 
Sienna,  that  it  is  the  most  excellent  hom- 
age that  man  can  render  to  God,  by  sub- 
jecting his  reason,  which  is  the  most 
ungovernable  and  the  proudest  of  all  his 
faculties,  by  a  blind  deference  to  all  the 
truths  He  has  revealed,  however  incom- 
prehensible they  may  be. 

I  will  not  stop  to  show  you  that  it  is  to 
faith  that  all  those  good  and  grand  men, 
of  whom  St.  Paul  sings  the  praises,  are 
indebted  for  so  many  victories  over  tyrants 
and  devils,  and  by  which  they  have  over- 
come all  laws  of  nature,  and  subjected 
entire  cities  to  the  empire  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

In  fine,  I  do  not  wish  to  delay  pointing 
out  to  you  that  faith  elevates  us  to  a  high 
and   sublime    knowledge   of  the  grandeur 


I 


262 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


and  perfection  of  the  Divine  Creator,  a 
faith  which  is  impenetrable  to  the  light  of 
reason,  which  far  surpasses  the  intelligence 
of  angels,  and  which  has  this  advantage, 
in  common  with  the  light  of  glory,  that 
it  look?  upon  God  as  He  is,  and  that  it 
reflects    His   fulness    and   magnificence ; 


first  in  that  veiled  obscurity  which  is  our 
comfort  here  on  earth,  and  which  will  be 
revealed  to  us  hereafter  in  all  its  pleni- 
tude  and  splendor,  as  it  has  been  revealed 
to  all  the  saints  in  heaven. 

P^RE  La  Font. 
Entrttiens, 


.n^ 


CHAPTER    CIII. 


p^ij^'"T2^^      ^?       i?       ^       "5?       ^      ^S^      ^5?       ^F      ^      ^5      ^5      ^?      '■jiS' "    ^>      .ij>-      ^i?      '-ij."      ^^     '.^y^^Ri^-    ^*[S^    '-fj^"     '-iW 


2'{l 


0y 


!<^      ON    FRIENDSHIP. 


'^I  M  Ml  '^'. 


? 


ilJllJl 


•*-H 


Saints  Francis  de  Sales,  Chrysostom,  and  Jerome. 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  findeth  a  true  friend." —  Proverbs  xxv.  12. 


.RIENDSHIP  requires  great 
communication  between  friends 
otherwise  it  can  neither  grow 
nor  subsist.  Wherefore  it 
often  happens,  that  with  this 
communication  of  friendship 
divers  other  communications  insensibly 
glide  from  one  heart  to  another,  by  a 
mutual  infusion  and  reciprocal  intercourse 
of  affections,  inclinations,  and  impressions. 
But  this  happens  especially  when  we 
have  a  high  esteem  for  him  whom  we 
love ;  for  then  we  open  our  heart  in  such 
a  manner  to  his  friendship,  that  with  it 
his  inclinations  and  impressions  enter 
rapidly  in  their  full  stream,  be  they  good 
or  bad.  Certainly  the  bees  that  gather 
the  honey  of  Heraclea,  seek  nothing  but 
honey ;  but  yet,  with  the  honey  they 
insensibly  suck  the  poisonous  qualities  of 
the  aconite,  from  which  they  gather  it. 

Good  God,  Philothea,  on  these  occasions 
we  must  carefully  put  what  the  Saviour 
of  our  souls  was  accustomed  to  say,  in 
practice  :  Be  ye  good  bankers  or  changers 


of  money  ;  that  is  to  say,  receive  not  bad 
money  with  the  good,  nor  base  gold  with 
the  fine ;  separate  that  which  is  precious 
from  that  which  is  vile,  for  there  is 
scarcely  any  person  that  has  not  some 
imperfection.  For  why  should  we  receive 
promiscuously  the  spots  and  imperfections 
of  a  friend,  together  with  his  friendship  ? 
We  must  love  him,  indeed,  notwithstand- 
ing his  imperfections,  but  we  must  neither 
love  nor  receive  his  imperfections ;  for 
friendship  requires  a  communication  of 
good,  not  of  evil. 

True  and  living  friendship  cannot 
subsist  in  the  midst  of  sins.  As  the  sala- 
mander extinguishes  the  fire  in  which  he 
lies,  so  sin  destroys  the  friendship  in 
which  it  lodges.  If  it  be  but  a  transient 
sin,  friendship  will  presently  put  it  to  flight 
by  correction  ;  but  if  it  be  habitual,  and 
take  up  its  lodging,  friendship  immediately 
perishes,  for  it  cannot  subsist  but  on  the 
solid  foundation  of  virtue.  We  must  never, 
then,  commit  sin  for  friendship's  sake. 


264 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


A  friend  becomes  an  enemy  when  he 
would  lead  us  to  sin,  and  he  deserves  to 
lose  his  friend  when  he  would  destroy  his 
soul. 

It  is  an  infallible  mark  of  false  friend- 
ship to  see  it  exercised  towards  a  vicious 
person,  be  his  sins  of  whatsoever  kind  ; 
for  if  he  whom  we  love  be  vicious,  without 
doubt  our  friendship  is  also  vicious,  since, 
seeing  it  cannot  regard  true  virtue,  it 
must  needs  be  grounded  on  some  frivolous 
virtue  or  sensual  quality.  Society,  formed 
for  traffic  among  merchants,  is  but  a 
shadow  of  true  friendship,  since  it  is  not 
made  for  the  love  of  the  persons,  but  for 
the  love  of  gain.  Finally,  the  two  follow- 
ing divine  sentences  are  two  main  pillars 
to  secure  a  Christian  life.  The  one  is  that 
■  of  the  wise  man  :  He  that  feareth  God  shall 
likewise  have  a  true  friendship.  The  other 
is  that  of  the  apostle  St.  James :  The 
friendship  of  this  world  is  the  enemy  of  God. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales. 
Devout  Life. 

If  we  consider  the  friendships  of  the 
ordinary  run  of  mortals  nowadays,  we 
should  find  that  nearly  all  human  friend- 
ships are  at  a  low  ebb,  and  are  simply 
kept  up  by  the  prospect  of  gain  in  the 
businesses  of  this  life.  If  you  wish  to 
test  this  you  have  only  to  examine  into 
the  different  causes  which  bring  on  dis- 
union in   families,   and   which  make  you 


enemies  of  each  other.  The  reason  is 
that  when  friendships  are  only  founded  oi 
worldly  and  fleeting  advantages,  they  car 
not  be  true  and  lasting  friendships  ;  the] 
vanish  at  the  least  slight,  interest, 
jealousy,  because  they  are  not  attached  t^ 
the  soul  by  bonds  which  alone  cemenl 
friendships,  and  which  render  them  firr 
and  resolute. 

The  friendship  between  persons  unitec 
in  and  with  Jesus  Christ  is  solid,  constant 
and  invincible ;  it  is  not  shaken  of 
impaired  by  suspicion,  calumny,  dangerg 
or  even  by  death  itself. 

He  who  loves   only  so   long   as   he   i| 
beloved,  ceases  to  love  when  he  receive 
some  fancied  displeasure  from  his  friend. 
St.  Chrysostom. 
Exhortation  on  chap.  viii.  of  St.  Matthew. 

We  must  take  care  not  only  to  avoid 
leading  a  bad  life,  but  we  must  not  con- 
tract a  friendship  with  those  who  live 
sinfully,  for  that,  according  to  the 
prophet,  is  included  among  the  sins. 

True  friendship  exists,  not  in  family 
interests,  nor  with  those  persons  by  whom 
we  are  accustomed  to  be  entertained,  nor 
with  those  who  flatter  us,  and  whose 
company  is  dangerous ;  but  with  those 
who  cherish  the  holy  fear  of  God  and  the 
study  of  Holy  Scripture. 

St.  Jerome. 
Epistle  ad  Paulinum. 


.^^       .^        .^        .^        -^.        .^ 
^^^       "^^        ■'^        ^^       ^^       •^- 

CHAPTER  '  CIV. 

•I^ 

ON    GOOD    EXHTVIPL-E. 

-^1- 

11: — 1 

j^      ^^       .^      ^^.       ■■^.      .^ 

■^^              ^^                ^^               ^^               ^^              7^ 

Le   PfeRE   TeXIER. 

"  Let  your  i:ghi  shine  before  men,  in  order  that  seeing  your  good  works,  they  may  glorify  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven."  —  Matthew  v.  14. 


O  gain  knowledge,  one  need 
only  vvatch  and  see  virtue 
emanating  from  a  saintly  man  ; 
his  very  silence,  joined  to  his 
expressive  gestures,  plainly 
show  all  he  would  wish  to  say. 
So  says  Emodius :  I/l/tm  vidisse  eruditi 
est ;  est  enitn  in  illo  loquax  tacitumitas  et 
erudite  forma  silcntii. 

Every  nation,  however  savage  the 
people  may  be,  however  diversified  in 
speech,  understands  the  language  of  good 
example,  and  one  need  not  be  astonished 
at  what  TertuUian  says  :  "The  confidence 
and  invincible  patience  of  the  early 
martyrs  has  proved  to  be  the  first  com- 
mentary, and  the  clearest  interpretation 
of  the  Gospel." 

It  was  this  mute  but  eloquent  philos- 
ophy which  the  primitive  Church  made 
use  of  to  enlighten  the  obscurity  of  the 
mysteries  of  our  holy  faith.  It  was  that 
piety  which  was  imprinted  on  the  faces  of 
the  first  Christians,  that  calm  demeanor 
wliich  they  displayed  when  on  their  trial, 
u!id  especially  that   unshaken   confidence 

26S 


and  trust  in  God  in  the  midst  of  cruel 
tortures  ;  it  was  example  like  unto  this 
that  touched  the  heart  of  many  a 
pagan. 

Even  the  modest  attire  of  the  early 
Christians  (says  TertuUian)  was  a  public 
censure  of  all  the  vices  of  the  idolaters. 
Let  us  say,  rather,  that  all  the  early 
Christians  were  eflficacious  preachers. 

When  the  great  orators  wished  to  make 
a  deep  impression  on  the  judges  and  their 
hearers,  they  often  felt  at  a  loss  for  words, 
so  they  betook  themselves  to  action  ;  they 
knew  by  experience  that  the  sight  of  a 
body  covered  with  wounds,  of  a  cassock 
tinged  with  blood,  of  a  procession  of  poor 
little  orphans,  of  a  widow  bathed  in  tears, 
were  certainly  better  adapted  to  excite 
compassion  than  all  the  tropes  and  figures 
of  the  most  pathetic  of  speeches  ;  so  true 
it  is  that  illustrative  agents  that  attract 
the  eye  are  far  more  successful  than  words 
which  tickle  the  ear.  Is  it  not  also  true 
that  a  general  who  harangues  his  soldiers 
before  the  battle  does  not  excite  their 
enthusiastic    courage    half    so    much    za 


fi66 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


when  they  see  him,  sword  in  hand,  lead 
on  the  desperate  charge,  and  fight  in  front 
covered  with  dust  and  blood  ? 

When  the  sinner  contemplates  the  saint 
(who  has  been  one  like  unto  himself, 
subject  to  the  selfsame  weaknesses  and 
frailties),  he  thinks  of  his  cowardice  in  the 
practices  of  virtue,  which  he  persuaded 
himself  were  too  difficult,  and  he  reflects, 
and  ends  in  condemning  his  folly  and 
malice.  This  is  what  St.  Gregory  says  : 
Dum  peccator  jiistum  considerat,  seipsum 
arguit  atque  condemnat. 

When,  for  example,  your  fine  people, 
who  live  in  the  lap  of  luxury  or  are 
hangers-on  at  the  court  of  royalty,  deem 
it  derogatory  to  their  high  dignity  to 
conform  to  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel ; 
when  they  see  a  St.  Louis,  a  St.  Edward, 
a  St.  Casimir,  the  Eleazars,  and  others 
who  were  in  a  higher  station  of  life,  and 
more  illustrious  and  valiant ;  when  they 
read  of  kings  living  in  the  strict  observ- 
ance of  the  commandments,  they  are  com- 
pelled to  confess  that  they  have  deceived 
themselves  by  fancying  that  the  practice 
of  every  virtue  is  incompatible  or  incon- 
sistent with  their  rank  in  life ;  when  that 
judge,  that  merchant,  that  man  of  busi- 
ness looks  at  David,  who,  though  loaded 
with  the  cares  of  a  kingdom,  managed  to 
find  time  to  pray  to  God  seven  times  a 
day,  and  to  employ  hours  in  meditating 
upon  eternity ;  when  that  delicate  dame, 
who  cannot  endure  the  smell  that  exhales 
from  the  poor,  sees  the  SS.  Elizabeths  of 
Hungary  and  of  Portugal,  and  many  other 
princesses  visiting  the  hospitals  every  day, 


joyfully  devoting  hours  to  the  care  of  the 
poor  sick,  to  dressing  their  sores,  to 
making  their  beds,  to  performing  every 
kind  of  menial  office  ;  in  fine,  when  bad 
and  cowardly  Christians  contemplate  the 
fervent  lives  of  the  saints,  they  are  forced 
to  acknowledge  that  it  is  their  tepidity, 
their  want  of  faith,  that  cramp  their  feeble 
efforts,  and  not  the  difficulty  of  sanctity. 
In  truth,  says  St.  Gregory  the  Great, 
when  God  brings  before  them  those  irre- 
proachable witnesses  of  which  Job  makes 
mention,  they  have  no  answer,  no  excuse, 
but  are  compelled  to  acknowledge  their 
guilt. 

I  know  full  well  that  we  all  have  not 
the  capacity  to  write  books  on  the  defence 
of  the  faith  that  is  in  us,  but  we  can  all  be 
living  commentators  on  the  perfection  of 
every  virtue.  We  all  have  not  the  author- 
ity to  mount  the  pulpit  and  preach  against 
vice,  but  we  can  preach,  as  St.  Francis 
did,  by  the  language  of  our  works,  which 
is  far  more  persuasive  than  a  sermon. 
We  all  are  not  rich  enough  to  give  abun- 
dant alms,  but  we  can,  if  we  wish,  practice 
charity  towards  our  neighbors  in  a  more 
excellent  way,  and  that  is  by  good  exam- 
ple ;  we  can  gently  lead  them  on  to  God, 
who  is  the  giver  of  all  good  gifts.  This 
we  all  can  do,  if  we  wish. 

It  is  related  of  St.  Bernardine,  that  he 
had  so  grave  and  modest  an  air  that  his 
presence  alone  inspired  recollection  in  his 
companions.  We  read  also  that  many 
were  converted  by  only  looking  upon  St. 
Lucian  the  Martyr. 

Rev.  Father  Texier. 


A\  'Zr 


* 


SOOB  WORKS. 


St.  Chrysostom  and  Father  Segneri. 


"  In  all  things,  show  thyself  an  example  of  good  works."  —  Titus  ii.  7. 


HE  forgetfulness  of  our  good 
works  is,  in  itself,  our  surest 
safeguard. 

If  you  publicly  display  gold 
and  precious  vestments,  you 
invite  thieves  to  find  out  the 
means  of  robbing  you ;  but  if  you  keep 
them  hidden  in  some  secret  corner  of  your 
dwelling,  they  will  be  safe. 

As  it  is  with  riches,  so  it  is  the  same 
with  virtues  and  good  works.  If  we  keep 
them  in  our  memory,  and,  as  it  were, 
expose  them  for  sale,  we  arm  our  enemies 
against  ourselves,  and  invite  them  to 
deprive  us  of  the  merit.  But  if  they  are 
known  only  to  Him  who  knows  every- 
thing, we  shall  possess  and  keep  them  in 
hopeful  security. 

Do  not,  therefore,  expose  the  riches 
of  your  good  works,  for  fear  of  their 
being  taken  from  you,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  Pharisee,  who,  carrying  on 
his  lips  the  treasures  of  his  good  works, 
gave  Satan  the  opportunity  of  robbing 
him.      He   spoke  only   of  giving   thanks. 


and  displayed  his  good  works  to  God ; 
nevertheless,  that  did  not  shelter  him. 
for  it  was  not  to  return  thanks  to  God, 
but  to  seek  to  be  praised  by  many,  to 
insult  others,  and  to  raise  himself  above 
them  all. 

If  you  return  thanks  to  God,  think  only 
of  pleasing  Him  alone  ;  do  not  seek  to  be 
known  by  men,  and  do  not  judge  your 
neighbor. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
On  Matthew  Hi. 

When  we  neglect  nothing,  and  are  care- 
ful to  store  up  the  little  gains  we  can  make, 
we  shall  insensibly  increase  our  riches ; 
it  is  nearly  the  same  with  spiritual 
riches. 

Since  our  Divine  Lord  and  Judge  will 
keep  an  account  of  a  glas,'/  of  water,  there 
is  no  good  action  we  ou^ht  to  despise, 
however  small  it  may  ap  ijear,  and  we  must 
not  be  grieved  if  we  cannot  do  great 
things;  little  things  'j:/aturally  are  the 
forerunners  of  great  actions.     Neglect  the 


268 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


former,  and  you  will  not  be  capable  to  do 
the  latter. 

It  was  to  prevent  this  misfortune  that 
Jesus  Christ  has  promised  to  reward  us 
for  little  things. 

There  is  nothing  more  easy  than  visiting 
a  sick  person,  nevertheless,  God  has  fixed 
a  great  reward  for  this  good  work,  however 
easy  it  may  appear. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
opuscules. 

As  the  prospect  of  an  abundant  harvest 
soothes  the  labors  and  cheers  the  heart  of 
the  husbandman — so  in  like  manner  the 
hope  and  reward  ought  to  support  us  and 
relieve  our  fatigues  :  Debet  in  spe  qui  arat 
arare.  The  harvest  will  be  ours,  for  "In 
due  time  we  shall  reap  "  {Gal.  vi.).  We 
cannot  cherish  a  doubt  of  this,  without 
questioning  the  fidelity  of  the  Lord  our 
God. 

The  laborer,  notwithstanding  his  wise 
precautions,  his  indefatigable  care,  his 
well-founded  hopes,  may,  in  a  single  night, 
find  his  fields  torn  and  spoiled  by  a  mighty 
storm,  or  by  some  other  accident.  But 
the  just  man  has  nothing  to  fear.  Let  him 
but  persevere  in  the  practice  of  good 
works,  and  nothing  in  the  world  can  hinder 
him  the  fruit :  "  And  in  doing  good  let  us 
not  fail ;  for  in  due  time  we  shall  reap, 
not  failing  "  {Gal.  vi.  9). 

Some  commentators  explain  those  words 
ot  the  apostle  in  another  way.  It  is 
right,  say  they,  that  we  should  sow 
without  respite,  since,  in  heaven,  the 
harvest  will  be  eternal :    "  We  shall  reap, 


not   failing."    This  is    the  opinion    of  St, 
Augustine :  — 

Do   not  relax   in  your  eflforts,  says   the, 
holy  doctor,  and  God  will  not  fail  to  reward^ 
you.     But  if  you  tire  of  your  work  or  flag 
in  your  efforts,  the  judgments  of  the  Lord, 
says  a  prophet,  will   overwhelm   you,  like 
those  bitter  weeds  that  grow  in  the  midst  ; 
of  the  wheat.     The  words  of  the   apostle 
signify   that    we   should   not   cease   from 
preparing    for   the   harvest  :    "  We     shaU. 
reap,  not  failing." 

The  husbandmen  do  not  allow  them- 
selves to  be  over-fatigued,  although  thejr 
reap  with  joy;  but  the  saints  who  gather 
in  heaven  what  they  have  sown,  partake 
of  the  purest  pleasures  in  unalterable  joy 
and  pleasures  ever  new. 

Who  could  have  a  disrelish  in  the  abode 
of  glory  t  "  What  shall  come  of  thee  by 
the  pleasure  -of  the  Most  High"  {Eccles 
xli.).  The  fruit  of  a  few  years  is  there, 
provided  the  work  be  persevered  in.  The 
choice  of  seed,  the  good  soil,  the  beauty 
of  the  season,  do  not  produce  a  good 
harvest  if  the  seeds  are  not  protected 
from  the  birds,  who  swarm  to  carry  them 
away.  That  signifies  that  we  must  con- 
ceal from  men  the  good  we  do,  and  not 
seek  for  their  esteem  and  praise,  for  this 
will  deprive  you  of  the  merit  in  the  sight 
of  God.  If  foolish  souls,  by  displaying 
the  good  they  do,  do  not  lose  all  the  merit, 
they,  at  least,  lose  the  greater  part.  You 
have  sown,  but  you  have  reaped  but  little ; 
the  birds  of  heaven  have  eaten  what  you 
have  sown.  That  is  to  say,  the  thoughts 
of  vanity   which   are    in   your   heart,  and 


GOOD   WORKS. 


269 


which  you  have  complacently  encouraged, 
will  have  deprived  you  of  the  reward 
which  was  prepared  for  you.  Conceal, 
then,  with  humility,  your  good  works, 
when  they  are  not  necessary  to  be 
witnessed. 


The  time  will  come  when  you  shall 
receive  the  reward  a  hundredfold. 

"  For  in  due  time  we  shall  reap,  not 
failing." 

Father  Segneri,  S.  J. 
Meditations. 


PfeRE  D'Argentan  and  St.  Ambrose. 
•Be you  therefore  perfect,  as  also  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect."  —  Matthew  v.  48. 


',0,  I  must  no  longer  say  that 
holiness  is  too  high  a  state  for 
such  a  miserable  wretch  as  I 
am  to  aspire  to.  I  feel  sure 
that  God  calls  me  to  it,  and 
that  He  wishes  to  conduct  me, 
since  He  has  prepared  the  way.  I  am 
sure  that  He  wills  that  I  should  dare  to 
aspire  to  it,  and  that  I  should  do  my  utmost 
to  reach  perfection. 

Indeed,  what  could  I  wish  to  be,  if  I 
did  not  wish  to  be  a  saint?  I  must  then 
be  a  reprobate,  for  there  is  no  middle 
course  ;  either  a  saint  or  a  reprobate.  I 
must  neither  say  that  I  am  too  weak  and 
frail  to  pretend  to  become  a  saint ;  I  know 
but  too  well  that  I  am  a  poor  frail  mortal, 
but  I  also  know  that  my  Redeemer,  who 
has  spared  no  pains  to  make  me  a  saint, 
has  taken  upon  Himself  my  infirmities,  in 
order  to  clothe  me  with  His  strength,  and 
that  I  can  say  with  St.  Paul,  I  can  do  all 
In  Him  who  strengthens  me. 

What,  then,  have  I  to  do  to  make  me 
really  and  truly  holy,  according  to  the 
intention    of    the     Son    of    God,     who 

S7» 


calls  me  to  sanctity  ?  I  have  only  to  put 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  same  apostle 
says.  Is  there  anything  more  easy, 
provided  that  I  have  the  will  ?  If  it  were 
a  question  of  amassing  great  riches  to  be 
holy,  many  obstacles  would  have  to  be 
overcome,  many  legitimate  pretexts  would 
have  to  be  decided,  for  each  one  would 
dispute  who  should  have  them ;  but  holi- 
ness partly  consists  in  despising  riches, 
and  in  not  allowing  them  to  retain  a  hold 
of  the  heart. 

In  the  same  way,  if,  to  be  a  saint,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  be  raised  to  great 
honors,  or  noble  employments,  or  to  under- 
take the  management  of  a  city  or  state, 
holiness  would  cost  so  dear  that  few 
persons  would  venture  to  accept  the 
burden,  and  it  would  afford  an  excuse 
to  many  to  decline  the  trial ;  but  what  can 
hinder  us,  when  we  are  told  that  the 
surest  and  safest  road  to  sanctification  is 
to  cherish  a  hidden  life,  to  love  humility 
and  lowliness  ? 

In  conclusion,  to  be  virtuous  and  holy, 
if  it  were  necessary  to  enjoy  the  pleasures 


HOLINESS  AND  PERFECTION. 


271 


of  this  life,  would  it  not  cost  much  ?  should 
we  not  have  to  go  to  great  expense  ?  and 
often,  even  then,  should  we  not  find  much 
that  was  bitter,  where  we  expected 
nought  but  pleasure  and  sweetness  ?  But 
to  renounce  sensual  gratifications,  to 
"be  content  to  suffer  all  the  crosses  insepar- 
able from  every  condition  of  life,  to  prefer 
a  mortified  life  of  austerity  and  penance,  is 
this  what  every  one  can  do  ?  And  thus, 
as  there  is  no  one  who  cannot  but  be  holy 
and  virtuous  if  he  likes,  it  follows  that  all 
excuses  must  be  frivolous,  and  cannot 
be  allowed  for  at  the  judgment  seat  of 
•God. 

What !  is  it  then  so  diflficult  to  love  the 
three  things  which  the  Saviour  of  men  has 
so  much  loved,  and  which  contain  every 
essential  of  a  truly  sanctified  life,  namely, 
poverty,  contempt,  and  crosses  ? 

These  three  things  often  accompany  a 
sanctified  life,  and  we  have  so  great  a 
dread  of  them  that  we  look  upon  them  as 
mortal  enemies.  Instead  of  this  we 
should  seek  for  them  and  embrace  them 
as  the  best  means  of  becoming  saints,  thus 
becoming  as  so  many  sources  of  merit, 
and  with  these  we  heap  up  treasures  which 
will  enrich  us  for  all  eternity.  It  is  true 
that  our  lower  nature  feels  a  natural  repug- 
nance to,  and  rebels  against,  such  strong 
remedies,  but  the  grace  of  our  Saviour, 
who  comes  to  our  aid,  gives  us  additional 
^strength.  It  is  this  grace  which,  being 
the  overflowing  of  His  Divine  Spirit, 
infuses  into  a  soul  a  love  of  those  things 
which  He  so  much  loved  ;  and  He  clothes 
it  with  a  holy  strength,  in  order  that,  by  a 


supernatural  virtue,  he  may  embrace  that 
which  it  fled  from  through  a  natural  repug 
nance. 

And  how  many  saints,  who  west  men 
like  ourselves  and  subject  to  the  same 
infirmities,  have  been  happier,  more  con- 
tented in  their  poverty,  than  the  rich  world- 
lings with  all  their  treasures  "i  How 
many  of  them  have  felt  a  sweeter  consola 
tion  in  the  midst  of  scorn  and  contempt, 
than  the  most  ambitious  have  felt,  even 
when  loaded  with  honors  ?  And  how 
many  have  felt  a  holier  joy,  even  when 
carrying  a  heavy  cross,  than  the  sensual- 
ists in  the  midst  of  their  pleasures. 

Le  P^re  D'Argentan. 
Conference,  No.  23. 

How  can  a  truly  virtuous  man  fail  in 
anything  "i  In  what  situation  will  he  not 
be  powerful  ;  in  what  state  of  poverty  will 
he  not  be  rich  ;  in  what  obscurity  will  he 
not  be  brilliant ;  in  what  inaction  will  he 
not  be  industrious;  in  what  infirmity  will 
he  not  be  vigorous  ;  in  what  weakness  will 
he  not  be  strong  ;  in  what  solitude  will  he 
not  be  accompanied  ?  for  he  will  have  for 
company  the  hope  of  a  happy  eternity; 
for  clothing,  he  will  have  the  grace  of  the 
Most  High  ;  for  ornament,  the  promises 
of  a  halo  of  glory ! 

Let  us  recollect  that  the  saints  were  not 
of  a  more  excellent  nature  than  ours,  but 
were  more  orderly  and  regular  :  that  they 
were  not  exempt  from  sins,  but  that  they 
took  pains  to  correct  their  faults. 

St.  Ambrose. 
De  Joseph. 


Massillon  and  St.  Gregory. 

Do  I  seek  to  please  men  ?    If  I  yet  pleased  men,  I  should  not  be  a  servant  of  Christ." 

—  Galatians  i.  ID. 


'UMAN  respect  outrages  the 
dignity  of  God,  for  the  gran- 
deur of  the  Creator  requires 
that  it  should  not  be  put  in 
comparison  with  man,  whom 
He  has  drawn  from  the  slime 
of  the  earth,  and  all  other  greatnesses  can 
be  only  regarded  as  nothing. 

Now,  wishing  on  the  one  hand  to  give 
yourself  up  to  God,  and  kept  back  on  the 
other  hand  by  the  fear  of  man,  you  say  to 
Him  :  O  Lord,  I  would  devote  myself  to 
You,  and  I  would  serve  You  in  preference 
to  any  one  else,  if,  situated  as  I  am,  I  was 
allowed  to  serve  You  without  exposing 
myself  to  the  criticism  of  the  world  ;  I 
should  like  to  be  able  to  break  off  all  con- 
nection with  the  world  and  to  consecrate 
all  to  You  alone,  if,  in  declaring  myself 
openly,  I  did  not  attract  the  notice  of  a 
thousand  dangerous  enemies.  I  feel  a 
very  great  affection,  it  is  true ;  You  have 
filled  my  soul  with  a  wholesome  inclina- 
tion for  virtue,  and  I  dream  of  being 
■'elieved  from  my  grievous  faults,  of  which 
I   am  a  very  slave ;  nevertheless,  I  have 

272 


not  the  courage  to  put  into  practice  my 
wish,  for  fear  of  losing  the  esteem  of  the 
world, 

I  feel  that  I  am  called  upon  to  lead  a 
life  of  piety ;  however,  I  drag  my  chains 
after  me,  although  with  regret,  because 
the  world  does  not  wish  to  love  You,  and 
even  does  not  wish  me  to  love  You. 

Ah  !  if  it  depended  solely  on  myself  to 
choose  the  path,  I  would  be  all  in  all  for 
You,  O  Lord ;  You  would  be  the  sole 
master  of  my  heart,  and  one  would  see 
that,  from  henceforth  I  would  do  that 
which  I  have  not  done  in  times  past ;  but 
You  well  know  what  a  number  of  bitter 
reproaches  I  should  have  to  endure,  were 
I  to  make  known  to  the  world  my  deter- 
mination. You  know  that  the  world  is 
most  unmerciful  to  those  who  leave  it  in 
order  to  enter  into  Your  service,  and,, 
since  I  must  say  it,  I  feel  that  I  have  not 
the  moral  courage  to  despise  the  world, 
and  that  I  have  still  the  weakness  of  for- 
getting You,  by  remaining  in  its  service. 

I  know  what  many  would  say  in  answer 
to  this.     It  is  sufficient,  they  say,  to  serve 


HUMAN  RESPECT. 


273 


Almighty  God  in  secret,  to  give  Him  our 
hearts,  without  making  any  outward  show 
of  our  devotion.  Is  there  any  need  of 
making  a  parade  of  conversion,  which 
can  be  done  secretly,  without  the  world 
knowing  anything  about  it  ?  Must  we  give 
to  the  public  a  sight  where  vanity  and  vain- 
glory might  possibly  play  a  greater  part 
than  that  of  true  piety  ?  Can  we  not  give  to 
God  a  clean  heart,  and  a  faith  so  fervent 
that  He  will  accept  it  ? 

A  sinner,  cannot  he  do  good,  serve 
God,  weep  for  his  sins,  practise  virtue, 
without  its  being  known  to  men  ?  A 
just  and  good  man,  can  he  not  live  by 
faith,  without  the  world  being  cognizant 
of  it  ? 

I  know  that  we  must  conform  to  the 
decorous  usages  and  customs  of  the  world, 
that  we  must  accommodate  ourselves  to 
the  times  and  places,  that  we  must  take 
certain  measures  with  regard  to  our  posi- 
tion in  society,  that  charity  prompts  us  to 
conceal  much  from  the  eyes  of  men,  that 
we  must  be  weak  with  the  weak,  strong 
with  the  strong,  all  to  all,  as  says  the 
great  apostle,  and  there  is  even  a  merit 
In  hiding  the  good  we  do. 

But  I  say  that  the  allegiance  we  owe 
to  the  Almighty  is  divided  between  God 
and  a  world  which  we  ought  to  hate,  and 
which  world  we  flatter  by  concealing  our 
conversion  and  serving  God  in  secret. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  it  is  being  only 
half  a  Christian  to  blush  at  being  all  for 
Jesus,    after    unblushingly    and    wilfully 


following   the    pernicious  maxims   of  the 
world. 

Since  a  God-made  man  had  become  the 
jest  of  madmen,  since  He  has  been 
exposed  to  insults  innumerable  for  love  of 
you,  can  you  wish  to  conceal  your  duty  to 
Him,  and  to  suffer  something  for  His  sake.' 

O  man !  how  you  ought  to  blush  for 
being  so  ungrateful,  and  not  give  some 
tokens  of  affection  to  your  God,  who  has 
loaded  you  with  so  many  blessings,  and 
especially  the  crowning  gift  of  conversion, 
I  do  not  say  that  your  declaring  yourself 
openly  for  God  is  unworthy  of  a  generous 
man;  but  if  you  believe  in  His  justice, 
why  dissimulate  when  you  have  once 
embraced  His  service  ?  A  soul  that  has 
been  reared  in  pious  society  would  not 
know  how  to  counterfeit.  If  you  have 
been  taught  to  love  our  Lord,  if  you  have 
promised  to  serve  Him,  why  do  you  wish 
to  conceal  your  love  .-* 

You  pique  yourself  on  having  strength 
of  mind,  on  having  a  moral  courage  in  the 
business  of  this  world,  and  in  religion  you 
are  weaker  than  the  ordinary  run  of  mor- 
tals. 

Massillon. 
Discourse  on  Human  Respect. 

There  is  nothing  we  ought  to  dread 
more  than  giving  the  preference  to  the 
fear  of  man,  to  thaJt  of  the  fear  of  God. 

St.  Gregory. 
Oh  the  Proverbi, 


-:>'^>4^^-^^ 


^^^^ff:^T^^^^^*^^ 


CHAPTER  CVIII. 


•4;   •••  •*••  •*•;  ••*•   :•'•  •!•;  •!•;  ••;  ••;  ••;   'Jt;  ••;   •••   •*•*•  •••  ••*•   •*•;  !jt\ 

I  ON     HU7VIILITY.  * 

••J  'Jt:  'It'  *•?•  •?•*  •?•'  *•?•  *•?•*  *•?•*  •?•  •?•*  *•?•*  •?•*  "•?•  *•?•*  i?J  'A*  ••;  i*J 


St,  Francis  de  Sales  and  Father  Faber. 
"The  prayer  of  the  humble  and  the  meek  hath  always  pleased  Thee."  —  Judith  ix.  i6. 


'F  for  acts  of  a  true  and  sincere 
devotion  the  world  shall  esteem 
you  mean,  abject,  or  foolish, 
humility  will  make  you  rejoice 
at  this  happy  reproach,  the 
cause  of  which  is  not  in  you, 
but  in  those  that  reproach  you. 

What  is  it  to  love  your  own  abjection  } 
In  Latin,  abjectio  signifies  humility,  and 
humility  signifies  abjection  ;  so  that,  when 
our  Blessed  Lady,  in  her  sacred  canticle, 
says  that  all  generations  should  call  her 
blessed,  because  our  Lord  had  regarded 
the  humility  of  His  handmaid,  her  mean- 
ing is  that  our  Lord  had  graciously  looked 
down  on  her  abjection,  her  meanness  and 
lowliness,  to  heap  His  graces  and  favors 
upon  her. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  a  difference 
between  the  virtue  of  humility  and  abjec- 
tion ;  for  our  abjection  is  the  lowliness, 
meanness,  and  baseness  that  is  in  us 
without  our  being  aware  of  it,  whereas 
the  virtue  of  humility  is  a  true  knowledge 
and  a  voluntary  acknowledgment  of  our 
abjection.     Now  the   main   point  of   this 

274 


humility  consists  in  being  willing,  not 
only  to  acknowledge  our  abjection,  but  in 
loving  and  delighting  in  it ;  and  this,  not 
through  want  of  courage  and  generosity, 
but  for  the  greater  exaltation  of  the  Divine 
Majesty,  and  holding  our  neighbor  in 
greater  estimation  than  ourselves. 

Praise,  honor,  and  glory  are  not  given  to 
men  for  every  degree  of  virtue,  but  for  an 
excellence  of  virtue  ;  for,  by  praise,  we 
endeavor  to  persuade  others  to  esteem 
the  excellency  of  those  whom  we  praise ; 
by  honor  we  testify  that  we  ourselves 
esteem  them  ;  and  glory,  in  my  opinion, 
is  nothing  but  a  certain  lustre  of  reputa- 
tion that  arises  from  the  concurrence  of 
praise  and  honor ;  so  that  honor  and 
praise  are  like  precious  stones  from  a 
collection  of  which  glory  proceeds  like  a 
certain  enamelling.  Now  humility,  not 
enduring  that  we  should  have  any 
opinion  of  our  own  excellence,  or  think 
ourselves  worthy  to  be  preferred  before 
others,  consequently  cannot  permit  that 
we  should  hunt  after  praise,  honor,  or 
glory,  which  are  only  due  to  excellence. 


HUMILITY. 


275 


Let  us  incessantly  fix  our  eyes  on  Jesus 
Christ  crucified,  and  march  on  in  His 
service  with  confidence  anu  sincerity,  but 
yet  with  wisdom  and  discretion.  He  will 
be  the  protector  of  our  reputation  ;  and, 
should  He  suffer  it  to  be  taken  from  us,  it 
will  be  either  to  restore  it  with  advantage, 
or  to  make  us  profit  in  holy  humility,  one 
ounce  of  which  is  preferable  to  ten 
thousand  pounds  of  honors. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales. 

Humility  is  the  perfume  of  God.  It  is 
the  fragrance  which  He  leaves  behind, 
who  cannot  be  humbled  Himself  because 
He  is  God.  It  is  the  odor,  the  stain,  the 
token  that  the  Creator  leaves  upon  the 
creature  when  He  has  pressed  upon  it  for 
a  moment.  It  must  be  a  law  of  the  world 
of  grace,  because  we  find  it  in  Mary,  in 
the  saints,  and  in  the  faintest,  most  nearly 
indistinguishable  way  in  ourselves.  Per- 
haps it  is  something  inseparable  from  God. 
We  trace  the  Most  High,  the  Incommuni- 
cable, by  it  in  the  Old  Testament,  We 
trace  Jesus  by  it  in  the  New.  The  glory 
of  humility  is  in  the  human  nature  of  our 
Lord,  on  which  the  mysterious  pressure  of 
the  Divine  Nature  rested  forevermore. 
It  is  this  inevitable  perfume  that  God 
leaves  behind  Him  which  hinders  His 
altogether  hiding  His  traces  from  us.  It 
is  "  the  myrrh,  and  stacte,  and  cassia  from 
His  ivory  houses." 

Mary  has  found  Him,  and  she  has  laid 
down  in  the  lowliest,  most  flowery  valley 


of  humility,  and  the  fragrance  of  God  has 
perfumed  her  garments,  her  "  gilded  cloth- 
ing surrounded  with  variety." 

Humility  grows  far  more  rapidly,  and 
blossoms  more  abundantly,  in  the  mere 
thought  of  the  immensity  of  God's  love  of 
us,  and  the  unintelligible  prodigality  of 
His  fatherly  affection  for  us,  where  there 
is  no  thought  of  self  at  all,  even  in  the 
way  of  merited  self-reproach.  This  vision, 
for  it  is  nothing  but  a  beautiful  celestial 
vision,  overshadows  our  souls.  The  fires 
of  our  selfish  passions  go  out  in  it.  The 
glare  of  the  world  seems  softened  through 
it.  There  is  nothing  to  distract  us  in  the 
absorbing  simplicity  of  this  one  sight 
which  we  are  beholding.  There  is  noth- 
ing to  awaken  self-love,  and  to  aim  it 
against  the  nobler  or  better  thoughts  of 
self-forgetfulness. 

Humility  is  never  more  intense  than 
when  it  is  thus  simply  overwhelmed  by 
love ;  and  never  can  our  souls  be  more 
completely  overwhelmed  by  love  than 
when  they  rest,  silent  and  wonderstricken, 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. 

Nothing  teaches  us  humility  so  much  as 
the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Our  hearts  for 
very  love  are  constrained  to  imitate  Hira 
in  our  own  feeble  way,  and  to  worship 
Him  in  His  sacramental  presence  by  a 
continual  exercise  of  interior  humility. 

Father  Faber.  (Orat.) 
Foot  of  tk*  Cross  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 


CHAPTER   CIX. 


#     # 


#     # 


On  the  Love  of  oiff  JleigloP. 


"  The  love  of  our  neighbor  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law."  —  Romans  xiii.  8. 
Short  Extracts  from  Divers  Saints. 


'N  reference  to  this  command- 
ment, St.  Bern  dine,  of 
Sienna,  remarks  that  we 
should  love  our  neighbor  with 
a  genuine  affection,  and  not  in 
the  same  way  as  we  love  things 
necessary  or  useful,  such  as  bread,  a  house, 
and  other  things  which  are  for  our  use  or 
for  our  amusement  ;  these  we  do  not  love 
as  ourselves,  but  for  ourselves. 

St.  Chrysostom  says  that  when  the  Son 
of  God  gave  us  the  best  of  prayers.  He  did 
not  intend  that  we  should  say  "  My 
Father,"  but  Our  Father ;  inasmuch  as 
we  have  a  common  Father  in  heaven  we 
should  consider  all  men  as  our  brethren, 
and  that  in  this  way  we  should  love  each 
other  with  a  mutual  love,  with  a  love 
stronger  in  grace  than  in  nature,  as  we 
have  all  an  equal  right  to  a  vocation  to  a 
supernatural  life,  the  same  hope  of  a 
heavenly  reward. 

How  sweet  is  this  command  !  exclaims 
the  saintly  Jesuit,  P^re  de  la  Colombi^re  ; 

27S 


does  it  not  appear  to  be  worthy  of  the 
goodness  and  wisdom  of  God  }  Is  it  not 
reasonable  that  men  who  are  endowed  with 
one  and  the  same  nature,  who  have  one 
and  the  same  Father  in  heaven,  who  are 
obliged  to  live  in  society,  who  are  all 
fellow-travellers,  and  who  ought  to  meet 
again  in  heaven,  is  it  not  reasonable,  says 
he,  that  we  should  love  one  another  here 
below,  and  should  help  one  another  in  the 
same  degree  as  we  would  wish  to  be 
helped  ourselves  "i 

The  love  of  our  neighbor  may  be  placed 
in  the  same  category  as  the  love  we  owe 
to  God.  All  who  say  "  Lord,  Lord  "  (that 
is  to  say,  all  who  say  that  they  love  God), 
shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Good  works  and  proofs  of  that  love  are 
requisite.  He  alone  will  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  who  does  the  will  of  My 
Father.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
love  of  our  neighbor.  We  must  show  it 
by  solid  proofs. 

As  a  Christian,  you  are  expressly  to 
love  your  neighbor ;  therefore  it  is  certain , 


THE  LOVE   OF  OUR  NEIGHBOR. 


277 


that  you  will  best  show  your  affection  by 
tendering  all  the  help  that  it  may  be  in 
your  power  to  give  him. 

The  love  of  our  neighbor,  says  St.  Paul, 
is  a  debt  which  is  not  discharged  in  the 
ordinary  way ;  that  is  to  say,  a  debt  once 
paid  is  paid  once  for  all.  This  is  what 
St.  Paul  means,  we  are  always  beholden 
in  the  love  we  are  obliged  to  have  for  one 
another. 

The  more  you  pay  in  love  and  charity, 
the  more  you  will  owe,  says  St.  Augustine. 

He  who,  says  St.  Fulgentius,  does  not 
believe  that  he  has  aught  to  pay  to  his 
neighbor,  as  if  he  had  discharged  the  debt, 
but  he  ought  rather  to  weep  for  himself 
as  being  without  charity. 

Do  not  believe  that,  when  you  have  for- 
given your  brother,  you  have  cancelled  the 
obligation,  and  that  you  have  already  given 
sufficient  proofs  of  your  love. 

We  are  ever  indebted  to  our  brethren, 
on  occasion  of  the  mutual  bond  there  is 
between  you  and  them. 

We  are  members  of  the  same  body,  and 
f    charity    be    not    in    our    hearts,    we 


renounce  this  bond ;  and  being  no  longer 
united  with  our  neighbor,  we  have  no 
claim  on  the  love  of  Jesus,  our  Model  and 
Master. 

St.  Chrysostom  also  says,  in  his  Hom- 
ilies  of  St.  Matthew :  One  loves  because 
he  is  loved,  another  because  he  is  honored, 
another  because  he  thinks  that  it  will  be 
of  service  to  him ;  but,  alas  !  how  seldom 
it  is  that  you  meet  with  a  person  who 
loves  his  brother  as  he  ought  for  the  sake 
of  Jesus.  Nearly  all  friends  are  allied  by 
the  bonds  of  an  affection  which  is  of  the 
world,  worldly. 

St.  Bernard  says  that  he  who  does  not 
love  God  cannot  love  his  neighbor  with  a 
sincere  affection  ;  God,  therefore,  must  be 
our  first  love,  in  order  that  we  may  be  able 
to  love  our  neighbor  in  God  and  for  God. 

St.  Philip  Neri  fells  us  that  in  dealing 
with  our  neighbor  we  must  assume  as 
much  pleasantness  of  manner  as  we  can, 
and,  by  this  affability,  win  him  to  the  way 
of  virtue. 


J 
1 


*>-^^ 


#.4.++.++++*4- •♦••♦•+•♦■■♦■++++++  ++++++■♦•  •♦•++++++-*+++ 


^n>.+^>.  +  +  +  -*-  +  *-iii-*-*--*-<ii-^4^^-!!:-  -^  ^- -*■•*■*■!!' •*•  +  *■*•  +  +  *■*••*■•*•■*■•*•+ 


r 


JV^ 


CHAPTER     ex. 


On  t^E  LoYE  o^  oiii|  ^nsmiES. 


^ 


Archbishop  Carranza,  Le  P^re  Joly,  and 
St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen. 


"  But  I  say  to  you :  Love  your  enemies,  do  good  to  those  who  hate  you,  pray  for  those  who  perse- 
cute you,  and  for  those  who  calumniate  you,  in  order  that  you  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  who  is 
in  heaven." —  Matthew  v.  44. 


ARTHOLOMEW  DE  CAR- 
RANZA, Archbishop  of  Toledo, 
was  born  at  Miranda  in  Navarre. 
He  joined  the  Order  of  St.  Domi- 
nic, and  was  afterwards  Professor 
of  Theology  in  his  Dominican 
College.  In  1545  he  was  sent  to 
the  Council  of  Trent.  In  1554,  Philip  II., 
having  espoused  Queen  Mary,  brought  B.  de 
Carranza  to  England,  where  he  did  his  utmost 
to  convert  many  to  the  One  Faith.  On 
Philip's  return  to  Spain,  this  king  nominated 
him  to  the  Archbishopric. of  Toledo. 

Calumniated  by  his  enemies,  he  suffered 
with  patience  a  long  imprisonment,  and  died 
in  the  year  1576. 

Gregory  XIII.  wrote  an  epitaph  for  his 
tomb,  in  which  he  spoke  of  him  as  a  man 
equally  illustrious  for  his  virtues  as  his  learn- 
ing,—  a  man  modest  in  prosperity,  and  patient 
in  adversity. 

Let  us  reflect  seriously  on  the  condition 
made  by  our  Saviour  when  He  taught  us 
to  say  to  our  heavenly  Father  those  words, 
"  Forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive 
those  who  have  trespassed  against  us." 

How  easy  it  is  to  obtain  pardon,  if  we 
do  that  which  mainly  depends  on  our  own 

278 


exertions  ;  for  we  have  a  right  to  ask  for 
pardon  from  our  Lord,  if  we  have  forgiven 
those  who  may  have  trespassed  against  us. 
One  could  not  realize  this,  did  we  not 
meditate  on  the  wondrous  wisdom  of  the 
Son  of  God. 

His  design  being  to  establish  charity 
amongst  men.  He  makes  use  of  the  want 
we  all  experience  of  having  need  of  His 
mercy;  and  since  the  state  of  sin  is  our 
greatest  misery,  He  is  willing  to  grant  to 
us  the  remission  of  sin,  on  condition  that 
we  do  unto  our  neighbors  the  greatest 
favor  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  bestow, 
namely,  the  forgiveness  of  their  trespasses 
against  us. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  walk  in  the  foot- 
steps of  those  patriarchs  and  early  martyrs 
mentioned  in  Holy  Scripture.  Let  us 
imitate  a  Joseph,  who  repaid  with  presents 
all  the  outrages  he  had  received  from  his 
brothers ;  a  Moses,  who  prayed  for  that 
rebellious  people  who  were  continually 
waging  war  against  him ;  a  David,  who  to 
Saul  returned  good  for  evil ;  a  St.  Stephen, 


THE  LOVE   OF  OUR  ENEMIES. 


279 


who,  when  he  was  being  stoned  to  death, 
implored  pardon  from  God  for  his  execu- 
tioners ;  a  St.  Paul,  who,  after  having  been 
cruelly  persecuted  by  the  Jews,  worked 
incessantly  for  their  conversion. 

These  grand  examples,  ought  they  not 
to  teach  us  to  do  good  to  those  who  are 

our  enemies  ? 

B.  Carranza. 


[Abbe  Joly,  Dean  of  Langres  Cathedral, 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  of 
Burgundy,  was  born  at  Dijon  in  17 15,  and 
died  in  1775.  He  was  a  priest  of  consider- 
able literary  attainments,  and  published 
several  useful  works  in  his  native  city.] 

I  also  say  to  you,  Love  your  enemies. 
It  is  I,  says  Jesus,  who  speak  to  you. 

If  a  mere  man  had  said  so,  you  would 
point  out  the  gravity  of  the  offence,  and 
the  justice  of  your  resentment.  If  a  per- 
son for  whom  you  have  the  highest  respect 
were  to  entreat  you  to  forgive  another,  you 
might,  perhaps,  answer  that  you  could  obey 
him  in  all  things  else,  but  in  this  case  you 
have  been  very  deeply  wronged.  If  a 
prince  or  king  were  to  tell  you  the  like, 
you  would  suspend  your  vengeance  and 
give  some  mark  of  an  outward  reconcilia- 
tion, but  in  your  heart  you  would  cherish  a 
hatred  which  would  burst  forth,  sooner  or 
later. 

But  it  is  God  who  speaks ;  it  is  God  who 
commands  you  to  "  love  your  enemies,  and 
do  good  to  those  that  hate  you  "  To  so 
precise  a  command,  what  have  you  to 
answer?     Consider,    says   Tertullian,   the 


dignity  and  infinite  majesty  of  Him  who 
commands. 

Do  not  speak  of  passion,  human  feelings, 
the  pleasure  of  revenge,  the  atrocity  of 
the   insult,   the  indignity   of  the  affront. 

It  is  God  who  speaks,  and  He  must  be 
obeyed.  Do  not  tell  me  that  this  is 
diflEicult.  Was  it  difficult  to  David  }  Was 
it  so  to  St.  Stephen  } 

It  is  difficult,  I  grant ;  but  it  is  God  who 
has  made  it.  It  is  difficult ;  but  it  is  His 
will  that  you  should  surmount  the  diffi- 
culty. 

If,  in  a  violent  persecution.  He  were  to 
ask  you  to  lay  down  your  life,  as  He  has 
done  to  some  martyrs,  would  you  refuse  to 
give  it  to  Him  }  If  He  asked  for  the  last 
drop  of  your  blood,  would  you  not  shed  it 
joyfully } 

He  commands  you  to  love  your  enemies 
and  forgive  them  ;  is  not  this  enough  } 

Le  PlcRE  Joly. 

It  is  more  glorious  to  bear  silently  an 
affront,  in  imitation  of  Christ,  than  to 
retort  with  a  sharp  and  sarcastic  reply. 

If  it  should  happen  that  the  remem- 
brance of  an  injury  stirs  up  your  soul  to 
anger,  call  to  mind  what  the  Son  of  God 
has  suffered  for  us,  and  how  comparatively 
few  have  been  your  sufferings.  By  this 
means,  you  will  throw  water  on  the 
smouldering  flames,  and  you  will  be  the 
better  enabled  to  smother  your  resentment 

St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen. 
Sentences. 


fA 


CHAPTER  cxij>  On  MediMon  and  MenM  ppa^BP. 


Massillon,  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  and  Alphonse  Rodriguez,  S.  J. 

"  Before  prayer  prepare  thy  soul ;  and  be  not  as  a  man  that  temptelh  God." 

—  EccLESiASTicus  xvHi.  23. 


HE  precious  gift  of  prayer,  so 
essential  to  religion,  so  glorious 
to  the  creature,  so  favorable  to 
the  sinner,  so  beneficial  for  all 
men,  is  nowadays  either  de- 
spised or  neglected.  It  is  to 
induce  us  to  practise  this  that  the  Church 
proposes  as  our  model  the  early  Christians, 
who  had  no  better  occupation,  no  more 
agreeable  duty. 

Indeed,  O  my  God !  if  we  were  only  to 
think  of  its  advantage  and  benefit,  what 
consolations,  what  sweetness,  would  we 
not  experience  from  it .?  Forced  to  live 
for  a  time  in  this  land  of  exile,  far  from 
Thee,  and  far  from  Thy  celestial  abode, 
what  should  we  do  without  the  salutary 
exercise  of  prayer } 

What  better  consolation  can  we  hope 
for,  except  by  taking  advantage  by  this 
means  of  raising  up  our  thoughts  to 
heaven,  of  placing  ourselves  in  direct 
communication  with  Thee,  of  consulting 
Thee  in  all  our  scruples,  of  exposing  all 
our  wants,   of    telling  Thee  of    all     our 

28* 


troubles,  or   of  offering   up  all   our   pains 
and  sufferings  } 

What  other  resource  can  there  be  for  us, 
except  by  this  holy  exercise,  by  which  we 
shall  find  an  anointing  grace  which  can 
soften  our  griefs,  a  charitable  hand  to  dry 
our  tears,  a  secret,  sacred  ray  to  enlighten 
our  path,  a  Father  who  will  listen  to  our 
petitions,  a  Physician  who  will  cure  all 
our  infirmities,  a  Judge  who  will  interest 
Himself  in  all  our  concerns,  a  Master  who 
is  ever  instructing  us  } 

What  other  consolation  will  remain  if 
we  have  neglected  to  seek  for  this  potent 
remedy } 

Massillon. 

Prayer  places  our  understanding  in  the 
brightness  and  light  of  God,  and  exposes 
our  will  to  the  heat  of  heavenly  love. 
There  is  nothing  that  so  effectually  purges 
our  understanding  from  its  ignorance,  or 
our  will  from  its  depraved  affections,  as 
prayer.  It  is  the  water  of  benediction 
which   makes    the    plants    of    our    good 


MEDITA  TION  AND  MENTAL  PR  A  YER. 


281 


desires  grow  green  and  flourish.  It 
washes  our  souls  from  their  imperfections, 
and  quenches  the  thirst  of  passion  in  our 
hearts.  But,  above  all,  I  recommend 
mental  and  cordial  prayer,  and  particularly 
that  ^yhich  has  the  life  and  passion  of  our 
Lord  for  its  object.  By  making  Him  the 
frequent  subject  of  your  meditation,  your 
whole  soul  will  be  replenished  with  Him  ; 
you  shall  learn  His  carriage,  and  frame  all 
your  actions  according  to  this  model.  As 
He  is  the  light  of  the  world,  it  is  then  by 
Him,  in  Him,  and  for  Him  that  we  ought 
to  acquire  lustre  and  be  enlightened.  He 
is  the  tree  of  desire  under  whose  shadow 
we  ought  to  refresh  ourselves.  He  is  the 
living  fountain  of  Jacob,  in  which  we  may 
wash  away  all  our  stains. 

In  fine,  as  little  children,  by  hearing 
their  mother  talk,  lisp  at  first,  and  learn  at 
length  to  speak  their  language,  so  we,  by 
keeping  close  to  our  Saviour,  by  meditation, 
and  observing  His  words,  actions,  and  affec- 
tions, shall,  by  the  help  of  His  grace,  learn 
to  speak,  to  act,  and  to  will,  like  Him. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales. 

The  first  thing  we  must  do  in  prayer  is 
to  represent  to  ourselves,  by  the  help  of 
our  memory,  the  point  or  mystery  which 
we  may  wish  to  be  the  subject  of  our 
prayer.  Then  the  understanding  must 
examine  this  point,  and  consider  all  the 
particulars  of  it.  Finally,  the  will  must 
produce  acts,  according  as  the  under- 
standing has  digested  the  matter  which 
had  been  proposed  to  it  by  the  memory. 
But   since    this    discourse    of    the    under- 


standing is  the  source  whence  all  our  acts 
in  prayer  flow,  and,  since  we  can  make  no 
act  which  does  not,  necessarily,  spring  from 
this  our  meditation,  it  follows  that  we  must 
be  particularly  careful  to  make  this  well. 

The  truth  is,  this  proposition  is  self- 
evident,  for  there  is  no  one  that  has  the 
least  tincture  of  philosophy  but  knows 
that  the  will  is  a  blind  power,  unable  to 
attach  itself  to  anything  unless  the  under- 
standing guides  it.  Hence  it  is  a  maxim 
received  by  all  philosophers,  "  that  nothing 
can  be  willed  unless  it  is  first  known." 
The  will,  having  of  itself  no  light,  must 
borrow  it  from  the  understanding,  which 
goes  before  it  to  give  it  knowledge  and  to 
discover  what  it  ought  to  love  or  hate. 
It  is  this  that  made  St.  Augustine  say 
that  "  we  may  love  the  things  we  never 
saw,  but  never  those  we  have  not  known  "  ; 
and  St.  Gregory  says,  "  No  one  can  love 
what  he  is  entirely  ignorant  of." 

The  reason  of  this  is,  that  the  object  of 
the  will  being  a  known  good,  we  cannot 
love  anything  but  because  we  perceive  it 
is  good  and  deserving  of  love ;  just  as,  on 
the  contrary,  we  do  not  hate  a  thing  or  fly 
from  it,  unless  we  conceive  it  to  be  bad 
and  deserving  of  hatred. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  operation 
of  the  understanding  is  the  foundation  of 
all  our  acts  in  prayer ;  whence  it  follows 
that  meditation  is  most  necessary,  and 
that  prayer  cannot  be  perfect  unless  medi- 
tation goes  before,  or  accompanies  it,  as 
says  Hugo  of  St.  Victor. 

A.  Rodriguez,  S.  J. 
Frojn  "  Christian  Perfection^ 


^ 

CHAPTER     CXII. 


:   w.«^/.  ■<!^.>^^^..  .<»%.- .v-^..  ^<y<^.  ■v'^/.  ..♦^..  .<^.    ^-i,.  .M.  .»^<^.  .<ife.,  .A..  .<»♦->,.  iA>  ^<i,  .^  .vA'_s<^*  -■i^..  -Aa  .xA.  .v^..  .^■h.,j^'y,.  .^..  .N*/ 

I 


jfirrmffi 


ir 


iTTni 


^    ON     7VIEEKNESS.    ^i- 

SI'illllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 


*' 

01/ 


•^^^^l^- 


^  ~~~  ~        _      ■■■■... ,j-^^-- ,.,,,,,,,,,,..,,.,,. ,  ,  ^■ 


? 


St.  Ambrose. 
"  Blessed  are  the  meek:  for  they  shall  possess  the  land."  —  Matthew  v.  4. 


jE  must  accustom  ourselves  to 
perform  all  our  actions  with 
quiet  serenity  ;  force  of  habit 
can  correct  or  subdue  the 
most  obstinate  bad  temper. 
But  because  some  are  natur- 
ally so  impetuous  and  violent  that  it  is 
difficult  to  effect  an  immediate  cure,  it 
would  be  as  well  to  reflect  on  the  motives 
which  engender  impatience,  in  order  to 
induce  us  to  effect  a  gradual  cure. 

When  ebullitions  of  passion  come  upon 
us  so  suddenly  that  there  is  no  time  for 
reflection,  we  must  at  least  try  to  soothe 
them,  if  we  cannot  immediately  master 
them.  It  is  sometimes  proper  to  make  a 
desperate  effort  ;  but  we  must  always  try 
to  conquer  by  degrees,  more  especially 
when  the  first  bursts  of  impatience  or 
anger  assail  us.  It  is  recommended  in 
Holy  writ ;  give  time  for  anger  to  evapo- 
rate, and  then  extinguish  it  entirely.  We 
must  not  only  do  what  we  can  to  prevent 
our  getting  into  a  passion,  but  we  must 
use  greater  efforts  to  subdue  it  when  it 
does  come  on.     Those  little  outbursts  of 


petulance,  which  are  more  amusing  than 
bitter,  are  innocent  in  children  ;  they  fire  , 
up  and  are  appeased  in  a  moment,  and  all 
is  soon  forgotten.  Let  us  not  be  ashamed 
to  imitate  them  in  this ;  for  does  not  our 
Saviour  say,  If  you  do  not  become  as  little  ' 
children,  you  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  .'' 

Never  answer  an  angry  person  with  a 
haughty  haste  ;  if  /le  be  ill-tempered,  why 
fall  into  the  same  fault  ?  When  two  flinty 
stones  are  quickly  rubbed  together,  sparks 
will  fly  out. 

If  you  cannot  cure  anger  by  those 
means  which  a  calmer  judgment  would 
suggest,  you  must  have  recourse  to  strata- 
gem. Patience  is  a  great  assistant  ;  for 
time  softens  the  most  violent  passion.  If 
we  should  be  exposed  to  the  provocations 
of  a  person  who  is  continually  having 
recourse  to  sharp,  impertinent  answers, 
and  we  feel  that  we  have  not  sufficient 
command  over  our  own  temper,  we  can,  at 
least,  moderate  our  tongue  by  keeping 
silent.  Holy  Scripture  gives  us  this 
advice  :     "  Suffer  in   silence,  and   do  not 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 


Copyright,  1889, 


^t.  €atl)erine. 


MEEKNESS. 


283 


have  recourse  to  sharp  retorts  "  ;  you  can 
I  then  seek  reconciliation,  and  do  your  best 
to  make  it  lasting. 

We  have  a  noble  example  in  the  conduct 
of  Jacob.  His  first  care  was  to  keep  his 
mind  free  from  any  temptation  to  break 
the  precept  of  meekness. 

If  you  have  not  the  strength  of  mind  to 
do  this,  at  any  rate  you  can  bridle  your 
tongue,  and  allow  no  bitter  reply  to  escape 
your  lips.  When  you  have  taken  all  such 
precautions,  you  will  find  that  more  is  to 
be  done  to  secure  a  mild  and  even  temper. 

Would  you  wish  to  know  how  to  act 
when  any  injury  or  affront  is  imposed  on 
you }  Above  all,  do  not  return  evil  for 
evil ;  pay  no  attention  to  the  malice  of 
another  ;  there  is  no  occasion  to  be  wicked, 
because  another  is  wicked.  Take  care  to 
preserve  self-respect,  and  do  nothing  which 
might  be  a  reproach  for  you  afterwards. 

The  heathens  have  often  quoted  a  sen- 
sible reply  of  one  of  their  philosophers. 
One  of  his  attendants  had  greatly  dis- 
pleased him  by  an  act  of  gross  injustice. 
Go !  unhappy  man,  said  he,  how  severely 
would  I  punish  you,  were  I  not  angry  ? 

King  David  acted  in  a  similar  way  ;  at  a 
time  when  he  was  tempted  to  inflict  ven- 
geance, he  gained  a  complete  victory  over 
his  temper,  by  not  uttering  a  single  word 
to  those  who  had  wronged  him.  Abigail, 
by  her  entreaties,  calmed  that  gentle 
prince,  who  was  at  the  head  of  his  soldiers, 


and   who  was  on  his  road  tc  avenge  the 
insults  of  Nabal. 

It  is  a  sure  sign  of  a  noble  disposition 
if  you  listen  to  sincere  petitions,  and 
grant  what  is  demanded  of  you.  Davia 
always  felt  rejoiced  when  he  forgave  his 
enemies,  and  he  praised  the  cleverness  of 
that  woman,  who  so  well  knew  his  tender- 
ness of  heart,  that  she  obtained  all  she 
sought  for.  That  royal  prophet  was  not 
insensible  to  injury,  for  he  cries  out, —  I 
am  hurt  at  what  evil-disposed  persons 
have  said ;  had  I  consulted  my  evil  gen- 
ius, I  should  have  rejoiced  to  inflict  ven- 
geance. But  this  glorious  and  pacific 
king,  on  second  thoughts,  continues  to 
say  —  Oh  !  who  will  give  me  the  wings  of 
the  dove,  that  I  may  seek  peace  in  flight  f 
And  notwithstanding  all  their  insults  and 
outrages,  he  preferred  to  remain  in  peace. 

He  says  in  another  place:  "Be  angry, 
but  sin  not."  This  is  a  moral  precept, 
which  teaches  us  to  allay  any  little  asperity 
which  we  cannot  altogether  stifle. 

St.  Ambrose. 
De  Officiit. 

Meekness  preserves  within  us  the 
image  of  God,  but  anger  blots  it  out.  If 
any  hard  or  cutting  words  should  inadver- 
tently escape  from  your  lips,  apply  the 
remedy  and  cure  from  the  same  mouth 
that  caused  so  sensitive  a  wound. 

St.  Avgustinb. 


CHAPTER      CXIII. 


^:i\\ 


^ 


ON      7VIODESTY. 


-^il 


Saint  Ambrose  and  Alphonse  Rodriguez. 
"The  fruit  of  modesty  is  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  riches,  and  glory,  and  life."  — Proverbs  xxii.  4. 


'ODESTY  is  a  great  relief  to 
our  words  and  actions ;  it 
prevents  us  from  committing 
many  faults,  and  from  giving 
utterance  to  words  likely  to 
shock  those  who  listen  to  us. 
Often  an  inconsiderate  word  betrays  us, 
and  reveals  our  secret  thoughts.  Mod- 
esty should  even  regulate  the  sound  of  our 
voice,  £o  that  it  may  soften  down  any 
violent  outburst,  and  should  never  depart 
from  the  rules  prescribed. 

Silence,  the  guardian  of  our  hidden 
virtues,  is  also  very  necessary  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  modesty,  and  is  very  beneficial 
when  kept  under  properly,  not  however 
disdainfully,  or  in  a  contemptuous,  haughty 
way.  Modesty  should  pervade  all  that  is 
exterior  —  our  walk,  our  gestures,  and  our 
movements.  All  outside  appearances 
reveal  the  condition  of  our  mind ;  although 
our  passions  are  hidden,  they  manifest 
themselves  exteriorly  ;  one  easily  knows 
if  a  man  is  fickle,  haughty,  mischievous,  or 
if  he  is  wise,  patient,  and  reserved;  the 
motion  of  the  body  is  a  species  of  voice 

2M 


which  bespeaks  all  that  is  passing  in  the 
soul. 

We  often  see  some  people  walk  as  if 
they  were  on  the  stage  of  a  theatre,  who 
march  as  if  they  were  counting  their  steps, 
or  who  move  about  like  dummies.  I  can 
well  understand  that  a  well-educated  per- 
son should  not  walk  or  run  hastily,  unless 
necessity  or  fear  compels  them  to  do  so ; 
I  fancy  that  he  should  be  neither  too  fast 
nor  too  slow  in  his  movements,  nor  that 
he  should  be  as  stiff  as  a  statue.  There 
is  a  medium  in  all  things. 

A  man  of  good  breeding  should,  even  in 
walking,  keep  up  a  certain  decorum  and 
gravity,  without  affectation  or  pompous 
display.  This  gravity  should  be  natural, 
devoid  of  artifice  or  constraint.  All  that 
is  counterfeit  or  unnatural  will  always  be 
unpleasing. 

Modesty  is  suitable  for  all  ages  and  for 
all  classes  of  persons  ;  for  all  times  and 
places  ;  it  is  especially  becoming  in  youth, 
and  is  essentially  the  dowry  of  all  young 
people.  In  whatsoever  state  or  condition 
of  life  we  may  be  placed,  we  should  care- 


MODESTY. 


285 


fully  cherish  decorum   in  all   we   do,  and 
make  this  the  business  of  our  life. 

An  old  philosopher  remarks  that  we 
should  even  regulate  our  manners  with  a 
certain  seasoning,  or  rather  a  certain 
something  I  know  not  how  to  express, 
which  imparts  a  gracefulness  to  all  we  do. 
We  must  not,  however,  let  this  agreeable- 
ness  appear  affected,  for  nothing  unnatural 
can  ever  be  pleasing. 

The  tone  of  our  voice  should  be  firm, 
and  neither  mincing  nor  effeminate. 
There  are  some  who  disguise  their  words 
with  an  affectation  of  false  gravity,  savor- 
ing somewhat  of  malice  or  sarcasm. 

We  should  further  examine  into  what,  is 
appropriate  for  every  one.  What  would 
be  suitable  for  one  sex,  would  often  be 
ridiculous  for  the  other.  All  that  we  may 
wish  to  do,  however,  we  cannot  hope  to 
please  everybody. 

Let  not  your  manners  appear  affected 
or  effeminate,  but  above  all,  avoid  all  that 
is  rude,  gross,  or  impolite.  Let  us  follow 
all  that  nature  inspires  us  with.  If  we 
try  to  be  natural,  we  shall  the  more  easily 
keep  within  the  bounds  of  decorum  and 
«;ood  breeding. 

St.  Ambrose. 
Officii.  /.,  XV Hi.,  xix. 

It  is  certain  that  there  is  nothing  more 
edifying,  more  winning,  than  a  wise  and 
modest  exterior;  because  men  can  only 
see  what  is  outside,  and  it  is  that  exterior 
which  moves  and  preaches  more  than  a 
torrent  of  words.  Indeed,  a  humble  and 
mortified  exterior  has  often  induced  people 


to  be  devout,  and  has  given  them  a  con- 
tempt for  worldly  things ;  it  has  excited 
sinners  to  compunction,  and  has  raised  i^ 
their  hearts  to  heavenly  things. 

It  is  a  dumb  preaching,  more  efecdwg 
than  the  most  eloquent  of  sermons  ;  and 
the  reason  why  men  so  esteem  modesty 
and  propriety,  and  are  so  edified  by  them, 
is  that  they  always  draw  this  inference 
therefrom,  that  there  must  be  much  thaij 
is  good  within.  The  face,  says  St.  Jerome, 
is  the  mirror  of  the  soul,  and  the  eyes> 
dumb  as  they  are,  reveal  hidden  secrets  5 
there  is  no  mirror  which  better  refiec-i? 
exterior  objects. 

In  the  19th  chapter  cf  Ecclesiasticu-3 
we  read  :  "  A  man  is  known  by  his  look, 
and  a  wise  man,  when  thou  meetest  him, 
is  known  by  his  countenance.  The  attire 
of  the  body,  and  the  laughter  of  th  j  teeth, 
and  the  gait  of  the  man,  show  what  he  is." 
And  the  Holy  Ghost,  speaking  through 
the  mouth  of  the  wise  man,  says :  •'  An 
unprofitable  man  walketh  with  a  perverse 
mouth  ;  he  winketh  with  the  eyes,  presseth 
with  the  foot,  speaketh  with  the  finger '' 
{Prov.  vi.  12). 

Besides  this,  as  an  outward  wicked 
deportment  is  an  index  of  inward  disorder, 
so  exterior  modesty  is  surely  a  sign  of 
inward  composure.  It  is  on  account  of 
this  that  men  are  usually  moved  and  edi- 
fied by  it. 

St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen,  speaking  of 
Julian  the  Apostate,  says  :  "A  great  many 
knew  not  Julian  till  he  made  himself 
known  by  his  infamous  actions,  and  by  his 
abuse  of  sovereignty;    but    for  my  part 


'286 


HALF-HOURS   WITH    THE   SAINTS,   ETC. 


when  I  first  knew  him,  and  lived  and 
conversed  with  him  at  Athens,  I  never 
could  perceive  the  least  sign  of  goodness 
in  him.  He  carried  his  head  extremely 
high ;  his  shoulders,  as  well  as  his  eyes, 
were  always  in  motion ;  his  behavior  was 
haughty  and  fierce  ;  his  feet  never  stood 
still  ;  every  moment  either  anger  caused 
his  nostrils  to  swell,  or  disdain  drew  them 
in.  He  was  continually  trying  to  be 
witty,  or  would  indulge  in  low  and  coarse 
buffoonery,  and  his  laughter  was  ungra- 
ciously loud.  He  would  freely  grant  and 
deny  the  same  thing  in  the  same  breath ; 
he  would  speak  without  rule  or  judgment ; 
he  would  ask  silly  questions,  and  give 
impertinent  answers. 

"  By  such  exterior  marks  as  these  I 
knew  him  beforehand,  long  before  I  was 
made   acquainted   with  his    impiety,   and 


this  news  only  confirmed  my  former  judg 
ment  of  him. 

"Those  that  lived  with  us  then  at 
Athens,  were  they  here  present,  would 
testify  that,  having  observed  his  manners, 
I  exclaimed,  Oh  !  city  of  Rome,  what  a 
monster  art  thou  feeding  !  This  I  then 
said,  and  at  the  same  time  I  heartily 
wished  I  might  be  mistaken  ;  and  without 
doubt  it  had  been  much  better  that  I  had 
been  so,  since  we  then  should  not  have 
seen  those  evils  which  have  almost  ren- 
dered the  world  desolate." 

Thus  you  see  that  an  irregular  exterior 
is  a  mark  of  a  disordered  interior ;  as  an 
exterior  modesty  is  a  mark  of  a  composed 
interior,  which  is  the  reason  why  men  are 
ordinarily  so  much  moved  and  edified  by  it. 

Alphonse  Rodriguez. 
On  Christian  Perfection,  x. 


♦■♦■» 


.••      .•• 


••-•      •-•. 


'.*        •'•?        %••        w 


MORTlFIGAriON. 


Fathers  Segneri,  Croiset,  and  St.  Bernard. 

"  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  daily,  and  foUovi 
me." — Luke  ix.  23. 


HEY  that  are  Christ's  have 
crucified  their  flesh  with  the 
vices  and  concupiscences,  said 
St   Paul  {Ephes.  i.  24). 

Remark  that  he  does  not  say, 
only  those  that  are  Christ's 
have  crucified  their  vices,  but  they  that 
have  crucified  their  flesh  with  their  vices. 
That  is,  in  order  to  effect  a  cure  we 
must  go  to  the  source,  and  the  flesh  is  the 
root  of  the  evils  of  our  soul.  But,  in  order 
to  effect  a  perfect  cure,  we  must  chastise 
the  body  and  bring  it  under  subjection, 
and  this  the  great  apostle  said  of  himself  : 
"  I  chastise  my  body." 

How  do  you  act  in  this  particular  ? 
What  harsh  treatment  of  your  body  do 
you  practise }  Do  you  fast .''  What  are 
the  austerities  you  practise } 

If,  instead  of  mortifying  your  flesh  and 
bringing  it  under  subjection,  you  think 
only  of  feeding  it  and  procuring  for  it 
every  comfort,  you  are  not  Christ's, 
Why  1  Because  "  they  that  are  Christ's 
have  crucified  their  flesh  with  the  vices 
and  concupiscences." 

S8T 


It  is  not  enough  merely  to  crucify  the 
flesh,  but  we  must  crucify  the  vices.  That 
is  to  say,  we  must  add  interior  mortifica- 
tion to  exterior  mortification.  In  fact,  the 
one  should  not  be  practised  without  the 
other;  for  it  would  be  of  little  use  to 
chastise  the  body  and  bring  it  under  sub- 
jection if  our  hearts  and  affections  slav- 
ishly cherish  inordinate  desires. 

St.  Paul  points  out  two  things  which  we 
ought  to  destroy,  through  the  practice  of 
interior  mortification,  namely,  our  bad 
habits  and  our  vices.  Cum  vitiis  et  con- 
cupiscentiis.  I  say,  our  bad  habits,  for 
however  careful  we  may  be  to  mortify  our 
selves,  we  always  fall  into  some  actual  sin , 
but  as  for  habitual  sins,  if  we  fight  them 
with  courage  and  perseverance,  we  shall  in 
the  end  totally  destroy  them.  With 
regard  to  our  vices,  we  do  not  entirely 
destroy  them,  but  we  can  at  least  weaken 
the  power  they  have  over  us,  and  if  we 
cannot  exterminate  them  on  the  cross,  we 
can  at  least  attach  them  thereto,  and  this 
we  ought  to  try  to  do,  if  we  wish  to  be 
Christ's ;  for  "  They  that  are  Christ's  b^ive 


288 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


crucified   their   flesh,   and   the  vices   and 
concupiscences." 

The  apostle  does  not  tell  you,  If  you 
live  according  to  the  Spirit,  but  he  says, 
"  If  by  the  Spirit  you  mortify  the  deeds  of 
the  flesh,  you  shall  live"  {Rom.  viii.  13). 
One  can  easily  live  according  to  the  flesh, 
and  that  happens  but  too  often  ;  but  no 
man  on  earth  can  always  live  according 
to  the  Spirit ;  that  pure  spiritual  life  is 
to  be  found  only  in  heaven,  where  the 
flesh,  then  fully  under  the  control  of  the 
Spirit,  does  not  feel  the  least  inclination  of 
rebellion. 

Thus  what  St,  Paul  recommends  us  is, 
to  resist  the  assaults  of  the  flesh  by  curb- 
ing our  desires,  by  checking  our  ardor,  by 
a  continual  opposition  to  the  wicked  sug- 
gestions of  our  will ;  in  a  word,  by  bridling 
our  passions,  by  these  means,  and  thus 
overcoming  every  temptation.  Neverthe- 
less, the  apostle  does  not  require  that 
kind  of  mortification  which  consists  in 
austerities,  scourgings,  &c.,  although  these 
are  useful  for  humbling  ourselves,  and 
bringing  us  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Spirit. 

But  the  ordinary  mortification,  so  indis- 
pensable to  every  Christian,  is  that  we 
have  just  explained,  "  If  by  the  Spirit  you 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  flesh,  you  shall 
live." 

Rev.  PfeRE  Segneri. 
Meditations. 

The  exercise  of  interior  mortification  is 
a  kind  of  penance  which  no  one  has  a  right 
to  be   dispensed  from.     It  has  been  the 


invariable  custom  of  all  the  saints,  and 
known  to  those  who  have  ever  had  a  wish 
to  be  perfect.  One  has  only  to  be  atten- 
tive to  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  love  of 
Jesus  is  so  ingenious  on  this  point,  that  He 
inspires  the  simplest  and  most  unpolished 
minds  with  skilful  methods  of  self-morti- 
fication that  far  surpass  the  comprehension 
of  the  worldly  wise,  and  might  pass  off 
as  so  many  small  miracles. 

There  is  nothing  happens  that  may  not 
give  us  an  opportunity  of  thwarting  our 
inclinations  ;  there  is  no  time  or  place  that 
may  not  be  chosen  for  practising  interior 
mortification,  without  in  the  least  inter- 
fering with  the  rules  of  common  sense. 

For  example,  we  can  be  silent  when  we 
have  a  desire  to  talk,  we  can  close  our  eyes 
when  we  wish  to  see.  The  longing  to 
hear  the  news,  or  to  know  what  is  going 
on,  what  is  done,  what  is  said,  the  wish  to 
see  a  person,  to  relate  an  anecdote,  to 
learn  the  success  of  a  business  which 
interests  us  ;  in  a  word,  all  over-eagerness 
is  a  subject  of  mortification,  that  would 
prove  to  be  of  more  than  usual  merit, 
and  of  which  God  alone  would  be  the 
witness. 

Nothing    is    more    plentiful     than    the 
opportunities     of     interior     mortification. 
Mention   of   a   few    will    be    wonderfullW 
instructive.        A    word     said    apropos, 
harmless  joke,  just  to  enliven  the  conver- 
sation—  these  refrained    from,   might   be 
the  matter  of  a  beautiful  sacrifice.     Ther^ 
is  scarcely  an  hour  in  the  day  which  doeii 
not  afford  us  an  opportunity  of  mortifies 
tion. 


MORTIFICA  TION. 


289 


Sitting  or  standing,  one  can  never  fail 
pf  finding  an  inconvenient  seat  or  posture 
without  being  noticed. 

A  person  may  be  often  interrupted 
when  particularly  engaged,  and  as  often 
can  reply  with  as  much  mildness  and 
civility  as  if  he  had  not  been  very  busy. 
The  ill-humor  of  a  person  at  home,  the 
annoyances  of  a  servant,  the  ingratitude 
of  a  man  who  is  indebted  to  you  for  past 
kindnesses,  —  all  these  may  exercise  the 
patience  of  a  good  and  pious  man. 

In  conclusion,  the  inconveniences 
depending  on  place,  weather  or  persons, 
which  are  endured  unnoticed  or  unheeded, 
are  petty  opportunities  of  mortifying  one's 
self,  it  is  true ;  but  the  mortification  in 
these  trifling  matters  is  not  little  ;  it  is 
very  meritorious,  and  it  may  be  said  that 


the  greatest  graces  are  the  fruit  of  these 
petty  mortifications. 

PfeRE  Croiset. 
Exercises  de  Pieti. 

A  man  must  learn  to  treat  his  body  as 
if  it  were  diseased,  that  is  to  say,  he 
must  abstain  from  the  food  he  longs  for, 
but  which  would  be  hurtful  to  his  body, 
and  submit  to  take  that  which  would  do  it 
good,  notwithstanding  the  repugnance  he 
may  naturally  feel. 

Thus  much  for  bodily  mortification,  but 
spiritual  mortification  is  a  kind  of  mar- 
tyrdom ;  it  has  not  the  visible  torture  of 
the  iron  chain,  but  it  has  something  far 
more  troublesome,  and  that  is,  its  duration. 

St.  Bernard. 
Epistle  to  his  Brothers. 


'->^>^^->^^^i^ 


^^^^ip^9^f^' 


CHAPTBR    CXV. 


'Jis  *!?•  'Ji!  iv  'Jt!  "Iv 


•-•."  •.*:   '*!   •-•.•   •-•.*   •*! 


•••  •.•;  •••  •;••  ly. 


I  ON    0BED1ENGE.  I 


\»:  :•:  •>.•  •-•.•  ••-•  •.•-• 


'.*!  '."i  '."!  \*t  \»:  •>.• 


Saints  Francis  de  Sales,  Gregory,  and  P^re  Lambert. 

"  Let  every  soal  be  subject  to  higher  powers ;  for  there  is  no  power  but  from  God." 

—  Romans  xiii,  i. 


HERE  are  two  sorts  of  obe- 
dience, the  one  necessary,  the 
other  voluntary.  By  that 
which  is  necessary,  you  must 
obey  your  ecclesiastical  supe- 
riors, as  the  Pope,  the  bishop, 
the  parish  priest,  and  such  as  are  com- 
missioned by  them ;  as  also  your  civil 
superiors,  such  as  your  Queen  and  the 
magistrates  she  has  established  for  admin- 
istering justice  ;  and,  finally,  your  domes- 
tic superiors,  namely,  your  father  and 
mother,  master  and  mistress. 

Now  this  obedience  is  called  necessary, 
because  no  man  can  exempt  himself  from 
the  duty  of  obeying  his  superiors,  God 
having  placed  them  in  authority  to  com- 
mand and  govern,  each  in  the  department 
that  is  assigned  to  him.  You  must  then 
of  necessity  obey  their  commands  ;  but, 
to  be  perfect,  follow  their  counsels  also, 
nay,  even  their  desires  and  inclinations,  so 
far  as  charity  and  discretion  will  permit. 
Obey  them  when  they  order  that  which  is 
agreeable,  such  as  to  eat,  or  to  take  recre- 
ation ;  for  though   there   .seems    no  great 

290 


virtue  to  obey  on  such  occasions,  yet  it 
would  be  a  great  sin  to  disobey.  Obey 
them  in  matters  indifferent,  as  to  wear 
this  or  that  dress,  to  go  one  way  or  another, 
to  sing  or  to  be  silent,  and  this  wiH  be  a 
very  commendable  obedience.  Obey 
them  in  things  hard,  troublesome,  or  dis- 
agreeable, and  this  will  be  a  perfect  obe- 
dience. Obey,  in  fine,  meekly,  without 
reply  ;  readily,  without  delay ;  cheerfully, 
without  repining  ;  and  above  all,  lovingly, 
for  the  love  of  Him  who,  through  His 
love  for  us,  made  Himself  obedient  unto 
death,  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross,  and 
who,  as  St.  Bernard  says,  rather  chose  to 
part  with  His  life  than  His  obedience. 

We  call  that  obedience  voluntary,  to 
which  we  oblige  ourselves  by  our  own 
choice,  and  which  is  not  imposed  upon  us 
by  another.  We  do  not  commonly  choose 
our  prince,  our  bishop,  our  father  and 
mother,  nor  do  even  wives,  many  times^ 
choose  their  husbands,  but  we  choose  our 
confessor  and  director ;  if,  then,  in  choosing, 
we  make  a  vow  to  obey,  as  the  holy  St. 
Teresa   did,  who,    besides   her  obedience 


OBEDIENCE. 


291 


solemnly  vowed  to  the  superior  of  her 
order,  bound  herself  by  a  simple  vow  to 
obey  Father  Gratian. 

We  must  obey  every  one  of  our 
superiors,  according  to  the  charge  he  has 
over  us.  In  political  matters,  we  must 
obey  our  Queen  ;  in  ecclesiastical  matters, 
our  prelates ;  in  our  domestic  circle, 
father,  master,  or  husband ;  and  in  what 
regards  the  private  conduct  of  the  soul, 
our  ghostly  father  or  director. 

.St.  Francis  de  Sales. 
Devout  Life. 

What  would  become  of  the  world 
without  obedience  }  What  more  necessary 
than  this  virtue  to  maintain  order  and 
discipline  1  Experience  has  proved  this. 
Where  obedience  is  not  observed,  there 
can  be  nothing  but  trouble ;  disorder 
glides  in,  and  peace  is  banished. 

A  disunited  whole  is  threatened  with 
destruction,  and  ruin  is  unavoidable.  But, 
on  the  contrary,  where  obedience  is  kept, 
all  will  be  edified.  In  noticing  this 
perfect  unanimity  one  would  sec  that  these 
contented  minds  are  perfectly  united.  If 
there  can  be  anything  lasting  on  the  earth, 
it  is  when  it  is  united,  and  when  everything 
is  in  perfect  order,  and  this  can  never  be 
the  case  where  obedience  is  not  strictly 
observed. 

The  Apostle  St.  Peter,  in  recommending 
obedience,  takes  every  precaution.  Had 
there  been  any  way  of  dispensing  with 
obedience,  it  would  no  doubt  be  feasible 
with  those  who  abuse  their  authority.  Is 
this  a  legitimate  excuse  for  non-obedience  .■' 


Can  we  throw  off  the  yoke  and  absolutely 
refuse  to  obey  ?  If  you  did,  you  are 
condemned  by  St.  Peter,  for  he  says  (chap, 
iii.  1 8),  "  Be  subject  to  your  masters  with  all 
fear,  not  only  to  the  good  and  gentle,  but 
to  the  froward,"  How  mad  is  the  world  ! 
the  foundation  of  their  joy  is,  that  they 
are  free  from  all  control,  and  are  masters  of 
their  conduct.  How  many  there  are  to 
whom  every  kind  of  restraint  is  insupport- 
able, and  who  ever  sigh  to  be  free  !  They 
are  like  so  many  prodigal  sons,  who  cannot 
endure  their  father's  government  ;  they 
are  enemies  of  their  own  happiness  ;  they 
wish  to  be  their  own  masters,  and  soon 
find  that  they  have  been  wofully  deceived. 

Unhappy  is  that  man  who,  following  his 
own  perverse  will,  wishes  to  be  his  own 
master.  When  God  is  angry  with  men, 
and  wills  to  punish  them,  one  of  His 
severest  chastisements  is  to  leave  them  to 
themselves,  and  let  them  go  according  to 
their  hearts:  "  So  I  let  them  go  according 
to  the  desires  of  their  heart  :  they  shall  walk 
in  their  own  inventions  "  {Ps.  Ixxx.  13). 

How  has  God  punished  infidel  nations 
when,  following  blindly  the  inordinate 
desires  of  bestial  passion,  they  excited 
His  wrath  by  committing  the  most 
abominable  crimes .?  "  Wherefore,  God 
gave  them  up  to  the  desires  of  their  heart, 
He  delivered  them  up  to  shameful  affec- 
tions" {Rom.  i.). 

But  he  who  willingly  obeys  need  not 
fear  to  be  punished  in  this  way.  As  he 
is  resolved  not  to  follow  his  own  will,  he 
need  not  expect  that  God  would  punish 
him,  or  leave  him  to  the  desires  of  his  heart. 


t92 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


What,  then,  can  be  more  advantageous 
than  to  obey,  since  obedience  is  a  sure 
protection  from  that  rigorous  punishment 
which  is  so  frightful,  and  which  is  so  much 
to  be  dreaded  ? 

Taking  into  consideration  the  good 
results  of  obedience,  we  can  only  help 
saying  that  it  is  by  far  more  beneficial  to 
obey  than  to  command.  There  is  nothing, 
in  fact,  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  being 
raised  to  a  high  post  of  authority.  Wise 
men  have  shrunk  from  its  heavy  weight  of 
responsibility.  And  wherefore .-'  because 
they  know  how  dangerous  it  is  to  com- 
mand. 

To  seek  for  power,  and  to  strive  for  a 
high  post,  is  to  wish  to  be  your  own 
enemy.  Have  we  not  enough  to  answer 
for  ourselves  without  the  responsibility  of 
having  to  answer  for  others }  Do  you 
doubt  that  all  those  who  command  are 
responsible  to  Almighty  God  for  those 
under  their  authority  ? 


See  how  St.  James  in  his  epistle  (iil  i) 
warns  his  brothers  ;  does  he  not  say,  "  Be 
ye  not  many  masters,  my  brethren, 
knowing  that  you  receive  the  greater 
judgment".? 

Those  who  are  under  the  yoke  of  obe- 
dience  are  safer  than  others,  and  conse- 
quently happier. 

Lambert. 
Discourses  on  Ecclesiastical  Life. 

Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice  :  it  is 
both  right  and  reasonable  that  it  should 
be  preferred  ;  for,  in  sacrifices,  we  immo- 
late another's  flesh,  but  in  obedience  we 
sacrifice  our  own  will.  Consequently,  the 
number  of  our  sacrifices  is  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  our  acts  of  obedience, 
because,  in  bending  to  the  authority  of  a 
man  for  the  love  of  God,  we  overcome  the 
pride  which  is  so  natural  to  us. 

St.  Gregory. 
On  Fourth  Book  of  Kings. 


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I^^^^^^^^to^ 


*-~i5~:^S>o" 


^ 


CHARTER     CXVI 


■^8^»g'==::5;ri: 


R   ^rder  .ohk^   Regalarit^. 


:j: 


Le  PfeRE  Haineuve  and  St.  Augustine. 
"  Let  all  things  be  done  decently,  and  according  to  order."  —  i  Corinthians  xiv.  4a 


•F  we  knew  how  to  spend  our 
time  in  observing  the  order 
and  regularity  which  is  pre- 
scribed for  all  the  actions  of 
our  life,  how  rich  we  should  be 
in  a  short  time  !  What  a  mass 
of  merits  should  we  not  accumulate ! 
What  a  crown  of  glory  should  we  not 
obtain !  In  a  word,  what  treasures  for 
heaven } 

Not  one  of  our  actions  would  be  void  of 
virtue ;  there  would  be  neither  word  nor 
thought  but  which  would  deserve  a  reward, 
not  a  moment  that  would  not  be  of  value 
for  all  eternity ;  there  would  not  be  a 
sigh  from  the  heart  but  which  would  be 
received  by  God  as  an  act  of  love.  Ah  ! 
how  precious  would  be  such  a  life  passed 
thus  holily  ! 

Every  moment  would  be  worth  a  year, 
and  every  day  would  be  worth  an  age.  It 
is  a  short  but  certain  way  of  acquiring  the 
merit  of  the  most  honorable  age,  since,  as 
the  wise  man  says,  it  is  not  the  number  of 
years,  but  the  number  of  good  deeds  which 
do  honor  to  that  respectable  old  age,  and 

393 


that  a  man  who  knows  how  to  regulate 
his  time  properly  finds  that  he  has  done 
more  in  a  few  days  than  he  who  has  lived 
a  whole  life  of  irregularity  and  disorder. 

Alas  !  Christians,  what  a  waste  of  time  ! 
What  a  number  of  days  ought  to  be  blotted 
out  from  our  lives  !  What  a  number  of 
years  are  counted  as  nothing ! 

One  who  is  to-day  sixty  or  eighty 
years  of  age,  is  still  only  a  child,  if  his 
merits  are  reckoned  by  his  years ;  one 
who  is  a  child  aged  one  hundred  years 
(who,  full  of  wrinkles  and  infirmities,  must 
render  an  account  of  his  life  to  that  just 
Judge,  who  looks  only  at  his  actions),  will 
then  see,  that  although  he  has  dwelt  a  long 
time  on  earth,  yet  he  has  lived  but  a  short 
time. 

If  a  profane  historian  had  written  the 
history  of  Saul,  he  would  have  argued  that 
this  prince  must  have  reigned  forty  years 
over  Judea,  because  the  sun  had  run  its 
course  as  many  times  ;  but  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, which  does  not  heed  the  calculations 
of  astronomers,  but  rather  measures  the 
years  by  merits  than  by  months,  says  tha*^ 


294 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


he  reigned  only  two  years  ;  because,  during 
that  time  he  had  lived  a  holy  life,  following 
strictly  the  commandments  of  God. 

I  do  not  fear  to  assert,  that  the  best  way 
of  knowing  the  interior  of  a  person  is  to 
see  and  watch  her  exterior  behavior,  that 
is  to  say,  how  she  regulates  her  time,  her 
actions,  her  employments,  and  all  that 
appears  outwardly.  It  is  only  fair  to  pre- 
sume that  a  Christian  so  orderly  in  her 
exterior  actions,  has  a  still  greater  care  for 
all  that  is  more  essential  and  important, 
which  would  be  to  keep  her  conscience  in 
order  to  regulate  her  desires,  her  affec- 
tions, and  all  the  emotions  of  her  soul. 

This  presumption  is  also  so  well 
founded,  that  as  one  cannot  better  judge 
of  a  cause  than  from  its  effect,  so  in  like 
manner  one  cannot  have  a  surer  sign  that 
that  man  is  really  virtuous  who,  in  all  his 
actions,  is  orderly  and  regular,  and  does 
everything  with  the  intention  of  pleasing 
God. 

In  reference  to  this,  you  will  find  that 
the  Holy  Scriptures  (and  this  has  been 
noticed  by  some  commentators )  have 
recommended  that  we  should  watch 
twenty-four  times,  and  this  is  to  teach  us 
that  we  must  not  allow  any  hour  of  a  day 
to  pass  without  taking  pains  to  do  what  we 
ought  to  do,  and  that,  too,  in  the  very  best 
way. 

This  is  not  meant  that  we  should 
abridge  the  necessary  hours  for  sleep  ;  but 
it  is,  as  St.  Paul  says,  whether  we  sleep  or 
whether  we  are  awake,  we  should   do  all 


things  regularly,  in  order  that  all  may  leac 
to  our  sanctification,  and  thus  refer  all  that 
we   do   to  the   honor    and    glory    of  tl 
Sovereign  Master,  whom  we  should  alwa} 
honor  and  obey. 

This  is   the   surest  proof   that   we   ai 
serving  God  faithfully  and  truly. 

And  what  a  consolation  it  will  be  at  th| 
hour  of  death,  to  be  able  to  feel  that 
have  endeavored  to  perform  all  for  the 
love  of  God,  and  that  if,  through  frailty, 
we  have  not  been  able  to  do  all  things 
well,  we  have  at  least  tried  to  be  just  and 
holy. 

If  a  single  well-employed  day  is  worthy 
of  a  reward,  what  a  weight  of  glory  will  be 
in  store  for  us,  if  our  life  has  been  one  con- 
tinued round  of  order  and  regularity. 

Le  PiRE  Haineuve. 
De  Vordre  :  Discours,  x. 

It  is  God  who  regulates  everything ; 
and  of  all  that  He  has  done,  there  is  noth- 
ing that  can  be  found  to  be  out  of  order ; 
we  are  often  ignorant  of  the  reason  why 
He  has  done  one  thing,  in  preference  to 
another. 

There  is  a  rule  and  order  which  is.  neces' 
sary  in  this  life,  a  regularity  which  leads 
us  to  God,  if  we  keep  it  faithfully ;  if  we 
fail  in  this,  we  swerve  from  the  path  which 
conducts  us  to  His  heavenly  kingdom  ;  for 
all  is  beautiful  where  there  is  order,  and 
the  apostle  says  all  order  is  from  God.         ^ 

St.  Augustine. 

D*  Ordine. 


BOURDALOUE. 

"  I  chastise  nty  body  and  bring  it  into  subjection  :  lest  perhaps,  when  I  have  preached  to  others, 
I  myself  should  become  a  castaway."  —  i  Corinthians  ix.  27. 


*T  is  an  excellent  axiom,  on  which 
we  do  not  sufficiently  reflect, 
and  which,  nevertheless,  ought 
to  be  the  chief  subject  of  our 
gratitude  to  God,  that  the  same 
things  which  have  perverted  us 
are  (if  we  wish)  those  which  should  sanc- 
tify us,  and  that  by  a  wonderful  effect  of 
grace  and  love,  we,  without  going  out 
of  our  way,  find  a  remedy  for  our  ills  in 
the  very  instruments  which  have  con- 
tributed to  bring  them  on. 

It  is  this  idea  that  St.  Paul  conceived, 
when  reasoning  on  this  principle  he 
explains  to  the  Romans  what  is  the 
essence  of  Christian  penance,  saying : 
"  Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as 
instruments  of  iniquity  unto  sin  ;  but  pre- 
sent yourself  to  God  as  those  that  are 
alive  from  the  dead,  and  your  members 
as  instruments  of  justice  unto  God " 
{Ro7n.  vi.  13). 

As  you  have  yielded  your  members  to 
commit  sins  of  iniquity,  you  must  make 
use  of  them  as  instruments  of  justice  in 

29S 


order  to  lead  a  holy  life  ;  for  it  is  by  doing 
so  that  your  conversion  will  appear  to  be 
sincere.  If  what  was  in  you  as  an  instru- 
ment of  sin  becomes  a  means  of  penance, 
if  what  you  have  defiled  when  you  were  a 
slave  to  the  world,  you  consecrate  it  to 
the  service  of  Almighty  God,  and  make  of 
your  members  a  victim  and  holocaust 
worthy  of  His  justice. 

This  is  the  way  by  which  you  can  dis- 
cern the  difference  between  true  and  false 
penance. 

As  it  is  effeminacy  and  sensuality  which 
have  withdrawn  you  from  God,  you  must, 
if  you  wish  to  make  friends  with  Him, 
counteract  these  by  a  severe  penance. 
And  to  effect  thisj  your  penance  must  be 
persevering  as  well  as  severe.  Why } 
Because  God  leaves  it  to  yourselves  ;  your 
penance  must  therefore  annihilate  your 
self-love,  and  that  can  only  be  done  by 
the  zeal  of  a  holy  and  rigorous  punishment. 
If  it  were  a  question  of  condemning  others, 
and  of  judging  of  their  shortcomings,  what 
a  severe  penance  would  you  award  them ; 


296 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


and  when  it  applies  to  your  own  bodies, 
of  which  you  are  so  fond,  and  for  which  you 
have  nought  but  delicate  tenderness,  what 
severity  ought  you  not  to  exercise ;  and  if 
you  do  not  do  so,  what  injustice  will  you 
not  commit  ? 

Have  we  not  very  often  fancied  that 
faults,  which  appear  to  us  so  small  when 
we  ourselves  commit  them,  are  magnified 
in  our  own  eyes  when  committed  by 
others,  and  that  which  we  took  for  an  atom 
becomes  a  monstrous  sin  in  our  neighbor  ? 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  ?  Why,  nothing 
but  self-love.  Oh !  how  should  we  fight 
against  this  ?     Only  by  severe  penance. 

We  even  love  our  vices,  we  make  a 
virtue  of  them,  and  what  is  insupportable 
in  others  is  sweet  and  agreeable  to  our- 
selves. However,  penance  must  destroy 
all  this.  However  selfish  we  may  be,  we 
must  not  be  corrupt  judges;  and  in  order 
not  to  be  so  we  must  judge  ourselves  and 
punish  ourselves  severely. 

It  is  a  delusion,  at  all  times  fostered  and 
encouraged  by  an  effeminate  world,  to 
imagine  that  penance  should  be  a  virtue 
solely  interior,  and  that  it  should  reign 
only  over  the  spiritual  powers  of  the  soul ; 
that  the  heart  should  be  simply  changed, 
that  a  careful  watch  should  be  kept  over 
our  passions,  and  that  all  these  could  be 
solidly  practiced  without  our  flesh  feeling 
the  effects,  or  without  inflicting  pain  on 
that  exterior  and  worldly  man,  which  forms 
part  of  ourselves. 

If  that  were  the  case,  says  St.  Chrysos- 
tom,  we  must  curtail  entire  chapters  of 
Holy  Scripture,  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost 


upsets  carnal  prudence  by  testimonies, 
as  contrary  to  our  self-love  as  truth  is 
exposed  to  error. 

It  might  be  said  that  St.  Paul  did  not 
take  that  worldly  view,  or  that  he  thought 
lightly  of    Christian    penance,    when   heJ 
taught  that  we  should  make  living  hos-'] 
tages  of  our  bodies  —  Exhibeatis  corpora 
vestra  hostiam  viventem  —  when  he  wished -i 
that  this  virtue  should  extend  to  the  chas- 
tising of  the  flesh,  when  he   commanded 
the  faithful,  or,  rather,  when    he   made  a 
law  for    them,   to   bear    really   on    their 
bodies  the  mortification  of  Jesus   Christ; 
and  finally,  to  give  them  an  example,  he 
himself  chastised  his  body,  and   bringing 
it   under    subjection,  fearing,    added   he, 
lest  perhaps  when    he  preached  penance ' 
to  others,  and  not  practising  it,    he  him-' 
self  should  become  a  castaway. 

"But  I  chastise  my  body  and  bring  it 
under  subjection;  lest  perhaps,  when  I^ 
have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should 
become  a  castaway  "  (i  Corintkians  \x.  27). 

Sin    must   be   punished   either   in    the 
present  world  or  in   the   world  to   come, 
either  by   the  justice   of   God  or  by  thej 
penitence   of   man;  let  us   not   therefore 
wait  till   God    Himself   shall   inflict   due 
punishment.     Let  us  take  care  to  prevent: 
the  rigor  of   His  justice  by  the  rigor  of] 
our    penance.     Inflamed    with    zeal,    let 
us  side  with  the  Almighty    against  our- 
selves,  and   avenge     His     cause  at    our; 
own  expense. 

BOURDALOUE. 

Sermon  on  St.  MagdaUn. 


^ 

^1^ 


80^ 


CHAPTER   CXVIII. 


#     « 


#     # 


eN    PERSEVERANCE. 


^ 

^w^ 


0  0 


PfeRES  Antoine  de  la  Porte,  Croiset,  and  St.  Philip  Nerl 
"  He  that  shall  persevere  unto  the  end,  he  shall  be  saved."  —  Matthew  x.  22. 


HERE  are   two   grand   motives 
for  perseverance. 

The  first  is,  that  we  cannot 
begin  too  soon  to  serve  God, 
and  as  that  beginning  is  never 
too  late,  we  ought  never  to 
relax  in  our  duty  to  Him,  so  long  as  we 
live. 

We  ought,  indeed,  to  love  God  from 
the  first  moment  of  our  coming  to  the  use 
of  reason  ;  we  ought  to  love  Him  as  soon 
as  we  have  known  Him,  and  this  is  per- 
haps the  reason  that  the  best  part  of  our 
life  slips  by  without  beginning  to  do  good, 
and  without  engaging  to  serve  Him,  and 
this,  too,  after  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism, 
which  is,  as  you  know,  a  solemn  promise 
to  serve  and  love  Him,  our  Divine  Master. 
We,  by  rights,  ought  never  to  have 
relaxed,  but  ought  to  have  kept  faithfully 
to  the  promise  made  in  the  sight  of  heaven 
and  earth  ;  but  by  a  desertion  as  shame- 
ful as  it  is  criminal,  we  soon  find  that  we 
have  been  more  guilty  than  reasonable, 
from  the  very  first  moment  of  our  exist- 

297 


ence.  Is  it  not  just,  then,  to  make  up 
for  lost  time,  or  at  least  to  make  reparation 
for  time  so  uselessly  employed,  that  we 
should  consecrate  the  rest  of  our  lives  in 
paying  off  debt  which  is  owing  to  Him, 
our  Creator  ? 

We  ought,  at  least,  to  enter  into  the 
feelings  of  the  great  St.  Augustine,  who 
exclaims,  "  Too  late  have  I  known  Thee,  O 
ancient  Truth  !  too  late  have  I  loved  Thee, 
O  ancient  Beauty  !  Ah  !  had  I  waited  for  a 
year,  a  month,  a  week,  or  a  day,  would  it  not 
have  been  too  late  for  me  to  begin  ? 

"  What  can  I  then  now  do,  but  to  devote 
the  remainder  of  my  life  to  Thy  service  ? 
You  have  loved  me,  dear  Lord,  from  all 
eternity  ;  you  will  love  me  for  all  eternity, 
if  I  am  fortunate  enough  to  deserve  the 
eternal  happiness  which  Thou  hast  destined 
for  me  ;  at  least,  if  that  short  interval 
which  hangs  between  these  two  eternities 
be  perseveringly  and  constantly  employed 
in  loving  and  serving  Thee." 

The  other  motive  is,  that  we  should 
never   be   weary   of  serving  God,  or  quit 


298 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


His  holy  service  too  soon.  For,  tell  me, 
what  has  moved  that  soul  when,  with 
Christian  generosity,  it  has  resolved  to 
leave  off  sinning,  and  has  determined  to 
be  virtuous  and  good  ?  It  is  either  the 
fear  of  God's  judgments,  or  the  wish  to  be 
saved,  or  perhaps  a  higher  motive  has 
been  excited,  and  conversion  has  lasted 
for  some  time. 

But  this  desirable  change  ceases,  tears 
are  dried  up,  and  the  course  of  penitential 
prayers  are  stopped. 

The  goodness,  justice,  and  mercy  of  God 
had  brought  forth  our  holy  resolutions. 
Have  these  been  the  cause  of  this  change } 
No  !  God  is  now  just  as  loving,  just  as 
merciful  as  He  ever  was.  He  has  not 
ceased  to  be  mindful  of  you;  why,  then, 
did  you  not  remain  longer  in  His  service  "i 

If,  then,  the  fervent  zeal  which  we  should 
always  feel  in  the  service  of  His  Divine 
Majesty  should  cease  for  a  day,  or  even  a 
moment,  it  would  be  too  late,  because 
there  is  not  a  single  day  or  hour  which 
should  not  be  devoted  to  the  adoration 
and  service  of  Almighty  God.  We  should 
not,  therefore,  place  any  limit  to  our 
perseverance ;  for  the  very  moment  we 
cease  to  be  zealous  and  good,  all  our  past 
services  are  reckoned  as  nothing,  and  we 
lose  the  merit  of  them, 

Le  PicRE  Antoine  de  St.  Martin 
DE  LA  Porte. 
From  his  book  on  Grace. 
•  •••••• 

Having  considered  the  motives  that 
ought  to  induce  us  to   persevere,  let  us 


see  the  sad  effects   that  would   inevitably 
result  from  the  want  of  perseverance. 

Consider  well,  that  as  perseverance  in 
the  life  of  grace  is  purely  a  gift  of  God, 
so  the  want  of  perseverance  is  simply  our 
own  fault.  That  life  of  grace  which 
penance  renews  in  us  is  of  its  nature  as 
immortal  and  as  incorruptible  as  is  our 
soul.  If,  therefore,  against  the  design  of 
God,  we  lose  this  grace,  it  is  to  ourselves, 
and  not  to  grace,  that  we  can  attribute  this 
loss,  and  in  that  consists  our  irregularity. 

Instructed,  as  we  have  been,  of  the 
necessity  of  final  perseverance,  why  should 
we  not  always  try  to  merit  it .?  Ought  we 
not  daily  resolve  to  obtain  this  precious 
treasure } 

Final  perseverance,  ought  it  not  to  be 
the  constant  object  of  our  desires,  the 
aim  of  all  our  endeavors,  and  the  motive, 
so  to  speak,  of  all  our  prayers  ?  Let  us 
store  up  all  our  merits;  let  us  multiply 
our  graces  ;  for  if  we  have  the  misfortune 
of  not  persevering  to  the  end,  if  we  have 
the  unhappiness  of  dying  in  mortal  sin, 
notwithstanding  our  former  innocence 
and  fervor  of  penance,  if  we  have  the 
misfortune  of  losing  that  grace  at  that 
moment  preceding  the  last,  all  these 
treasures  will  be  lost  for  all  eternity  ;  God, 
in  this  case,  does  not  reckon  up  our  past 
good  deeds.  We  are  justly  condemned. 
Oh  !  how  blind,  how  mad  must  we  be  not 
to  ask  of  Almighty  God  for  the  gift  of 
perseverance,  and  for  the  means  of 
obtaining  this  grace  ! 

It  is  in  reality  this  gift  which  gives  such 
a  value    to   our   good    works.       Without 


PERSE  VERA  NCE. 


299 


perseverance,  the  most  perfect  innocence, 
the  most  heroic  virtue,  the  most  austere 
penance,  go  for  nothing. 

Saul  had  been  chosen  by  God  by  a  singu- 
lar favor  ;  Solomon  had  been  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world  for  his  piety  and  wisdom  ; 
Judas  was  one  of  our  Saviour's  apostles,' 
and  had  even  worked  miracles ;  Origen 
was  once  ready  to  shed  his  blood  for 
Christ's  sake ;  Tertullian  had  been  one  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  Church  for  a  longtime  ; 
all  these  men  had  begun  well,  all  these 
glorious  lights  had  illuminated  the  Church 
for  several  years  ;  they  had,  even  for  some 
time,  persevered  in  innocence,  fervor,  and 
in  all  the  duties  of  a  Christian  life.  They 
reflected  honor  on  religion  so  long  as  they 
persevered  in  grace.     But  having  at  last 


been  seduced  from  the  exact  regularity  of 
their  duties,  having  allowed  themselves  to 
be  led  captive  by  their  bad  passions,  having 
too  easily  followed  the  bad  example  of 
others  —  what  has  been  their  sad  end,  and 
what  is  their  eternal  destiny  ? 

Le  PfeRE  Croiset,  S.  J. 

Exercises  of  Piety. 

The  greatest  help  to  perseverance  in  the 
spiritual  life  is  the  habit  of  prayer, 
especially  under  the  direction  of  our  con- 
fessor. , 

Men  should  often  renew  their  good  reso- 
lutions, and  not  lose  heart  because  they 
are  tempted  against  them. 

St.  Philip  Neri. 


^9  G^^bd e/^^ 


♦    CHAPTER   CXIX.    « 


0N    PIEtY 


w^mTM^m^immmmrmimm 


BEYOTION. 


P^RE  Croiset  and  St.  Bernard. 
"God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  adore  Him  must  adore  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." — John  iv.  24. 


S  soon  as  one  takes  the  firm 
resolution  of  serving  God,  or, 
what  is  the  same  thing,  as  soon 
as  one  begins  to  practise  devo- 
tion, that  one  is  mild,  tractable, 
humble,  upright,  obliging,  and 
tries  to  fulfil  every  obligation  of  his  state 
•f  life. 

There  can  be  no  stability  in  friendship, 
no  good  faith  in  business,  no  candor  in 
courtesy,  if  it  be  not  well-grounded  in 
goodness  and  piety.  Piety  gives  us  com- 
mon sense,  candor,  earnestness,  and 
uprightness. 

True  devotion  consists  in  fulfilling  the 
minutest  duties  of  that  state  of  life  to 
which  God  has  called  us.  There  are  so 
many  obligations  in  business,  society,  and 
divers  employments  of  life !  Nothing 
more  praiseworthy  than  trying  to  do  every- 
thing in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and  what 
more  satisfactory  than  the  constant  prac- 
tice of  devotion  !  Take  a  survey  of  the 
various  states  of  life. 

Who  is  a  good  father,  a  good  judge,  a 
kind  relation,  a  sincere  friend,  a  loyal  sub- 

300 


ject  ?  What  woman  more  domesticated, 
what  servant  more  industrious,  what  work*i 
man  more  hard-working,  what  priest  more 
exemplary  and  watchful,  than  he  who  is 
•religious  observer  of  God's  command- 
ments "i 

All  these  virtues  are  the  fruit  of  Chris- 
tian piety  and  devotion. 

Neither  God  nor  the  Gospel  disapprove 
of  the  duties  of  politeness  nor  the  amen- 
ities of  life.  God  regulates  them.  He 
does  not  command  Christians  to  live  sol- 
itary lives  in  a  desert,  but  He  expects 
them  to  conduct  themselves  as  good 
Christians.  Thus,  far  from  making  people 
savage  and  morose,  nothing  is  more  likely 
to  civilize  and  polish  them  than  piety 
and  devotion.  We  see  examples  of  this 
daily. 

If  a  man  be  debauched  and  sensual,  he 
is  irritable,  unbearable,  peevish,  rough, 
passionate,  and  vindictive,  in  fact,  only  fit 
to  try  the  patience  of  others.  Let  a 
woman  be  without  piety,  she  is  vain,  capri- 
cious, cruel,  and  hard  to  her  children  and 
servants,  and  a  heavy  cross  to  her  husband. 


PIETY  AND  DEVOTION. 


301 


But  when  such  as  these  put  on  the  armor  of 
piety  and  devotion,  they  become  reason- 
able, courteous,  gracious  to  all,  diligent  in 
work,  respectable  in  society,  and  worthy  of 
the  esteem  and  veneration  of  the  world. 

How  sad  it  is,  O  Lord,  to  hear  of  devout 
people,  that  is  to  say,  those  who  live 
according  to  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel, 
how  sad  to  hear  that  they  are  peevish, 
uncivil,  troublesome,  and  that  they  think 
that  they  are  good  for  nothing !  What ! 
cannot  one  be  good  for  something  in  this 
world,  without  giving  up  devotion  ? 

True  piety  and  devotion  do  not  pre- 
vent our  mixing  in  society,  neither  do  they 
forbid  amusements,  provided  they  be 
innocent. 

More  than  that,  does  the  Gospel  forbid 
us  from  keeping  a  careful  watch  over  our 
own  property,  or  even  to  work  hard,  so  as 
to  increase  it  by  lawful  means  ?  Does 
the  Church  condemn  the  care  of  providing 
for  your  family,  of  taking  an  interest  in 
the  temporal  welfare  of  your  children, 
of  cultivating  your  own  land,  or  of  keep- 
ing up  your  dignity  and  honor  ?  Does  it 
forbid  you  to  perform  the  ordinary  usages 
of  polite  society  ?  Does  it  even  consider 
harmless  recreation  a  crime,  or  an  attire 
suitable  for  your  rank  or  station  ?  Cer- 
tainly not !  it  only  condemns  excess,  cov- 
etousness,  or  a  too  great  eagerness. 

PfeRE  CROISET,  S.  J. 

Reflections  Chrdtiennes. 

Would  you  wish  to  know  if  you  are 
really  devout  ?     Then  take  heed  of   what 


you  love,  what  you  fear,  wherefore  you 
rejoice,  or  why  you  sorrow.  Love  God 
alone,  or  if  you  love,  love  the  object  for 
His  sake.  Fear  only  to  displease  God, 
or  if  you  have  any  dread  of  anything, 
refer  all  to  Him.  Rejoice  only  in  God, 
or  if  you  rejoice  in  any  other  object,  look 
upon  it  only  as  an  attraction  which  draws 
you  closer  to  Him.  Let  the  loss  of  God 
be  your  only  sorrow,  whether  your  sorrow 
is  occasioned  by  past  sins  or  by  those  of 
your  brethren  ;  or  if  any  other  loss  wor- 
ries you,  look  upon  it  as  a  proof  that  He 
intends  to  chasten  you,  in  order  to  make 
you  more  united  to  Him. 

The  grace  of  true  devotion  is  an  unction, 
which  instructs  us  in  all  our  duties ;  he 
alone  knows  it  who  has  proved  it  by  expe- 
rience, and  he  who  is  wilfully  ignorant  of 
this  cannot  possibly  know  it,  because  no 
one  can  feel  it  but  he  who  has  received  it 
as  a  precious  gift  from  heaven. 

Devotion  is  the  grace  that  influences 
the  heart,  and  that  alone.  After  one  has 
tasted  the  joys  of  the  Spirit,  those  of  the 
world  and  the  flesh  seem  to  be  distasteful. 
He  who  yearns  for  the  blessings  of  heaven 
cannot  relish  earthly  pleasures,  and  he  who 
sighs  after  eternal  things  will  only  feel  a 
contempt  for  fleeting  things. 

St.  Bernard. 
De  Verbis  A  postal. 

It  is  well  to  choose  some  one  good 
devotion,  and  to  stick  to  it,  and  never  to 
abandon  it. 

St.  Philip  Neri. 


/ 

« 

CHAPXKR     CXX.          ^    ^k 

^           ^          ^                  &=£^r^ 

7^              ■'71^              "^i^                       i^    V*^     * 

i 

On  poVEiitJ  and  Ihe  pooii  in  Spirit 

^s 

#    #    #    # 

1^ 


Fathers  Sarrazin,  Faber,  and  St.  Bernard. 
"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." —  Matthew  v.  3. 


'T  is  the  grandest  miracle  of  grace 
to  see  a  man  poor  in  the  midst 
of  riches.  We  could  not  under- 
stand this  miracle  if  we  did  not 
know  that  Holy  Scripture  does 
not  condemn  riches,  or  the  rich, 
but  only  those  who  love  riches,  and  those 
who  wish  to  possess  wealth. 

The  apostle  teaches  us  this  truth,  when 
he  says  that  it  is  not  the  rich,  but  only 
those  who  yearn  to  become  rich,  who  fall 
into  the  snares  of  the  devil. 

St.  Hilary  well  explains  this  by  saying 
that  it  is  not  a  sin  to  possess  property,  but 
it  is  a  sin  if  it  be  not  used  in  moderation. 
Thus,  when  the  Gospel  curses  the  rich,  and 
closes  the  gates  of  heaven  upon  them,  it 
does  not  curse  those  who  possess  riches, 
but  those  who  wish  to  be  rich,  and  those 
who  are  eager  to  amass  wealth. 

This  is  the  meaning  of  the  apostle's 
words,  and  it  is  indisputable,  that  the  love 
of  those  blessings  we  call  riches  is  bad  ;  it 
fallows,  then,  that  the  poverty  which  the 
Gospel  commends  is  not  the  absence  of 
riches,  but  the  wish  to  acquire  riches,  or 
the  desire  to  love  them  when  possessed. 


The   wise  man    depicts   admirably    thii 
effect  of  grace  by  these  words  :  "  One  is! 
as   it   were,  rich  when   he   hath   nothingj 
and  another  is,  as  it  were,  poor  when  H 
hath  great  riches"    {Prov.  xiii.  7).     Hom^ 
can  we  understand,  and  could  we  possiblj 
have    any    idea    of    a    rich    man   having 
nothing,  or  of  a  poor  man  being  rich,  if 
we  did  not  know  that  by  the  grace  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  poor  man  lives  as  if  he  was  rich, 
and  the  rich  man  lives  as  if  he  was  poor. 

Behold,  then,  the  miracle  of  the  Gospel 
and  its  grace ;  that  the  rich  may  be  as  poor 
as  was  our  Saviour  in  His  riches,  since  He 
was  the  Master  of  the  universe,  but  was 
clothed  in  poverty. 

A  Christian  should  die  poor,  either  in 
reality  or  in  spirit,  because  poverty  can 
only  enter  into  heaven,  and  if  the  rich 
enter  therein,  it  must  be  through  the  gate 
of  poverty.  Thus,  the  greatest  misfortune 
is  to  die  rich,  that  is  to  say,  with  a  love 
and  an  attachment  to  riches.  This  is 
necessary  to  repeat  often  to  the  rich,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  deceive  them- 
selves or  be  deceived ;  and  they  must  be 
warned  that  poverty  is  the  sole  inheritance 


POVERTY  AND   THE  POOR  IN  SPIRIT. 


303 


to  gain  heaven,  and  that  the  rich  can  only 
be  saved  through  poverty. 

This  truth  ought  to  make  the  rich  and 
the  powerful  tremble  and  fear  ;  not  because 
they  can  open  the  gates  of  heaven  by  mak- 
ing themselves  poor,  but  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  there  is  of  being  poor  in  spirit  in 
the  midst  of  riches,  of  cheerfully  resigning 
something  from  the  superfluity  of  wealth, 
of  loving  poverty  when  they  are  rich. 

This  miracle  is  not  impossible  to  grace  ; 
but  it  will  never  be  accomplished  except 
through  a  contempt  for  riches,  looking 
upon  its  acquisition  in  its  true  light, 
valuing  it  as  it  should  be,  that  is,  its  being 
little  or  no  good. 

Father  Sarrazin. 
Advent  Sermon. 

Poverty  has  been  called  by  some  the 
sister  of  Christ,  by  others.  His  bride.  It 
would  seem  as  if  the  circumstances  of  His 
infancy  had  been  providentially  contrived 
with  a  view  to  bringing  us  as  many  of 
the  incidents  of  poverty  as  were  possible, 
without  seeming  to  be  unnatural.  From 
Nazareth  to  Bethlehem,  from  Bethlehem 
over  the  wilderness  to  Egypt,  from  Egypt 
to  Nazareth  again,  and  from  Nazareth  to 
Jerusalem,  for  the  three  days  He  begged 
His  bread  ;  the  biography  of  His  childhood 
spreads  itself  like  an  ample  net,  to  entan- 
gle in  its  folds  more  and  more  of  the  varie- 
ties and  pressures  of  His  beloved  poverty. 


If  He  was  born  of  a  royal  maiden,  it 
was  of  one  who  was  poor  and  reduced  in 
circumstances.  He  would  not  be  born  at 
home,  but  took  the  occasion  of  the  Roman 
census  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  child  of  exile, 
and  a  waif  upon  His  own  earth. 

He  would  be  rejected  from  the  doors  of 
Bethlehem,  as  the  least  worthy  of  all  the 
mixed  multitude  that  had  crowded  thither ; 
He  would  be  born  in  a  cave,  a  stable, 
amidst  the  domestic  animals  of  man's 
husbandry. 

When  age  grew  on  Joseph  and  his 
infirmities  multiplied,  the  yoke  of  poverty 
became  yet  more  galling  to  the  shoulders 
of  his  tender  foster-son. 

The  poverty  that  pressed  on  Mary 
pressed  tenfold  more  heavily  on  Him, 
from  the  very  fact  of  its  having  first 
pressed  on  her. 

Never  was  there  a  childhood  of  hardier 
poverty  than  our  Blessed  Lord's.  It  was 
His  inseparable  companion,  and  if  He 
loved  its  austerities  with  so  singular  a 
love,  it  was  only  because  they  were  so 
singular  a  cross. 

Father  Faber.  (Oiat.) 
Bethlehem. 

Poverty  in  itself  is  not  a  virtue  ;  but  the 
love  of  poverty  is  so.  Jesus  Christ  has 
said,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  not 
those  who  possess  nothing. 

St.  Bekkarix 


h 


ON     PRKYBR. 


Saints  Francis  de  Sales,  Augustine,  Philip  Neri,  and  F^nelon. 

"  Let  us  go  with  confidence  to  the  throne  of  grace :  that  we  may  obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  in 
seasonable  aid."  —  Hebrews  iv.  i6. 


|RAYER  places  our  understand- 
ing in  the  brightness  and  light 
of  God,  and  exposes  our  will 
to  the  heat  of  heavenly  love. 
There  is  nothing  that  so  effec- 
tually purges  our  understand- 
ing from  its  ignorance,  or  our  will  from  its 
depraved  affections,  as  prayer.  It  is  the 
water  of  benediction,-  which  makes  the 
plants  of  our  good  desires  grow  green  and 
flourish.  It  washes  our  souls  from  their 
imperfections,  and  quenches  the  thirst  of 
passion  in  our  hearts. 

But,  above  all,  I  recommend  to  you 
mental  and  cordial  prayer,  and  particularly 
that  which  has  the  life  and  passion  of  our 
Lord  for  its  object.  By  making  Him  the 
aubject  of  your  meditation,  your  whole 
soul  will  be  replenished  with  Him ;  you 
shall  learn  His  carriage,  and  frame  all  your 
actions  to  the  model  of  His. 

As  He  is  the  light  of  the  world,  it  is 
then  in  Him,  by  Him,  and  for  Him,  that 
we  ought  to  acquire  lustre  and  be 
enlightened.     He  is   the    tree   of   desire, 

804 


under  whose  shadow  we  ought  to  refresh 
ourselves.  He  is  the  living  fountain  of 
Jacob,  in  which  we  may  wash  away  all  our 
stains.  In  fine,  as  little  children,  by 
hearing  their  mothers  talk,  lisp  at  first  and 
learn  at  length  to  speak  their  language,  so 
we,  by  keeping  close  to  our  Saviour,  by 
meditation,  and  observing  His  words, 
actions,  and  affections,  shall,  by  the  help 
of  His  grace,  learn  to  speak,  to  act,  and 
to  will  like  Him. 

Here  we  must  stop,  as  we  cannot  find 
access  to  God  the  Father  but  through  this 
gate  ;  for  as  the  looking-glass  could  never 
terminate  our  sight,  if  its  back  were  not 
tinned  or  leaded,  so  we  could  never  con- 
template the  Divinity  in  this  world  had  we 
not  been  united  to  the  sacred  humanity  of 
our  Saviour  whose  life  and  death  is  the 
most  fit,  delightful,  sweet,  and  profitable 
object  we  can  choose  for  our  ordinary  medi- 
tation. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  our  Saviour 
called  Himself  the  bread  that  came  down 
from   heaven ;   for  as  bread   ought  to   be 


PRA  YER. 


305 


eaten  with  all  sorts  of  meat,  so  our  Saviour 
ought  to  be  the  subject  of  our  meditation, 
consideration,  and  imitation  in  all  our 
prayers  and  actions. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales. 
Devout  Lift. 

God  listens,  says  St.  Cyprian,  to  the 
voice  of  the  heart,  in  preference  to  the 
voice  of  the  mouth  ;  we  must,  adds  he, 
watch  and  give  up  our  mind  to  prayer ;  we 
must  drive  away  all  worldly  and  profane 
thoughts  from  our  heart,  in  order  that  our 
mind  and  soul  may  be  engrossed  with  our 
petitions. 

To  whom,  continues  the  saint,  should 
we  speak  attentively,  if  not  to  God  "i  Can 
He  ask  for  less  than  that  you  should  think 
of  what  you  are  saying }  How  dare  you 
expect  that  He  will  deign  to  hear  you,  if 
you  think  only  of  yourselves.  You  fancy 
that  God  will  hear  you  when  you  pray ; 
you  who  are  so  wilfully  distracted  in 
prayer.  Far  from  pleasing  Him,  you 
offend  His  divine  Majesty  by  your  negli- 
gence, in  an  action  which  is  the  only  way 
of  gaining  favors  from  heaven. 

We  must  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering, 
says  St.  James,  and  this  faith  ought  to  be 
so  firm  that  we  should  never  hesitate,  for 
he  who  hesitates  or  wavers  is  like  unto  the 
waves  of  the  sea,  ever  moved  and  carried 
about  by  the  wind.  He  who,  then,  con- 
tinues he,  prays  without  this  confidence, 
must  not  expect  to  be  heard.  And  what 
more  capable  of  moving  the  heart  of  our 
Lord  in  our  regard,  than  a  firm  confidence 
in  His  mercy }     Can  He  refuse  those  who 


have  placed  all  their  treasure  in  Him, 
those  who  have  trusted  in  His  good- 
ness "i 

When  we  pray  with  confidence,  says  St. 
Cyprian,  it  is  God  Himself  who  implants 
in  our  hearts  that  spirit  of  prayer.  The 
Eternal  Father  must,  then,  acknowledge 
the  words  of  His  only-begotten  Son  when 
we  pronounce  them,  and  He  who  dwells  in 
the  bottom  of  our  hearts  will  regulate  and 
fashion  all  our  prayers. 

We  must  not,  says  St,  Bernard,  mingle 
in  our  prayers  foolish  things  with  the  true, 
temporal  with  the  eternal,  low  interests 
with  those  of  our  salvation. 

To  pray  well,  says  St.  Augustine,  you 
must  seek  God  alone ;  to  ask,  through 
Him,  for  other  blessings,  is  praying  badly. 
Do  not  seek  to  make  God  the  protector  of 
your  self-love,  or  of  your  ambition,  but  the 
executor  of  your  good  desires.  You  have 
recourse  to  God,  to  curb  your  passions, 
and  often  He  sends  you  crosses,  of  which 
He  knows  you  stand  in  need.  When  He 
loves  you,  continues  the  holy  Doctor,  He 
refuses  what  your  self-love  asks  for,  and  in 
His  anger  He  gives  you  that  which  is 
dangerous  for  you  to  obtain.  Do  not 
carry  to  the  sanctuary  of  the  altar  indis- 
creet vows,  ill-regulated  desires,  and 
slovenly  prayers.  Ask  for  nothing  but 
what  is  worthy  of  Him  to  whom  you  pray. 
Keep  strictly  from  sighing  after  vain  and 
hurtful  benefits  ;  ask  for  the  dew  from 
heaven,  and  not  for  the  fat  of  the  land. 
Open  your  heart  before  the  Lord,  in  order 
that  His  Holy  Spirit  may  dwell  in  you, 
and  ask,  through  sighs  and  moans,  for  the 


3o6 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


true  blessings  which  He  wishes  that  you 
should  ask  for. 

Let  us  pray,  my  brethren,  but  let  us 
ever  pray,  keeping  a  watchful  eye  over  our 
various  duties.  Do  not  let  us  offer  up 
exalted  or  abstract  prayers,  or  those  which 
have  no  reference  to  the  practice  of  every 
virtue.  Let  us  pray,  not  to  become  more 
enlightened  and  more  spiritual  in  words, 
but  to  become  more  humble,  more  docile, 
more  patient,  more  modest,  more  char- 
itable, more  pure,  and  more  unselfish  in 
every  detail  of  our  conduct.  Without 
that,  our  assiduity  in  prayer,  far  from 
being  efficacious  and  fruitful,  will  be  a 
delusion  and  a  scandal  for  our  neighbor. 

Full  of  delusion !  how  many  examples 
have  we  not  had  ?  How  many  have  we 
seen  whose  prayers  tend  to  swell  their 
pride  and  lead  their  thoughts  astray.  Of 
scandal  to  our  neighbor;  for  is  there  any- 


thing more  scandalous  than  to  see  a 
person  who  prays  without  first  correcting 
himself ;  who,  at  the  end  of  his  devo- 
tions, is  not  less  frivolous,  less  vain,  less 
restless,  less  passionate,  less  selfish  than 
before .? 

F:£nelon. 
Select  Sermons. 

When  you  ask  for  temporal  favors,  how- 
ever trifling  they  may  appear,  ask  with 
fear.  Pray  that  God  may  grant  or  reject 
them,  as  He  thinks  fit.  The  doctor  and 
not  the  patient  is  best  able  to  judge  what 
is  best. 

St.  Augustine. 
De  Verb  :  Domini. 

A  man  without  prayer  is  an  animal 
without  the  use  of  reason. 

St.  Philip  Nerl 


%MW^Wi 


CHAPTER  CXXII 


:^ 


rrriTiTrrnTTrnTTTrmiTnTiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 


*     0ia    Prec^Gsti^^sttioia. 


""/'i^*  *''^'J4i!MJ-U-'  I U I-IU I  LI  I IJ  IlLUUIIIIIIIIII  IIIIIIIM  LUJlil  llii'l^  ,.^ 

PfeRES  HouDRY  and  Croiset. 


? 


<* 


"And  whom  he  predestinated,  them  he  also  called ;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified ;  and 
whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified."  —  Romans  viii.  33. 


,REDESTINATION,  properly 
speaking,  is  that  particular 
arrangement  and  conduct  which 
God  makes  use  of  to  guide 
gently  and  freely  to  their  end, 
those  whom  he  has  chosen 
from  all  eternity  to  enjoy  everlasting  hap- 
piness. Or,  as  St.  Thomas  expresses  it 
in  fewer  words,  it  is  an  arrangement  pre-, 
pared  in  the  mind  of  God  respecting  the 
leading  of  the  reasonable  creature  to 
eternal  life.  This  is  tantamount  to  the 
definition  given  by  St.  Augustine  :  Prce- 
scientia  etpreparatio  beneficioriim  Dei,  quibus 
certissinie  liberaiitiir  quiciitnque  liberantur ; 
it  is  the  foreknowledge  and  the  preparation 
of  the  blessings  and  favors  of  God,  which 
do  not  fail  to  lead  the  elect  to  everlasting 
happiness. 

It  follows  from  this  definition  that  pre- 
destination is  a  part  of  the  Providence  of 
God,  and  that  the  office  of  predestination, 
as  also  that  of  Providence,  is  to  direct  the 
means  to  the  end,  or  even  to  choose  and 
prepare  the  means  proper  for  the  end. 

307 


But,  as  it  is  certain,  a.ccording  to  the 
articles  of  faith,  that  man  has  been  created 
to  obtain  supernatural  beatitude,  he  must 
have  the  means  proportionate  as  well  as 
supernatural ;  and,  as  these  means  are  in 
God,  who  has  the  will  to  give  them,  it 
follows  that  there  is  in  God  a  predesti- 
nation. It  follows,  in  the  second  place, 
that  the  predestination  in  God  is  an  act 
of  His  judgment,  by  which  He  foresees 
the  force  of  the  infallible  means  which 
lead  to  the  end  to  which  He  destined  the 
elect :  PrcBscientia  et preparaiio. 

It  is,  moreover,  an  act  of  His  will  by 
which  He  resolves  to  give  to  each  such 
and  such  of  those  infallible  means.  As 
predestination  is  an  act  of  the  Divine 
understanding,  it  must  necessarily  follow 
that  it  should  be  an  act  of  prudence  and 
infinite  wisdom,  which  we  should  prefer 
above  every  human  consideration. 

Besides,  as  predestination  may  be  said 
to  be  a  selection  which  is  an  act  of  the 
will,  we  must  conclude  from  thence  that  it 
is  infinitely  just,  and  that  it  is  accompanied 


3o8 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


by  a  Divine  Holiness  and  a  very  ardent 
love  for  the  creature. 

Finally,  it  follows  that  predestination 
is  eternal,  since  it  is  an  act  of  the  judg- 
ment and  will  of  God,  which  cannot 
change,  and  consequently  is  from  all 
eternity;  so  that  what  is  done  at  the 
time  happens  only  because  God  has  deter- 
mined it  before  time  was ;  thus  the  grace 
is  given  in  time,  but  the  preparation  was 
made  from  all  eternity. 

We  must,  moreover,  conclude  from  this 
definition,  acknowledged  by  all  the  Doc- 
tors of  the  Church,  that  predestination  is 
certain  and  infallible;  which  certainly 
proceeds  from  the  strength  of  Divine 
knowledge,  which  cannot  be  deceived,  and 
which  extends  to  every  free  event  which 
ought  to  happen,  and  not  by  the  strength 
of  the  assistance  which  it  gives  us  ;  for  of 
themselves  they  are  not  infallible,  since 
they  can  be  prevented  by  man's  free  will, 
so  that  he  could  not  concur  in  it.  If  this 
infallibility  proceeded  from  the  means, 
assistance,  and  graces,  the  creature  would 
not  co-operate  freely,  but  necessarily,  and 
consequently,  predestination  being  certain 
and  infallible,  would  have  deprived  us  of 
our  free  will. 

Rev.  PfeRE  V.  HouDRY,  S.  J. 

"Many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen." 
Even  had  faith  not  taught  us  this  awful 
truth,   taking  into    consideration    certain 
maxims   of   Holy  Scripture   in  which   all  I 
Christians  agree,  reason  alone  would  suffice  I 


to  convince  us   that   the   number   of  the 
elect  must  be  small. 

Instructed  in  the  truths  of  our  holy 
religion,  knowing  the  duties  of  a  Christian, 
convinced  of  our  natural  inclination  to 
evil,  seeing  the  licentiousness  of  the  pres- 
ent age,  can  one  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  will  be  very  many  saved.-* 

To  be  saved,  we  must  necessarily  live 
according  to  the  maxims  of  the  Gospel ; 
and  the  number  of  those  who  nowadays 
do  so  live,  can  the  number  be  called  great } 

To  be  saved,  we  must  openly  declare 
that  we  are  disciples  of  our  Saviour. 
Alas !  how  many  are  there  now  who  would 
be  ashamed  to  own  it.  We  must  renounce 
all  we  possess,  if  not  in  reality,  at  least  in 
desire ;  we  must  carry  our  cross  daily. 
What  unchangeable  purity  !  what  delicacy 
of  conscience!  what  humility!  what  hon- 
esty !  what  charity !  With  such  outward 
signs  as  these,  would  you  recognize  many 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  1  They  are, 
however,  the  surest  signs  we  can  have  of 
our  predestination. 

The  world  is  the  implacable  enemy  of 
Jesus  our  Saviour.  It  is  not  possible  to 
serve  two  masters.  Judge  for  yourself 
which  of  the  two  the  greater  part  obey 
and  follow,  and  by  that  you  will  be  able  to 
know  how  few,  how  very  few,  will  be  of 
the  number  of  the  elect. 

Le  PfeRE  Croiset. 

The  fear  of  God  is  a  sign  of  predes- 
tination. 

St.  Augustike. 


S^          ^^          ^1^          ^^          ^1          -^ 
'■^^            ^^^            ^^^             "^^            'T^            ^tIF 

CHAPTER      CXXIII. 

•i^ 

ON      PRUDENCE. 

41- 

..■iiaiianai.diiiiaiia 

..•..•..■M|n.H.H.M.,l.„.„.M.„.„.„.n,M.M........,.n..lIII......<..>..,.«M«nl....M.,1.„.M.,...,.M....M.MM......M. 

"•"•"•"•"•"■"• 

^^      ^^       .^       ^^^       ^^      ^jfc, 

^W              'W               '^              ''^               '^             'T^ 

St.  Basil  and  PfeRE  Giroust. 


"The  knowledge  of  the  holy  is  prudence."  —  Proverbs  ix.  lo. 


N  referring  to  Holy  Scripture 
you  will  find  many  examples 
of  the  folly  of  those  who 
trusted  in  worldly  and  political 
prudence. 

Pharaoh  had  cleverly  con- 
trived to  destroy  the  people  of  Israel,  but 
he  had  not  foreseen  the  obstacle  which 
upset  all  his  plans.  An  exposed  child  he 
intended  to  put  to  death  was  secretly 
nourished,  and  brought  up  in  his  own 
palace,  and  this  same  child  destroyed  all  the 
power  of  the  Egyptians  and  saved  Israel. 

Abimelech  caused  seventy  of  his 
brethren  to  be  slain,  in  order  to  ascend 
the  throne  ;  but  he  himself  could  not 
avoid  meeting  with  a  violent  death,  for  he 
was  killed  by  a  portion  of  a  millstone 
thrown  by  a  woman. 

The  Jews  conspired  against  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  ;  and  after  long 
consultations,  they  said  to  themselves  : 
"What  do  we,  for  this  man  doth  many 
miracles  ?  If  we  let  Him  alone  so,  all 
will  believe  in  Him,  and  the  Romans  will 
come  and  take  away  our  place  and  nation  " 

309 


{John  xi.  48).  It  was  by  reasoning  thus, 
they  resolved  to  put  Jesus  to  death,  in 
order  to  save  their  place  and  nation  ;  but 
this  counsel,  fatal  as  it  was,  ended  in  their 
entire  destruction ;  they  have  fallen  into  a 
miserable  slavery,  for  they  have  neither 
law,  nor  religion,  nor  ceremonial. 

St,  Basil. 
Extract  from  his  Sermons. 

As  Christians,  what  better  rules  can  we 
take  for  deciding  prudently,  than  the 
eternal  truths }  Those  precepts  and 
maxims  we  ought  to  follow,  in  order  that 
we  may  not  swerve  from  the  duly  ot  con- 
sidering the  end  for  which  we  were 
created,  and  which  shouid  be  continually 
before  our  eyes. 

Oh  !  if  we  had  always  acted  on  this 
principle,  if  we  had  followed  no  other 
guide,  if  we  had  had  them  ever  before  our 
eyes,  if  we  had  weighed  in  this  balance  all 
our  resolutions  and  designs  (which  we  can 
now  only  trace  to  ourselves),  our  con- 
clusions and  decisions  would  have  been 
correct  and  right.     We   should  not   have 


3IO 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


been  subject  to  so  many  false  proceedings, 
to  so  many  falls,  and  we  should  not  have 
been  cast  among  so  many  rocks.  God 
would  have  diffused  His  light  to  illuminate 
our  path ;  He  would  have  united  His  will 
to  ours ;  faith  would  have  given  us  a  true 
esteem  of  things ;  He  would  have  made 
us  find  out  the  true  worth  of  His  Word  ; 
He  would  have  inspired  us  with  a  wisdom 
all  divine,  often  even  requisite  in  the 
management  and  administration  of  worldly 
business. 

But  what  do  we  do .''  whom  do  we 
consult }  We  consult,  alas !  neither  our 
Lord,  nor  His  Gospel,  nor  our  faith.  It  is 
a  false  and  carnal  prudence,  a  blind  reason- 
ing, which  thinks  that  it  can  see 
everything,  and  can  see  nothing.  We 
judge  for  ourselves  ;  we  wish  to  believe 
only  in  self,  and  on  certain  occasions, 
everything  appears  to  favor  our  plans,  and, 
full  of  confident  success,  we  begin,  we 
decide,  and  trust  to  chance. 

Whom  do  we  consult  }  It  is  the  world 
—  the  world  and  its  ideas ;  unhappy 
source  of  many  delusions,  of  many  specious 
delights,  which  lead  us  into  error. 

Whom  do  we  consult?  It  is  passion; 
it  is  an  insatiable  avarice  which  devours 
us,  and  which  biasses  us  ever  in  the  favor 
of  self-aggrandizement  ;  it  is  an  inordinate 
ambition,  which  goads  us  onward  and  drags 
us  on  to  fortune  ;  it  is  a  bitter  resentment 
which  animates  us,  and  ever  leans  to  the 
side  of  vengeance  ;  it  is  a  guilty  attach- 
ment which  binds  us,  and  which  makes  us 
slaves  to  pleasure.  These  are  our  coun- 
sellors ;  these  are  our  masters. 


I  know,  says  the  Lord,  how  I  can 
frustrate  all  your  false  and  worldly  plans  ; 
these  will  not  only  not  succeed,  but  will 
lead  to  your  ruin.  I  will  confound  the 
prudence  of  the  age,  and  will  leave  them 
to  their  own  guidance  ;  I  will  let  them 
walk  in  their  darkness,  and  let  them  fall 
into  abysses  from  which  they  cannot 
extricate  themselves. 

We  see  and  experience  this  daily.  We 
undertake  important  affairs  in  which  self 
is  concerned  ;  God,  on  His  part,  attaches 
thereto  even  a  temporal  punishment,  for 
He  upsets  and  destroys  them  all. 

A  thousand  times  wiser  and  happier  is 
that  Christian  who  examines  everything 
as  a  Christian  should  do,  who  has  recourse 
to  God,  and  stores  up  resolutions  to  do 
all  that  God  may  be  willing  to  dictate  to 
him  ;  taking  care  that  all  the  precepts  and 
maxims  of  the  Gospel  may  be  the  rule  of 
his  life ;  applying  these  to  everything ; 
making  a  just  discernment  of  what  is 
allowed  and  what  is  forbidden  ;  of  what 
may  be  done  and  what  is  to  be  avoided  ; 
seeking  for  advice  from  those  learned  in 
the  law ;  making  use  of  the  command- 
ments of  God  as  a  sure  way  of  finding  out 
all  that  His  will  may  propose,  and  then  by 
putting  it  into  practice. 

For  the  beauty  of  our  faith  and  religion 
is  to  have  rules  applicable  to  every  state 
and  condition  of  life  in  which  we  may  be 
found,  and  there  is  not  a  single  occasion 
or  juncture  which  may  not  require  us  to 
act  with  a  Christian  prudence. 

Le  PfeRE  GiROUST. 

Advent  Discourse. 


Saints  Ast^re  and  Ambrose. 
"  The  value  of  all  gold  is  as  nothing  compared  to  a  soul  truly  chaste."—  Ecclesiasticus  xxvi.  20. 


STERIUS  or  ASTERE.  Of  this 
saint  but  little  is  known,  except 
for  the  fact  that  before  he  entered, 
into  the  ecclesiastical  state  he  was 
a  distinguished  orator  at  the  bar. 
He  was  raised  to  the  See  of 
Amassde,  and  his  Episcopal  duties 
were  dccompanied  with  the  practice  of  every 
virtue.  He  died  at  an  advanced  age,  about 
the  year  400.  The  homilies  that  have  been 
preserved  and  handed  down  to  us,  as  written 
by  him,  are  models  of  eloquence  and  piety. 

Purity  is  a  virtue  which  puts  us  on  an 
equality  with  the  angels.  The  purity  of 
angels  is  more  blessed,  ours  more  gen- 
erous. They  have  no  temptations  of  the 
flesh  to  fight  against  as  we  have. 

We  cannot  preserve  our  chastity,  sur- 
rounded as  we  are  by  so  many  enemies, 
without  great  exertion,  and  there  are  but 
few  who  are  victorious. 

Virginity  brings  us  nearer  to  God.  It 
seeks  for  a  model  in  God  Himself,  says 
St.  Ambrose,  for  the  eternal  Father  is 
virgin  and  Father.  God,  also  wishing  to 
become  Incarnate,  willed  that  He  should 
be  born   of   a  virgin.     God  has   also  an 

311 


extraordinary  love  and  tenderness  foi 
pure  souls ;  it  is  to  these,  in  particular, 
that  He  confers  or  reveals  His  secrets,  or 
on  whom  He  deigns  to  bestow  His  favors. 
Jesus  Christ  bestowed  many  graces  on 
Peter  on  account  of  his  zeal  ;  but  it  was 
the  virgin  St.  John  who  was  permitted  to 
lean  on  the  breast  and  heart  of  Jesus  ;  it 
was  he  who  had  the  privilege  of  entering 
His  divine  sanctuary,  and  it  was  he  from 
whom  He  hid  none  of  His  most  important 
secrets. 

Confessors,  martyrs,  and  apostles  have 
great  privileges ;  but  it  appears  that  to 
virgins  only  He  has  entrusted  the  privi- 
le-ge  of  following  the  Lamb.  They  are 
His  spouses,  and  thus  this  illustrious 
quality  gives  them  right  of  entry  every- 
where. 

Virginity  is  that  precious  treasure  to 
guard  which  so  many  generous  souls  have 
sacrificed  their  lives.  The  preservation  of 
this  treasure  is  difficult,  but  the  loss  of  it  is 
irreparable  ;  one  may  recover  grace  when 
lost  by  sin,  but  virginity  once  lost  can 
never  be  restored. 


312 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


Nevertheless,  nothing  is  more  easy  to 
lose,  and  we  so  readily  expose  ourselves  to 
lose  this  treasure,  nay,  it  seems  to  me  that 
we  seek  to  lose  it,  and  we  even  make  a 
merit  of  losing  that  which  ought  to  be  a 
subject  of  the  most  poignant  grief. 

The  demon  of  impurity,  wishing  to  gain 
a  victory  over  a  person  who  is  modest,  and 
has  the  fear  of  God  before  her  eyes,  uses 
nearly  the  same  tactics  as  a  skilful  general 
would  use ;  for  he,  despairing  of  capturing 
a  city  by  storm,  employs  secret  emissaries 
or  spies.  Thus,  the  devil  makes  use  of 
certain  propensities  which  appear  innocent 
enough,  or  at  least  but  little  suspected  of 
having  any  secret  connection  with  him. 
Making  sure  of  the  interest  these  evil  pro- 
pensities excite,  the  devil  will  enter  secretly 
into  their  hearts,  undermine,  and  event- 
ually make  himself  master  of  the  citadel. 

These  propensities  (so  nearly  allied  to 
passions)  are  vanity,  curiosity,  and  pre- 
sumption ;  seemingly  these  three  have  but 
little  connection  with  impurity.  But  these 
are  the  weapons  which  the  devil  makes  use 
of  in  the  world,  and  they  will  soon  conquer 
chastity. 

The  passion  which  does  not  appear  to 
be  allied  to  the  sin  of  impurity,  but  which, 
nevertheless,  enters  deep  into  the  heart,  is 
that  curiosity  which  prompts  the  reading 
of  bad  or  dangerous  books.  Nothing  more 
dreadful,  nothing  more  injurious  to  the 
purity  of  young  persons  than  those  novels 
and  books  of  gallantry,  which,  under  the 


pretext  of  elegance  of  diction  or  beauty  of 
language,  corrupt  the  educated  mind. 

If  such  reading  forms  the  mind,  it  spoils 
the  soul ;  if  it  gives  us  a  knowledge  of  the 
world,  it  destroys  Christianity  ;  and  thus, 
by  the  loss  of  devotion,  by  the  loss  of  the 
holy  fear  of  God,  and  purity  of  conscience, 
such  reading  leads  insensibly  to  the  loss  of 
chastity. 

St.  AsTfeRE. 

Hofnily. 

Show  me  the  man  who  is  able  to  explain 
or  understand  the  value  and  excellence  of 
purity,  a  virtue  beyond  all  the  common 
laws  of  nature.  It  is  on  earth  a  perfect 
type,  and  a  lively  picture  of  the  virginal 
purity  which  reigns  in  heaven. 

It  is  that  which  has  passed  through  air, 
clouds,  and  stars,  and  which,  soaring  above 
the  angels,  has  found  the  Divine  Word  in 
the  bosom  of  His  Father,  and  has  drawn 
Him  to  earth  to  be  united  to  it  in  an  inex- 
pressible manner. 

Now,  after  having  been  so  fortunate  as 
to  find  a  pearl  of  so  great  a  price,  on  what 
plea  can  we  allow  it  to  be  lost }  Never- 
theless, it  is  not  I,  but  the  Son  of  God 
Himself,  who  assures  us  that  the  pure  and 
chaste  will  be  like  unto  the  angels  in 
heaven  ;  and  at  this  we  need  not  be 
astonished  if  such  souls  are  placed  in  the 
rank  of  angels,  souls  who  have  for  their 
spouse  the  King  and  Lord  of  angels. 

St.  Ambrose. 


:-=5*^ 


^ 


CHAPTER   CXXV. 


■=^8^='=^::^=: 


On  I^eligion  and  the  I^eligiou^  ^tete. 


I 


I 


BOURDALOUE,    FtRK   DE   LA    COLOMBlfeRE  and    St.    BERNARD. 


"  Walk  worthy  of  God,  in  all  things  pleasing,  being  fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increasing  ia 
the  knowled'je  of  God."  —  Colossians  i.  lo. 


HERE  is  no  one  who  ought  to 
be  vainglorious  for  having  bid 
adieu  to  the  world ;  he  ought 
rather  to  return  thanks  to 
Almighty  God.  St.  Athana- 
sius  said  as  much  to  his  disci- 
ples :  Nemo  qui  reliquerit  mundum, 
glorietur. 

I  would  have  here  the  right  to  use  the 
same  phrase.  Do  not  let  us  feel  proud  at 
what  we  have  done  for  God  when  we 
entered  into  the  religious  state,  but  let  us 
praise  and  bless  Him  a  thousand  times  for 
having  done  so  much  for  us. 

In  consecrating  ourselves  to  the  Lord, 
we  have  parted  with  blessings,  but  they  are 
benefits  which,  when  possessed,  are  a 
heavy  burden  :  so  says  our  Lord.  For 
Holy  Writ,  does  it  not  mention  that  it  is 
a  sin  to  be  attached  to  the  goods  of  this 
world,  or  to  be  grieved  at  their  loss  .-• 

We  resign  benefits  which  cannot  be 
retained  without  being  overwhelmed  with 
their  burthen  ;  blessings  which  cannot  be 
loved  without  our  being  soiled  with  ava- 
rice ;  benefits  which  we  cannot  lose  or  fear 


to  lose  without  being  anxious  about  their 
probable  future  loss.  St.  Bernard  expresses 
this  in  the  following  short  sentence  :  Bona 
qiice  posscssa  oneriint,  amata  inqumant, 
amissa  cruciant. 

Thus  it  is  a  grace  and  a  blessing,  which 
God  has  inspired  us  with  the  will  to  deny 
and  conquer  ourselves  ;  and  when  I  ponder 
on  all  the  truths  which  faith  teaches,  what 
conclusion  can  I  come  to,  but  that  I  am 
forced  to  be  astonished  at  the  sight  of  that 
wondrous  grace  which  God  has  bestowed 
upon  me,  when  He  called  me  to  the 
religious  life. 

A  state  of  life  which  spares  me  so  much 
trouble,  which  protects  me  from  so  many 
dangers,  which  compels  me  to  offer  unlim- 
ited thanks  for  that  singular  mercy  of  my 
Lord,  who  has  induced  me  to  embrace  a 
vocation  which  is  not  only  the  most  per- 
fect, the  safest,  but  also  the  most  easy  and 
the  most  favorable  to  the  work  of  my  own 
sanctification. 

For,  do  not  let  ourselves  be  deceived  ;  it 
is  more  easy  to  be  deprived  of  worldly 
wealth,  as  we  are,  than  to  possess  riches, 


k 


314 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


and  not  become  attached  to  them.  It  is 
more  easy  to  give  up  the  pleasures  of  the 
world,  than  to  use  them  as  if  we  used  them 
not  —  than  to  be  in  the  midst  of  honors 
and  distinctions,  and  not  be  elated  with 
them. 

It  is  much  more  easy  to  submit  to  the 
will  of  another,  than  to  keep  our  own 
liberty  and  free-will  within  bounds.  To 
make  use  of  the  world  as  if  we  used  it  not 
is  what  every  Christian  is  obliged  to  do  ; 
but  who  are  those  who  do  this  ? 

To  possess  temporal  goods  as  if  they 
possessed  them  not,  is  a  condition  attached 
to  all  who  wish  to  be  saved ;  but  tell  me, 
where  can  we  find  people  in  the  world  who 
are  of  this  opinion  "i 

"  What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for  all 
the  things  that  He  hath  rendered  to  me  ?" 
(Ps.  cxvi.)  Ah  !  Lord,  ought  we  not  say, 
You  have  broken  my  bonds  with  the 
world  }  —  Dirupisti  vincula  mea  ;  and  it  is 
for  that  I  will  sacrifice  to  you  the  sacrifice 
of  praise  ;  and  I  will  call  upon  the  Name 
of  the  Lord,  and  incessantly  invoke  Your 
holy  Name.  It  is  for  that,  that  prostrate 
at  the  foot  of  Your  altar  I  am  resolved  to 
begin  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  liiyself. 
What  can  I  not  do  from  henceforth,  with- 
out delay  .?  Have  I  not  the  strength  to 
deprive  myself  of  that  fatal  liberty,  which 
can  only  lead  me  to  some  other  object 
besides  Thee  "i 

But  You  wish  me  to  go  further  than  this; 
that  I  should  unite  myself  to  You  by 
indissoluble  bonds,  after  having  put  myself 
to  the  test.  Give  me  the  consolation  of 
being  able  to  do,  with  a  hearty  good-will, 


all  that  is  permissive,  and  to  say  with 
heartfelt  gladness,  "  I  will  pay  my  vows 
to  the  Lord  in  the  sight  of  all  His 
people." 

For  thus  I  can  return  love  for  love, 
sacrifice  for  sacrifice.  I  shall  have  the 
advantage  of  being  able  to  spare  nothing 
for  You,  who  have  spared  nothing  for  me  ; 
in  fine,  to  be  His  victim,  as  He  has  been 
mine. 

BOURDALOUE. 

Sermon  for  a  Profession. 

But,  my  dear  brethren,  while  so  many 
holy  daughters  of  the  Church  are  about 
to  resign  all  earthly  ties,  whilst  they,  by 
day  and  night,  will  try  to  please  their 
Creator,  what  shall  we  do  for  our  salvation  .■* 
Shall  we  continue  to  live  in  that  frightful 
negligence  and  ingratitude  to  God  —  in 
our  forgetfulness  of  death  and  eternity  ? 

Who  would  believe  it!  To  see  on  one 
side  their  fear  and  vigilance,  and  on  the 
other  side,  our  carelessness  and  idleness. 

That  young  girl,  buried,  as  it  were,  in  a 
cloister,  thinks  herself  fortunate  if  she 
can,  after  a  seclusion  of  several  years, 
prepare  for  herself  a  happy  death  ;  whilst 
that  other  worldly  girl  is  busying  herself 
with  the  pleasures  of  this  life,  and, 
perhaps,  has  never  thought  seriously  of 
death  or  eternity. 

That  young  man  deprives  himself  of 
everything,  as  if  he  had  only  a  moment  to 
live,  whilst  that  one  only  thinks  of  hoard- 
ing up  and  multiplying  riches,  as  if  he 
could  live  for  ever.  The  one  passes  his 
life  in  mortification,  the  other  in  pleasure. 


RELIGION  AND    THE  RELIGIOUS  STATE'. 


315 


What  can  one  say  to  this  ?  Are  there 
two  paths  to  heaven,  one  broad,  the  other 
narrow  ?  Is  it  that  paradise  is  given  to 
some  for  doing  nothing,  and  is  only- 
reached  by  others  at  the  sacrifice  of  their 
blood  ? 

You  will  tell  me,  we  are  not  all  religious, 
all  monks,  or  nuns.  This  is  true,  and  it 
is  that  very  thing  which  astonishes  me 
most.  For  what  obligation  has  this  person 
to  bid  adieu  to  the  world }  What  has  led 
her  to  renounce  the  pomps  and  vanities 
of  the  world,  if  not  to  lead  you,  and  others, 
to  do  likewise  "i 

PfeRE   DE  LA    COLOMBlfeRE,  S.  J. 

Oh,  how  safe  is  a  holy  religious  !  The 
man  lives  there  in  innocence   and  purity, 


he  seldom  falls,  he  often  is  the  recipient 
of  heavenly  blessings,  he  tastes  a  sweet 
tranquillity,  and  when  he  dies,  he  breathes 
out  his  last  sigh  full  of  hope  and  full  of 
love  for  his  Redeemer.  His  purgatory  is 
over  sooner,  and  his  reward  is  plentiful. 
What  he  leaves  behind  are  but  worldly 
possessions,  transitory  and  of  very  little 
value,  and  those  he  aspires  to  are  infinite. 

I  say  more  than  this,  and  what  I  say  is 
true ;  he  exchanges  darkness  for  light ; 
from  a  stormy  sea,  he  anchors  in  a  safe 
harbor  ;  freed  from  a  wretched  slavery,  he 
sighs  after  a  happy  freedom  ;  and  finally, 
he  passes  from  death  to  a  life  of  everlast^ 
ing  bliss. 

St.  Bernard. 

Epistlt  XHK 


V 


■*^^^!^^->^>^;^ 


&*%^;:7<^%t5<^- 


CHAPTER  CXXVI. 


',*':  '.*':  'J*':  •!•;  '.*:  ••!•  iv  %?•*  it':  i?.*  iv  'Jfi  i?;  •?•*  *•?•'  •?•  'Jt:  i*:  i*': 

Jon  retrekts. I 

'•'•  W  i*J  W  W  '•*•  %*J  W  W  W  %*':  'Mi  'J*':  'Mi  'J*':  'J*!  iv  'Mt  {•/ 


St.  Ephrem,  Pi!RE  Le  Valois,  and  St.  Gregory. 

**I  will  allure  her,  and  will  lead  her  into  the  wilderness  :  and  I  will  speak  to  her  heart." 

—  OsEE  ii.  14. 


T.  EPHREM  was  the  son  of  a 
husbandman  of  Nisibe,  and,  in 
early  youth,  indulged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  all  the  shameful  vices  of  a 
barbarous  age.  Through  the 
mercy  of  God,  he  reflected  on  the 
sad  state  of  his  soul,  and  withdrew 
to  the  desert,  there  to  weep  for  his  sins. 
Here  he  practised  every  austerity,  and  mor- 
tified his  body  with  fastings  and  watchings. 
Ephrem  did  not,  however,  always  remain  in 
solitude,  tor  we  read  of  his  going  to  Edessa, 
and  there  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of 
Deacon.  His  ordination  so  inflamed  his  zeal 
that  it  is  related  that  afterwards  he  preached 
with  as  much  ease  as  eloquence.  Like  the 
apostles,  he  now  taught  that  of  which  he  was 
before  so  ignorant.  The  poor  looked  upon 
him  as  their  father,  and  the  monks  came  to 
him  for  direction.  After  a  time  of  famine, 
when  he  did  all  he  could  do  to  comfort  the 
stricken,  he  retired  to  his  solitary  cell,  and 
therein  died,  about  the  year  379.  St.  Ephrem 
wrote  several  works  in  Syriac;  these  were 
afterwards  translated  into  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  published  in  Rome  in  1746,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Cardinal  Quirini. 

O  Solitude  !  ladder  of  heaven,  mother 
of  contrition,  mirror  wherein  we  see  our 
sins  reflected,  source  of  sweetness,  com- 

316 


panion  of  humility  and  of  the  fear  of  God, 
light  of  the  soul !  O  solitude,  which 
teaches  us  to  know  our  thoughts,  to  dis- 
cern the  promptings  of  our  heart,  which 
is  the  foundation  of  salvation,  the  curb  of 
intemperance,  the  school  of  prayer,  the 
peace  of  mind,  the  agreeable  yoke,  the 
light  burden  !  O  solitude,  effectual 
remedy  against  temptation,  the  enemy  of 
imprudence,  the  joy  of  the  soul,  the  guar- 
dian of  the  eyes,  ears,  tongue,  and  the 
co-operatrix  of  every  virtue.  The  friend 
of  poverty,  the  fertile  field  of  all  good 
fruits,  the  wall  and  rampart  of  all  those 
who    wish    to    fight    for   the    kingdom    of 

heaven. 

St.  Ephrem. 

Withdraw  from  the  crowd  and  the  noise ; 
come  and  seek  for  God  in  solitude. 

It  is  God  who  calls  those  who  wish  to 
speak  to  Him,  it  is  an  appointment  He 
Himself  has  made.  Go  into  retreat,  and 
He  will  find  you  out  ;  there  He  will  speak 
to  your  mind  and  heart,  and  He  will  con- 
descendingly be  glad  to  confer  with  yotf 


RETREATS. 


317 


every  time  you  hopefully  trust  in  Him. 
He  will  speak  a  language  which,  per- 
chance, you  never  heard  before,  and  you 
will  listen  for  the  first  time,  and  you  will 
hear  Him  henceforth  with  consolation  and 
with  joy.  You  will  learn  truths  without 
number,  which  you  will  be  surprised  you 
never  heard  before.  You  will  become 
indifferent  to  things  which  before  inter- 
ested you,  and  you  will  take  as  much  care 
in  fulfilling  the  duties  of  a  Christian  as  you 
formerly  did  in  not  thinking  of  duty  at  all. 

I  do  not  now  urge  you  to  quit  the  world 
and  spend  the  remainder  of  your  life  in 
solitude  ;  this  is  devoutly  to  be  wished  for, 
and  would  be  the  surest  way  to  secure 
your  salvation  ;  but  your  state  of  life  does 
not  allow  of  this,  and,  if  I  were  to  ask  as 
much,  I  fear  that  you  would  not  acquiesce 
in  my  request.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
retreat  of  one  hour  or  even  a  day  is  not 
sufficient ;  you  must  give  to  God  the  time 
to  speak  to  you,  you  must  give  yourself 
the  time  to  listen  to  what  He  says,  to 
understand  what  He  will  reveal  to  you  ; 
to  implore  Him  to  sanctify  your  will  and 
intellect,  so  that  you  may  be  able  to  resist 
temptations  which  have  not  hitherto  been 
resisted.  And  for  this,  you  are  asked  to 
devote  a  week.  I  dare  to  say,  and  I 
prophesy,  that  you  will  find  in  this  retreat, 
as  did  the  Israelites  in  the  desert,  a  column 
of  fire  to  enlighten  your  darkness,  and  a 
column  of  cloud  to  defend  you  from  the 
false  glitter  of  the  world  and  to  hinder  you 
from  being  dazzled. 

God  will  be  your  guide  as  He  was  theirs, 
He   will  conduct  you,  as    He   conducted 


them.  He  will  nourish  you,  as  He  did 
them,  with  the  bread  of  angels,  and  as  He 
led  them  up  to  the  mountain  of  His  sanc- 
tification,  so  He  will  lead  you,  if  only  you 
have  the  courage  to  follow  Him,  and  will 
make  you  saints. 

Perhaps,  however,  you  will  tell  me  that 
a  retreat,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking, 
is  a  recent  invention,  a  new  practice,  of 
which  you  have  never  heard  me  speak. 
You  have  always  had  an  affection  for  antiq- 
uity in  all  things,  but  more  especially,  in 
matters  relating  to  religion  and  devotion  ; 
you  have  always  avoided  show  and  singu- 
larity ;  but  I  fancy  that  I  hear  you  say, 
that  it  would  be  absurd  to  alter  our  usual 
behavior  at  our  time  of  life  ;  it  is  too  late 
to  begin  to  despise  the  world  altogether ; 
we  can  save  our  souls  without  going  into 
retreat,  and  we  must  try  to  do  so. 

What !  my  brethren,  is  it  a  recent  inven- 
tion to  do  what  the  Son  of  God  and  His 
apostles  have  practised  —  of  which  they 
have  given  us  so  many  examples .-'  Read 
the  history  of  the  Church,  and  you  will 
see  that  retreats  have  always  been  the 
practice  of  the  saints. 

St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen  went  into 
retreat  immediately  after  he  was  conse- 
crated, and  he  made  so  long  a  retreat,  that, 
on  his  return,  he  publicly  apologized  to 
his  flock.  You  know  the  long  retreat  that 
St.  Jerome  made  ;  and  that  St.  Augustine 
entered  into  retreat  more  than  once,  and 
the  earnest  entreaties  which  he  made  to 
Valerius,  his  bishop,  to  allow  him  to  make 
one  about  every  two  months.  Then,  com- 
ing to  our  last  centuries,  we  find  that  the 


3i8 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


glorious  Archbishop  of  Milan,  St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  recommended  all  the  clergy 
of  his  diocese  to  make  four  retreats 
before  he  ordained  them  priests  ;  and  no 
year  passed  without  his  going  into  retreat, 
and  very  often  he  made  two  retreats  in 
the  year.  I  need  not  speak  to  you  of  St. 
Philip  Neri,  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  St. 
Francis  Borgia,  and  a  number  of  others, 
who  were  sanctified  by  these  means. 

Is  it  not  written,  "You  shall  be  holy, 
for  I  am  holy  "  ( i  Peter  i.  i6  ),  and  again 
"  Be  you  therefore  perfect,  as  also  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect"  {Matt.  v.  48). 

But  do  you  believe  it  to  be  possible  to 
reach  perfection,  without  making  a  retreat .'' 
Have  you  ever  seen  or  heard  of  persons 
being  made  holy  by  frequenting  balls, 
assemblies,  or  by  mixing  with  the  noise, 
bustle,  and  intrigues  of  the  world  }  Is  it 
in  such  places  as  these  that  God  has  been 


accustomed  to  shower  down  His  special 
graces  >  Ah !  if  we  wish  to  receive  His 
sanctifying  grace,  we  must  be  in  a  position 
to  profit  by  it. 

Le  P^re  Le  Valois. 
Extracts  from  a  dozeii  Letters  on  the  necessity 
of  making  occasional  Retreats. 

It  is  necessary  to  seek  occasionally  for 
a  spot  where  you  can  be  free  from  the 
worry  and  bustle  of  temporal  affairs  ;  a 
place  wherein  God  is  alone  with  you,  and 
you  alone  with  God. 

"  Enter,  you  and  your  family,  into  the 
ark  "  {Gen.  vii.).  It  is  as  if  the  Lord  had 
said  to  the  just  man,  Enter  into  thyself 
and  meditate,  thou  wilt  there  find  sal- 
vation ;  a  deluge  is  to  be  dreaded  outside 
the  ark,  for  there  is  danger  around. 

St.  Gregory. 
On  Book  of  Kings. 


CHAPTER    CXXVII. 


rp-^ii 


*      # 


<<*     ON     RICH  ES.    ^ 


St,  Chrysostow,  Massillon,  and  St.  Basil. 
"  Riches  are  good  to  him  that  hath  no  sin  in  his  conscience."  —  Ecclesiasticus  xiii.  30. 


HE  love  of  riches  is  far  more 
pernicious  and  more  powerful 
than  the  devil  himself,  and 
many  obey  this  love  more 
blindly  than  the  pagans,  who 
put  their  faith  in  idols.  For 
there  have  been  many  pagans  who  did  not 
obey  their  devilish  idols  at  all  times ;  but 
people  who  hanker  after  riches  unre- 
servedly respect  everything  that  tends  to 
feed  their  covetousness ;  as  if  covetous- 
ness  said  to  them :  "  Be  revenged  on 
society,  forget  the  feelings  of  nature, 
•despise  God."  They  obey  this  to  the  letter. 
To  the  idols  were  sacrificed  animals ; 
but  covetousness  seeks  to  force  their 
worshippers  to  sacrifice  their  own  souls, 
and  they  sacrifice  these  without  remorse. 
If  you  despise  worldly  blessings,  you  will 
te  more  worthy  to  possess  heavenly 
blessings. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
From  Homily  No.  64  on  St.  John. 

Poverty  is   not   of   itself   holy,  neither 
are  riches  criminal,  says  St.  Ambrose. 

sit 


You  may  occasionally  have  seen  poor 
people,  overwhelmed  by  the  weight  of 
their  misery,  grumble  and  rebel  against 
the  dispensations  of  Divine  Providence ; 
but  you  may  also  have  seen  some  rich 
who  are  not  dazzled  with  their  gold,  who 
possess  property  as  if  they  possessed  it 
not. 

If  riches  are  a  sword  in  the  hands  of 
the  foolish,  "the  crown  of  the  wise  is 
their  riches  "  {Prov.  xix.). 

If  riches  in  the  hands  of  prodigals  and 
misers  cause  them  to  heap  iniquity  on 
iniquity,  they  are,  in  the  hands  of  the  just 
and  prudent,  a  source  of  merit.  But  alas ! 
where  shall  we  find  that  just  and  prudent 
man,  or,  rather,  where  is  he  who  has  not 
bent  his  knee  before  the  idol  of  the  world 
and  fortune  .-* 

Let  us  seek  among  all  the  rich  for  one 
who  has  not  made  a  god  of  his  gold,  who 
has  not  believed  that  riches  are  all  his 
strength,  and  who,  charmed  with  his 
treasures,  has  not  said  to  the  precious 
metal.  You  are  my  confiding  hope,  and 
you  are  the   tender  object   of  my  lov«»; 


320 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


you  are  my  crowning  desire  and  the  end 
of  my  labors. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  a  poor  man  is 
more  likely  to  be  honest  and  virtuous  than 
a  rich  man.  It  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  a 
rich  and  virtuous  individual  combined.  It 
is  very  difficult  to  be  good  and  pious  in 
the  midst  of  riches,  and  more  difficult  to 
be  saved  in  the  midst  of  wealth  and 
plenty :  "  For  they  that  will  become  rich 
fall  into  temptation,  and  into  the  snares 
of  the  devil,"  says  the  great  Apostle  {Tim. 
vi.  9). 

Temptation  follows  those  who  wish  to 
acquire  riches,  because  to  gain  their  end 
they  do  not  hesitate  to  employ  fraud, 
injustice,  theft,  perjury,  and  homicide;  in 
fact,  they  make  use  of  every  vice  to  satisfy 
their  cravings. 

One  sees  that  in  every  condition  of  life 
crime  is  the  willing  attendant  on  those 
who  inordinately  desire  to  be  rich  :  the 
shop  of  the  merchant  is  full  of  snares  to 
tempt  and  deceive  the  purchaser;  the 
judge  is  tempted  to  deprive  the  widow  of 
her  field,  and  the  magistrate  eagerly  gives 
his  warrant  when  there  is  a  question  of 
money  accruing  to  him  ;  the  poor  child, 
tired  of  being  the  son  of  poor  parents, 
employs  every  artifice,  just  or  unjust,  to 
accumulate  a  fortune ;  and  the  rich  child, 
tired  of  being  the  son  of  a  rich  father, 
becomes  a  cruel  parricide  in  order  to 
inherit  and  possess  all  his  property. 

The  lover  of  wealth,  says  the  wise  man, 
despises  every  commandment :  "  There  is 
not  a  more  wicked  thing  than  to  love 
money"  {Eccles.  x.  lo). 


Show  me  the  wisest  woman  ;  if  once  the 
love  of  gold  and  silver  enters  into  her 
heart  —  ah!  she  will  soon  be  corrupted,, 
and  Solomon  will  be  right  in  saying  that 
he  could  not  find  a  strong  woman,  because 
no  woman  can  resist  this  temptation. 

It  is  very,  very  difficult  to  have  much 
property  and  much  religion  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  One  cannot  add  to  fortune 
what  one  steals  from  Christianity;  one 
cannot  dream  of  possessing  the  treasures 
of  heaven  when  we  hoard  a  superfluity  of 
wealth  on  earth.  In  a  word,  religion 
demands  an  undivided  affection ;  but  the 
possession  of  temporal  blessings  stands 
sadly  in  the  way.  For  if  the  rich  man 
gives  a  portion  of  his  wealth  to  religion, 
does  he  not  reserve  the  greater  part  to 
feed  his  love  of  riches  ?  and  when  he 
prostrates  himself  before  the  altar  of  the 
Lord  it  often  happens  that  in  his  heart  he 
is  adoring  his  gold. 

This  is  what  St.  Paul  says,  that  he  who 
gives  his  heart  to  riches  is  not  less 
excluded  from  the  kingdom  of  God  than 
he  who  burns  his  incense  to  idols.  Oh ! 
monstrous  effect  of  riches,  thus  to  stifle 
every  sentiment  of  religion  ! 

Massillon. 

You  possess  many  acres  of  land ;  some 
are  planted  with  trees ;  some  fields  are 
well  tilled.  Besides  these  you  have  vine- 
yards, undulating  hills,  beautiful  prospects, 
woods,  rivulets,  and  pleasant  promenades. 
Of  what  use  are  all  these  blessings  to  you  I 
Six  feet  of  earth  await  you  at  the  end. 

St.  Basil. 


mm 


Ej^cellencB  of  tje  poul. 


PfeRES  HouDRY,  Nepvue,  Bretteville,  and  St.  Chrysostom. 


"  What  doth  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole 
exchange  shall  a  man  give  ?  " —  Matthew  x.  28. 

'CCORDING  to  St.  Paul,  we 
have  two  natures,  one  exterior, 
the  other  interior,  and  these 
are  the  body  and  the  soul. 
Thus,  as  we  have  two  sorts  of 
lives,  we  are  subject  to  two 
kinds  of  deaths. 

We  have  the  corporal  life,  which  we 
share  with  all  created  animals,  and  we 
have  the  life  of  the  soul,  which  renders 
us  like  to  the  angels. 

This  latter  is  the  spiritual  life,  pure, 
holy,  and  detached  from  all  that  is  earthly. 
The  source  of  the  life  of  the  body  is  the 
soul ;  the  source  of  the  life  of  the  soul  is 
God,  who,  dwelling  in  the  soul  by  grace, 
maintains  life  in  a  supernatural  and  divine 
way,  just  as  the  soul  supports  the  body  in 
the  natural  way.  And  in  the  same  way 
the  soul  separates  from  the  body  when 
dead,  so  in  like  manner  the  soul  dies  as 
soon  as  God  abandons  it,  and  is  separated 
from  Him. 

Again,  as  the  soul  is  incomparably 
greater  in  value  than  the  body,  and  as 
God  is  infinitely  above  the  soul,  so  when 

221 


world,  and  suffer  the  loss  of  his  own  soul  ?  or  what 

God  abandons  it,  this  death  of  the  soul, 
caused  by  the  withdrawal  of  God,  is  more 
dreadful,  more  frightful  than  the  death  of 
the  body  when  the  soul  departs  from  it. 
If  there  is  anything  which  ought  to  make 
us  detest  sin  as  being  the  greatest  of  all 
evils,  it  is  that  it  kills  the  soul  by  depriv- 
ing  it  of  the  life  of  grace  and  causing  the 
loss  of  God,  who  is  the  Sovereign  good  and 
who  alone  can  make  us  eternally  happy. 

It  follows,  then,  that  mortal  sin  deprives 
us  of  all  the  merits  we  may  have  acquired 
during  our  life,  in  the  same  way  as  death 
deprives  men  of  all  the  goods  and  riches 
they  leave  behind  them. 

Rev.  PfeRE  Houdry,  S.  J. 

Let  us  reflect  for  a  moment  on  what 
God  has  done  for  us  ;  we  shall  find  suffi- 
cient matter  to  enlighten  us  on  the  love 
He  has  shown  to  our  souls.  "  Come  and 
see,  "  says  the  prophet,  "  and  I  will  relate 
the  wonders  God  has  done  for  my  soul " 
{Ps.  ix.). 

If  the  Eternal  Word  came  down  from 
heaven  and  became  Incarnate,  it  is  for  th« 


322 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


sake  of  my  soul ;  if  He  was  willing  to  be 
born  in  a  stable,  surrounded  by  vile  ani- 
mals, it  was  the  immense  love  He  had  for 
my  soul,  and  this  it  was  that  compelled 
Him  to  lower  all  His  greatness.  In  com- 
ing amongst  us.  His  first  thought  was,  to 
save  my  soul. 

Doubtless,  all  love  the  object  to  which 
they  give  their  first  thought ;  confess  it, 
ye  who  pollute  your  hearts  for  the  sake  of 
the  love  of  a  miserable  creature. 

But  the  first  and  uppermost  thought 
that  God  the  Son  had,  was  the  salvation  of 
our  soul ;  this  was,  is,  and  ever  will  be,  the 
wish  of  His  sacred  heart.  With  this  love 
in  view,  let  me  address  you  in  the  words  of 
the  apostle:  "Let  this  mind  be  in  you, 
which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus"  {Philip  ii. 
5  ).  Let  all  your  actions  tend  to  the  salva- 
tion of  your  souls,  and  let  your  first  thoughts 
dwell  on  this  only  important  object. 

Has  it  been  your  conduct  throughout 
life  }  Has  the  safety  of  your  soul  been 
the  first  thought  of  your  heart } 

Le  Pi:RE  Nepvue. 

O  adorable  Saviour!  do  not  let  us  fall 
into  so  deplorable  a  blindness  as  to  prefer 
the  good  things  of  this  world  to  our  soul. 
Ah  !  what  have  You  not  done  to  save  our 
soul,  that  soul  which  cost  You  so  much, 
and  for  the  salvation  of  which  You  have 
shed  the  whole   of  Your  precious   blood. 


What  a  misfortune,  or  rather,  how  mad 
shall  we  be,  if  we  lose  it  for  a  mere  trifle  \ 
What  is  there  in  the  whole  world  that  can 
be  compared  to  the  soul,  or  what  can  we 
offer  in  exchange  for  it .''  "  Quam  dabit 
homo  commutaiionem,  pro  anima  sua  .^" 
says  the  Son  of  God  Himself. 

Consequently,  let  us  value  it  more  than 
anything  else  ;  let  us  forsake  everything,^ 
rather  than  run  the  risk  of  losing  our  soul,^ 
and  then  we  shall  inherit  an  eternal  hap- 
piness. To  this,  St.  Chrysostom  calls  our 
attention,  for  in  his  Homily  on  the  Gospel 
of  St.  Matthew,  he  says  :  "  He  who  has 
lost  his  house,  money,  servants,  and  all  his 
property,  may  one  day  find  them  replaced 
and  recovered  ;  but  if  he  should  happen  to 
lose  his  own  soul,  he  cannot  replace  it  by 
another." 

Bretteville. 

Would  you  know  what  is  the  value  of 
your  soul }  The  only-begotten  Son  of 
God,  wishing  to  redeem  this  soul  of  yours, 
has  given,  not  a  whole  universe,  not  the 
earth  or  sea  with  all  its  treasures,  but  His 
own  most  Precious  Blood,  and  from  this 
you  can  judge  of  the  greatness  of  the  price. 
When,  therefore,  you  come  to  lose  your 
soul,  after  it  has  cost  so  much,  at  what 
price  could  you  redeem  it } 

St.  Chrysostom. 

Oh  Psalm  xliHii, 


Father  Segneri  and  Saints  Edmund  of  Canterbury, 
and  Augustine. 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  yoa,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you :  not  as  the  world  giveth  do  I  give  unto  you." 

—  John  xiv.  27. 


RUE  peace  is  a  certain  mark  of 
predestination.  All  those  who 
possess  this  peace  being  chil- 
dren of  God,  it  is  clear  that  the 
heavenly  inheritance  belongs 
to  them  :  "  Whosoever  are  led 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 
God  "  {Rom.  viii.  14). 

It  is  this  that  our  Saviour  means  when 
He  says :  "  Happy  are  those  who  have  a 
peaceful  mind,  for  they  shall  be  called  the 
children  of  God."  He  gives  to  the  elect 
the  glorious  title  of  sons  of  God,  because 
they  act,  not  as  slaves,  but  as  true  children 
of  God.  Slaves  are  submissive  to  their 
master,  through  fear  of  suffering  punish- 
ment ;  children,  on  the  contrary,  are  sub- 
missive to  their  father,  through  respect 
and  love,  and  they  obey  him  with  joy. 

Such  is  the  conduct  of  the  saints  of 
those  glorious  just  of  the  first  class,  to 
whom  we  here  allude.  They,  with  their 
whole  heart,  were  so  resigned  to  the  will 
of  God  that  they  unreservedly  placed 
themselves  at  His  disposal,  and  thus  they 
showed    that    they    were    worthy  to    be 

323 


children  of  God,  since  those  "led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  they  are  sons  of  God " 
{Rom.  viii). 

But  why  does  our  Saviour  say  that  those 
who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  will  be 
called  the  children  of  God  ^  Because 
these  extraordinary  saints  are  not  merely 
sons  by  adoption,  like  the  ordinary  just, 
but  that  they  are  acknowledged  and  rever- 
enced by  the  world. 

It  was  also  said  of  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  they  shall  call  Him  the  "Son  of  the 
Most  High,"  because  His  holiness,  His 
humility.  His  patience,  wisdom,  and  meek- 
ness ought  to  prove  (except  to  those  who 
wilfully  close  their  eyes  to  the  true  light) 
that  He  was  the  only  Son  of  the  Almighty. 
You  are  perhaps  a  child  of  God  because 
you  are  pious  ;  but  do  you  live  in  such  a 
way  that  you  could  feel  within  that  you  are 
a  child  of  God  .-*  The  surest  sign  you 
could  possibly  show  would  be  to  place  all 
you  have  and  all  you  want  at  the  disposal 
of  your  Heavenly  Father.  But  how  can 
you  lay  claim  to  this  title,  you  whom  the 
slightest  opposition  disturbs  and  provokes  ? 


324 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


However,  peace  is  like  unto  those  rivers 
whose  course  flows  on  in  one  continuous 
stream.  Why  are  you  not  mindful  of  My 
precepts  ?  says  the  Lord  ;  your  peace  would 
be  like  a  river  (Jsaias). 

He  who,  by  dint  of  perseverance,  has  at 
last  conquered  himself,  passes  his  days  in 
peace :  Sedcbit  in  pulchritudme  pads 
{Isaias  xxxii).  He  is  at  peace  with  all 
men,  because  he  is  without  ambition,  with- 
out envy,  without  attachment  to  the  good 
things  of  this  world.  He  is  in  peace  with 
himself,  because  his  moral  courage  con- 
trols all  sensual  inclinations.  He  is  in 
peace  with  God,  because  he  obeys  Him 
in  all  things,  and  as  he  always  seeks  to  do 
His  most  holy  will,  his  conscience  never 
reproaches  him. 

How  beautiful  is  this  peace,  says  the 
prophet:  Pax  multa  diligentibjis _  legem 
tuarn.  How  this  peace  surpasses  human 
understanding !  It  is  full  of  sweetness 
and  charity  :  Se debit  populus  nieus  in  pul- 
chritudine pads  (Isaias). 

St.  Augustine's  definition  is,  that  peace 
is  a  tranquillity  which  is  born  of  order. 
The  order  which  is  seen  in  a  well-guarded 
city,  but  frequently  disturbed  by  civil  wars, 
is  not  sufficient  to  prove  that  peace  is 
therein  enjoyed,  because  its  order  is  with- 
out tranquillity.  The  tranquillity  which 
may  be  found  in  a  peaceful  city,  badly 
regulated  for  want  of  subordination,  does 
not  suffice  to  prove  that  peace  would  be 
lasting,  because  tranquillity  would  there 
be  without  order.  To  enjoy  true  peace, 
tranquillity  and  order  must  be  firmly 
united. 


Let  us  now  see  who  are  those  of  whom 
our  Saviour  speaks  —  those  who  are 
peacemakers  {Matt.  v.).  This  cannot  be 
said  of  the  wicked,  who,  however  tranquil 
they  may  sometimes  be  in  their  condition 
of  life,  are,  nevertheless,  continually  tor- 
tured in  mind  and  conscience.  It  is 
therefore  true  to  say  that  "there  is  no 
peace  for  the  wicked."  They  are  not  even 
the  good,  who  have  only  ordinary  virtue 
and  do  not  enjoy  tranquillity  ;  for,  although 
they  may  be  on  the  right  way,  they  nev- 
ertheless yield  to  temptations  against  the 
Spirit,  and  this  troubles  them  incessantly. 
"  They  have  looked  for  peace,  and  behold 
trouble  "  {Jer.  xiv.  19). 

Thus  the  only  ones  who  can  lay  claim 
to  the  title  of  "  peacemakers  "  are  those 
perfect  Christians  who  are  dead  to  them- 
selves, in  whom  the  flesh  is  brought  under 
the  subjection  of  the  Spirit ;  those  who 
are  entirely  submissive  to  God's  holy  will, 
obeying  Him  like  children,  and  allowing 
themselves  to  be  guided  in  all  things  by 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

Rev.  Father  Segneri,  S.  J. 
Meditations. 


[St.  Edmund  was  born  at  Abingdon  in 
Berkshire.  His  parents  were  pious  and  fe»- 
vent  Catholics.  His  father,  when  age  was 
creeping  on,  retired  to  a  monastery  to  prepare 
himself  for  a  happy  death,  but  his  mother 
lived  in  the  world  and  led  a  holy  life,  con- 
verting many  by  the  mere  force  of  her  exem- 
plary piety.  Edmund  was  sent  to  Paris,  and 
was  soon  so  far  advanced  in  learning  that  he 
was  made  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Philosophy.  Pope  Innocent  III.,  hearing  of 
his  worth,  commissioned  him    to    preach   the 


THE  PEACE  OF  THE  SOUL. 


325 


Crusades,  and  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  wishing  to 
recompense  him  for  the  zeal  he  displayed, 
appoiiited  him  to  fill  up  the  See  of  Canterbury 
which  had  long  been  vacant ;  but  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  he  could  be  induced  to 
accept  the  archbishopric,  but,  through  obedi- 
ence, he  undertook  the  heavy  responsibility. 
The  zeal  he  displayed  in  the  reform  of  his 
clergy  drew  down  the  wrath  of  even  some  of 
his  chapter ;  and,  seeing  that  he  could  no 
longer  countenance  abuses  he  tried  to  reform, 
he  secretly  wended  his  way  to  France,  and 
died  at  Poissy  on  the  i6th  of  November,  1242, 
after  having  been  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
during  the  space  of  eight  years.  Pope  Inno- 
cent IV.  canonized  this  holy  bishop  in  the 
year  1247.] 

Letter  from.   St.   Edtmmd,   Archbishop   of 

Canterbury,  about  the  year  1235,  written 

and  sent  to  the  elergy  of  his  diocese. 

We  enjoin  and  entreat  you  to  live  in 

peace  with   all  ^pen   as   much  as  it  may 

depend  on  you.     Exhort  your  parishioners 

and  flock  to  be  of  one  mind  in  the  body  of 


Jesus  Christ,  by  unity  of  faith  and  the 
bond  of  peace ;  to  settle  amicably  all 
disputes  that  may  arise  in  your  parishes, 
to  put  an  end  to  dissensions  and  quarrels 
as  much  as  lies  in  your  power. 

It  is  a  duty  for  you,  my  brethren,  to 
love  peace,  since  God  is  the  author  of 
peace.  He  has  recommended  it  to  us. 
His  wish  is  that  peace  shall  reign  on  earth 
as  well  as  in  heaven,  and  from  this  peace 
all  that  is  eternal  depends.  "  My  dearly 
beloved,"  says  the  beloved  disciple,  "  if 
God  has  so  loved  us,  let  us  love  one 
another." 

Peace  is  the  serenity  of  the  soul,  the 
tranquillity  of  the  mind,  the  simplicity  of 
the  heart,  the  bond  of  love,  and  the  union 
of  charity. 

St.  Augustine. 
Dt  VerbiDom. 


ON      SKL-MKTION. 


Saints  Ephrem  and  Chrysostom,  and  PiRE  Nepvue, 
"  With  fear  and  trembling,  work  out  your  salvation."  —  Philippians  ii.  12. 


HE  wisdom  of  the  pagan  philos- 
ophers, and  the  eloquence  of 
their  orators,  were  confounded 
at  the  extraordinary  sight  of 
the  death  and  triumphs  of  the 
early  martyrs.  The  tyrants 
and  judges  were  seized  with  astonishment 
when  they  witnessed  the  faith,  courage, 
and  even  the  gaiety  of  these  holy  cham- 
pions of  the  faith.  What  will  be  our 
excuse  at  the  tribunal  of  Jesus  Christ  if, 
after  having  been  saved  from  persecution 
and  torture,  we  have  nevertheless  neglected 
to  love  God,  or  even  attempted  to  work 
out  our  salvation  ? 

What  a  contrast !  on  one  side  the 
martyrs,  ever  attached  to  God  in  the  midst 
of  the  severest  trials  ;  and  on  the  other, 
the  greater  part  of  Christians  who,  in  the 
bosom  of  a  quiet  peace,  refuse  to  give  to 
,  God  a  heart  which  He  certainly  has  a  right 
to  demand. 

Once  more,  what  could  we  do  on  that 
dreadful  day,  on  which  our  eternity 
depends  ?     Whilst   the   martyrs,  full   of  a 

326 


holy  confidence,  would  show  to  Jesus  the 
scars  of  their  wounds,  what  should  we 
have  to  show  Him  ?  Can  we  offer  Him  a 
lively  faith,  a  sincere  charity,  a  disinterested 
detachment  from  earthly  things,  successful 
victories  over  our  passions,  souls  fond  of 
silence  and  solitude,  hearts  pure  and 
chaste,  alms  given  to  the  poor,  prayers, 
watchings,  and  tears  .-*  Happy  the  man 
who  is  the  bearer  of  these  good  works,  for 
he  will  appear  with  confidence  before 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  angels. 

Holy  martyrs,  who  have  merited  by 
your  triumphs  to  be  intimately  united  to 
God  in  heaven,  deign  to  intercede  on  our 
behalf.  We  are  but  miserable  sinners; 
but  if  you  will  give  us  the  help  of  your 
prayers,  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ  will 
enlighten  our  souls,  and  our  hearts  will 
be  inflamed  with  the  fire  of  divine  love. 

St.  Ephrem. 
Homily  on  Holy  Martyrs. 

If  a  man  were  to  give  immense  treasures 
to  the  poor,  that  good  deed  would  not  be 


SALVATION. 


327 


equal  in  merit  to  that  of  a  man  who  con- 
tributes to  the  salvation  of  one  soul.  This 
alms  deed  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  ten  thousand  pounds ;  it  is 
worth  more  than  the  whole  world,  how- 
ever large  it  may  appear  in  our  own  eyes  ; 
for  a  man's  soul  is  more  precious  than 
the  whole  universe.  God  has  nothing 
so  much  at  heart,  nothing  gives  Him 
so  much  pleasure,  as  the  salvation  of 
souls. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
On  Genesis. 

The  work  of  our  salvation  is,  properly 
speaking,  our  own  individual  work,  because 
all  the  profit  that  accrues  therefrom  is 
for  ourselves.  In  other  affairs,  he  who 
works  is  not  he  who  has  the  profit.  A 
husbandman  sows  and  reaps,  but,  more 
than  often,  it  is  not  for  himself ;  a  father 
works  hard  to  increase  his  business  or 
income,  but  it  is  to  enrich  his  children, 
and  they  often  turn  out  to  be  ungrateful ; 
a  judge  is  careful  in  his  summing  up,  and 
becomes,  as  it  were,  a  victim  of  the  public. 
What  does  it  come  to?  Simply  a  vain 
honor. 

He  who  sows,  says  the  Lord,  is  not 
often  he  who  reaps :  "  that  it  is  one  man 
that  soweth,  and  it  is  another  that  reapeth" 
(John  iv.  37).  But  in  the  work  of  our 
salvation,  he  who  works  is  he  who  alone 
has  all  the  profit;  no  one  can  share  it  with 
him.     "  If  you   sow,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  you 


shall  reap  a  harvest,  in  proportion  to  the 
seed  you  shall  have  thrown  in." 

If  you  pray,  if  you  fast,  if  you  bestow 
alms,  if  you  mortify  your  senses,  if  you 
crucify  your  flesh,  all  the  profit  will  not 
only  be  your  gain,  but  it  will  increase  a 
hundredfold  in  this  life,  and  will  last 
forever  in  the  next. 

Salvation  is  our  own  work,  because,  if  it 
meet  with  ill  success,  the  loss  will  be  our 
own  ;  no  one  can  share  it  with  us. 

In  profitable  but  hazardous  large  busi- 
nesses, people  form  themselves  into  a 
company,  and  seek  for  others  to  insure 
them  from  loss ;  they  prefer  a  smaller 
profit  provided  they  lessen  their  risk,  and 
thus  share  with  others  the  profit,  provided 
they  share  the  loss. 

But  in  the  affair  of  salvation,  there  can 
be  no  company  formed,  no  insurance  from- 
loss  ;  we  must  alone  take  the  chance  ;  all 
the  profit  or  all  the  loss  will  be  our  own^ 
and  in  this  work,  each  works  on  his  own 
account. 

That  zealous,  good  man,  who  has  mani- 
fested so  much  anxiety  for  your  salvation,, 
who  has  taken  so  much  pains,  who  has 
made  your  business,  as  it  were,  his  own,, 
will  have  a  share  in  the  profit  if  he  suc- 
ceed, but  he  will  not  share  in  the  loss  if  he 
does  not.  That  which  will  be  your  loss 
and  your  condemnation,  will  be  his  profit 
and  his  merit. 

LE  PfeRE  Nepvue. 
Reflexions  Chritiennes^ 


CHAPTER  CXXXI. 


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le-s^  •ijiiiiiiliiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinri nri iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii T\JWt 


T 


? 


Saints  Chrysostom,  Francis  de  Sales,  Augustine, 
and  Alphonse  Rodriguez. 

"Watch  ye,  and  pray  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation."  —  Matthew  xxvi.  41. 


'F  God  does  not  stop  those  temp- 
tations with  which  you  are 
assailed,  He  does  it  for  reasons 
that  are  sure  to  result  to  your 
advantage.  First  of  all,  He 
wishes  you  to  know  and  feel 
from  experience,  that  you  have  become 
stronger,  more  powerful  than  your  enemy. 
He  wishes  also  that  this  temptation  may 
keep  you,  as  it  were,  in  a  balance,  and  that 
the  dangers  which  threaten  you  prevent 
you  from  being  exalted,  on  account  of  the 
graces  you  have  received. 

God  wills  also  that  you  should  be 
tempted,  in  order  that  the  devil,  who  is  in 
doubt  if  you  have  renounced  him,  at  length 
knows,  by  your  patience,  that  you  are  still 
true  to  your  Lord  and  Saviour  ;  more  than 
this,  God's  intention  is,  that  your  soul 
should  be  fortified  through  temptation, 
and  it  thus  remains  stronger  than  ever. 

In  fine,  God  permits  the  enemy  to  attack 
you,  in  order  that  you  may  realize  by  that, 
how  great  and  precious  is  the  treasure  He 
has  intrusted  to  you.     For  Satan  would  not 

tat 


have  attacked  you  so  violently,  had  he  not 
seen  you  elevated  to  a  condition  more 
glorious  than  that  in  which  you  were 
before.  It  was  that  which  irritated  him  so 
much  when  he  saw  Adam  living  in  so 
glorious  a  garden  ;  it  was  that,  also,  that 
made  him  so  vexed  against  Job,  when  he 
saw  that  God  even  bestowed  on  him  so 
many  praises. 

St.  Chrysostom. 
Cotntnentary  on  St.  Matthew. 

You  must  be  courageous  amidst  temp- 
tations, and  never  think  yourself  overcome 
so  long  as  they  displease  you,  observing 
well  this  difference  .  between  feeling  and 
consenting,  namely,  we  may  feel  tempta- 
tions, though  they  displease  us ;  but  we 
can  never  consent  to  them,  unless  they 
please  us,  since  the  being  pleased  with 
them  ordinarily  serves  as  a  step  towards 
our  consent. 

Let,  then,  the  enemies  of  our  salvation 
lay  as  many  baits  and  allurements  in  our 
way  as  they  please,  let  them  stay  always 


TEMPTATIONS. 


329 


at  the  door  of  our  heart,  in  order  to  get 
admittance,  let  them  make  as  many  pro- 
posals as  they  can ;  still,  so  long  as  we 
remain  steadfast  in  our  resolution  to  take 
no  pleasure  in  the  temptation,  it  is  utterly 
impossible  that  we  should  offend  God. 

With  respect  to  the  delectation  which 
may  follow  the  temptation,  it  may  be 
observed  that,  as  there  are  parts  in  the 
soul,  the  inferior  and  the  superior,  and 
that  the  inferior  does  not  always  follow 
the  superior,  but  acts  for  itself  apart,  it 
frequently  happens  that  the  inferior  part 
takes  delight  in  the  temptation  without 
the  consent,  nay,  against  the  will  of  the 
superior. 

This  is  that  warfare  which  the  apostle 
describes  {Gal.  v.  17),  when  he  says  that 
the  flesh  lusts  against  the  spirit,  and  that 
there  is  a  law  of  the  members  and  a  law 
of  the  spirit. 

St.  Francis  de  Sales. 
Devout  Life. 

To  encourage  us  in  temptations,  it  will 
be  a  great  help  if  we  consider  the  weak- 
ness of  our  enemy,  and  how  little  he  is 
able  to  do  against  us,  seeing  that  he  can- 
not make  us  fall  into  any  sin  against  our 
own  will.  "Behold,  my  brethren,"  says 
St.  Bernard,  "  how  weak  our  enemy  is  ; 
he  cannot  overcome  but  him  who  has  a 
mind  to  be  overcome."  If  a  man  who  is 
going  to  fight  were  sure  to  overcome  if 
he  would,  how  joyful  would  he  be }  Would 
not  he  think  himself  sure  of  a  victory 
which  depended  only  upon  his  own  will  ? 
With  the  same  confidence  we  should  fight 


against  the  evil  one.  For  we  know  very 
well  that  the  devil  cannot  conquer,  if  we 
ourselves  will  it  not. 

St.  Jerome  remarks  the  same  upon  the 
words  which  the  evil  spirit  said  to  our 
Saviour,  when,  having  carried  Him  up  to 
the  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  he  counselled 
our  Lord  to  throw  Himself  down  head- 
long. "  Cast  Thyself  down,"  said  the 
tempter  {Matt.  iv.  6)  ;  and  this,  adds  the 
saint,  is  the  true  language  of  the  devil, 
who  desires  nothing  so  much  as  the  fall 
of  all  men.  He  can,  indeed,  persuade 
them  to  throw  themselves  down,  but  he 
cannot  throw  them  down  himself.  The 
voice  of  the  devil  says,  "  Throw  yourself 
down  into  hell."  Answer  him,  "Do  so 
yourself ;  you  know  the  way  ;  as  for  me,  I 
will  not  "  ;  for  he  cannot  have  the  power 
to  make  you,  if  you  have  not  the  will  to 
do  it. 

It  is  related  in  ecclesiastical  history, 
that  the  Abbot  Isidore  was  attacked  for 
forty  years  by  a  violent  temptation,  and 
yet  never  yielded  to  it.  We  see  also 
a  great  many  examples  of  the  holy  fathers 
in  the  desert  who,  all  their  lives,  were 
attacked  with  violent  temptations,  which 
they  always  sustained  with  a  steady  and 
equal  confidence.  "  These  were  those 
giants,"  according  to  the  prophet,  "  who 
were  expert  in  war  "  {Barucli  iii.  26).  We 
ought  to  imitate  them  in  this ;  and  St. 
Cyprian,  desiring  to  inspire  us  with  the 
same  confidence,  makes  use  of  the  words  of 
God  in  the  prophet  Isaias  :  "  Fear  not,  for 
I  have    redeemed  thee,     and   called    thee 


33^ 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


by  thy  name ;  thou  art  Mine.  When 
thou  shalt  pass  through  the  waters,  I 
will  be  with  thee,  and  the  rivers  shall  not 
cover  thee ;  when  thou  shalt  walk  in  the 
fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt,  and  the  flames 
shall  not  burn  thee  ;  for  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God,  the  holy  one  of  Israel "  {Isaias 
xliii.  1-3). 

Those  words  also  of  the  same  prophet 
^re  well  fitted  to  strengthen  us  in  the  same 
holy  confidence :  "  As  one  whom  the 
mother  caresseth,  so  will  I  comfort  you  " 
{Isaias  Ixvi.  13).  Imagine  with  what 
marks  of  love  a  mother  receives  her 
infant,  when,  being  frightened  at  anything, 
it  casts  itself  into  her  arms ;  how  she 
embraces  it,  how  she  presses  it  to  her 
breast,  how  she  kisses  and  tenderly 
caresses  it ;  but  the  tenderness  of  God  for 


those  who  have  recourse  to  Him  in  temp- 
tations  and  dangers  is,  without  compari- 
son, far  greater. 

Alphonse  Rodriguez. 
On  Temptations. 

During  life's  pilgrimage  on  earth  we 
cannot  be  without  temptations ;  we  profit 
and  advance  only  through  temptations  ;  we 
should  not  acquire  self-knowledge  unless 
we  were  tried.  No  crown  without  a  vic- 
tory, no  victory  without  a  struggle,  and  no 
fight  without  temptations  and  enemies. 

If  we  were  never  tempted,  we  should 
never  be  tried  ;  is  it  not,  therefore,  better 
to  be  tempted,  than  to  be  censured  without 
being  tempted  .■• 

St.  Augustine. 

On  Psalm  Ixix. 


1 
1 


--^^P^^-^^ 


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■*■•*••♦••*•  +  +  ■*■  +  +  •*•■*■*  +  •*•  4- -*••*•  •*•■*•  •*•  ■*•**■*■•*■  +  •*■-*•  +  +  ■*■-*•+•*•++■*•■♦• 


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^          ^           ^           ^           M:.          Ml 

-m^       ^W        "W        ^       W        w 
CHAPTER      CXXXII. 

On  Yocaticn  to  a  ^tate  u\  Life. 

M^    ^     ^    ^     m    M^ 

"m     "m      W      ^      W     W 

' 

PfeRE  Nepvue,  Massillon,  and  St.  Philip  Neri. 
"  Let  every  man  abide  in  the  same  calling  in  which  he  was  called."—  i  Corinthians  vii.  20. 


HERE  is  nothing  more  impor- 
tant, nothing  better,  than  to 
enter  into  a  state  of  life  to 
which  God  has  called  us,  and 
to  make  choice  of  a  vocation 
which  His  providence  has  des- 
tined for  us.  The  whole  universe  is,  so  to 
speak,  the  house  of  God  ;  all  mankind  are 
His  family,  both  as  His  subjects  and  His 
children.  It  is  the  master  who  assigns  to 
each  his  oflEice.  God  is  a  Father  and  an 
infinitely  wise  Master,  and  He  knows  what 
each  one  is  fitted  for.  But  He  is  as  good 
as  He  is  wise,  and  thus  it  is  that  He  will 
not  fail  to  resign  to  each  of  us  a  proper 
post,  if  only  we  leave  everything  to  His 
Divine  management. 

This  is  not  what  the  majority  do ;  it  is 
mere  chance,  caprice,  a  spirit  of  interested 
ambition,  or  a  blind  love,  which  leads  them 
onwards ;  it  is  through  such  irregular 
motives  which  lead  them  to  adopt  a  partic- 
ular state  of  life.  Can  they  fail  to  go 
astray  if  they  put  their  trust  in  such  bad 
hands  ?  But,  alas  !  they  not  only  go  astray, 
but  they  fall  into  the  precipice.     If  noth- 

S31 


ing  is  so  easy  as  to  fall,  so  nothing  is  so 
difficult  as  to  retrieve  one's  self. 

The  consequences  of  this  failure  are 
terrible  ;  since  when  once  we  have  gone 
astray  it  is  difficult  to  limit  its  extent. 
From  this  it  follows,  that  if  we  are  not  in 
that  state  of  life  to  which  God  has  called 
us,  if  we  are  not  in  that  position  which 
Providence  has  marked  out  for  us,  nothing 
can  succeed. 

God  had  given  us  the  qualifications  and 
talents  suitable  for  the  state  of  life  to 
which  He  had  called  us  ;  if  we  had  accep- 
ted this  we  could  not  have  failed,  with 
these  dispositions,  to  have  done  well.  We 
have  taken,  or  rather  chosen,  another  path ; 
we  are  engaged  in  another  employment 
which  God  had  not  destined  for  us, 
because  we  were  not  fit  for  it ;  can  we 
then  be  astonished  if  we  manage  affairs 
badly,  or  if  nothing  succeeds  with  us  .■' 

And  again,  does  not  the  success  of  our 
enterprises  and  the  happiness  of  our  life 
depend  on  God  and  on  His  blessing  ? 
People  only  wonder  that  a  man  who  is  so 
clever,  a  man  with  so  much  talent,  merit, 


332 


HALF-HOURS   WITH   THE  SAINTS,   ETC. 


and  understanding,  should  meet  with  so 
little  success,  that  all  his  efforts  seem  to  be 
unavailing,  and  his  business  seems  to 
diminish  daily.  It  seemed  to  them  that 
he  could  scarcely  fail  of  success.  Nothing 
was  wanting  but  the  blessing  of  God,  and 
that  alone  was  the  cause  of  his  failure. 
But  how  was  it  that  God  had  not  blessed 
his  endeavors }  It  was  that  he  had 
entered  into  that  state  of  life,  into  that 
employment  without  consulting  God,  with- 
out a  vocation. 

A  bone  which  is  out  of  its  place  is  very 
painful,  and  causes  the  whole  frame  to 
suffer;  so  also,  a  man  who  is  not  in  the 
proper  place  which  Divine  Providence 
marked  out  for  him,  is  full  of  grief  and 
vexation ;  he  suffers  much  and  is  the  cause 
of  suffering  to  others. 

Is  not  this  the  reason  why  you  see  so 
few  people  content  with  their  employment ; 
is  not  this,  perhaps,  the  source  of  all  their 
troubles  ? 

Le     PfeRE    NePVUE. 

Reflexions  Chrdtiennes. 

He  who  alone  knows  our  strength,  who 
sounds  the  depth  of  our  hearts  ;  He  who 
has  fixed  from  the  beginning  the  way 
which  He  wishes  us  to  take  —  He  alone 
should  be  the  first  to  be  consulted  in  the 
choice  of  a  state  of  life  we  are  about  to 
select. 

As  it  is  God  who  in  His  eternal  coun- 
cil has  prepared  proper  and  necessary 
means  to  effect  our  good,  so  it  is  He  who 
should  be  consulted  in  the  first  steps  we 
take  to  arrive  at  a  desirable  determination  ; 


for  all  those  motives  of  interest,  of  rank^ 
of  birth,  of  talent,  which  have  usually  the 
uppermost  voice  in  our  choice  of  a  state  of 
life,  are  but  deceitful  guides,  and  almost 
always  induce  us  to  make  a  change. 

He  who  does  not  follow  the  will  of  God 
in  his  choice  of  a  state  of  life  is  always  in 
danger,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  who 
follows  the  path  which  our  Lord  has 
marked  out  for  him,  is  always  safe. 

God  wished  that  you  should  walk  one 
way,  you  have  followed  another ;  He  had 
prepared  sufficient  grace  to  help  you  in 
the  state  of  life  He  marked  out  for  you, 
and  He  withholds  it  when  you  have  chosen 
for  yourself. 

By  His  way  He  wished  to  lead  you  to 
salvation,  and  you  have  thwarted  His  will. 
He  had  given  you  an  inclination  to  be 
pious  and  good,  a  heart  devoid  of  deceit 
and  vainglory ;  all  that  showed  He  des- 
tined you  for  the  altar,  and  that  solitude 
was  your  place. 

However,  you  have  selected  a  busy 
employment  in  the  world  :  what  obstacles 
do  you  not  meet  with  in  your  wish  to  be 
saved .?  What  dangers  do  you  not 
encounter  "i 

Massillon. 
Lenten  Sermons. 

When  seculars  have  once  chosen  their 
secular  state,  let  them  persevere  in  it,  and 
in  the  devout  exercises  which  they  have 
begun,  and  in  their  works  of  charity,  and 
they  shall  have  contentment  at  their 
death. 

St.  Philip  Neri. 


± 


CHAPTER    CXXXIII. 


■'^^*'==:::::;^ 


ON       DEKTH. 


:f 


? 


c^§^^5;-;;2=:: 


Fathers  Segneri  and  Faber. 


"Thou  art  dust,  and  unto  dust  thou  shall  return."  —  Genesis  iii.  19. 


HE  time  of  our  death  is  abso- 
lutely unknown  to  us :  Nescit 
homo  finem  suum.  There  is 
nothing  that  can  make  us 
certain  of  a  single  moment  of 
our  life  ;  on  the  contrary,  how 
many  chances  there  are  of  our  being 
deprived  of  life  in  an  instant ! 

Death  can  carry  us  off  in  a  thousand 
ways  ;  it  may  seize  us  boldly,  it  may  take 
us  by  surprise.  Perhaps,  alas  !  death  may 
be  near  ;  perhaps  it  may  be  within  you, 
without  your  knowing  it. 

Picture  to  yourself  a  fish  in  a  net ;  it  is 
caught,  and  it  does  not  perceive  it;  it 
plays,  it  darts  about  with  other  fish  who 
are  without  fear.  Nevertheless,  its  career 
is  ended  ;  and  who  knows  how  soon  your 
end  may  be  near  ">.  Perhaps  the  net  is 
cast,  and  it  may  be  drawn  up  without  your 
being  aware  of  it.  Jeremiah  the  prophet 
says  :  "  I  have  caused  thee  to  fall  into  a 
snare,  and  thou  art  taken,  O  Babylon,  and 
thou  wast  not  aware  of  it ;  thou  art  found 
and  caught,  because  thou  hast  provoked 
the  Lord  "  {Jer.  1.  24). 

S33 


Why  do  you  not  then  open  youi  feye&» 
and  see  the  danger  in  which  you  are  ? 
Hold  yourself  in  readiness,  be  on  your 
guard,  prepare  quickly,  and  make  as  good 
a  confession  as  you  would  wish  to  make 
on  your  death-bed  ;  for  you  know  not  when 
the  time  will  come.  The  hour  of  your 
death,  is  it  still  far  ofT .?  You  can  wish  it, 
you  can  hope  that  it  is  so,  but  you  do  not 
know  it  :  Nescitis.  It  is  the  Son  of  God 
even  who  says  that  you  do  not  know  it, 
for  He  tells  it  to  all :  Omnibus  dico.  Can 
He  deceive  us  .-*  Is  not  His  testimony  — 
His  word  —  sufficient } 

Do  not  rely  on  your  youth,  on  your 
health,  on  your  good  looks,  on  your 
strength  of  mind ;  possessing  all  these 
blessings,  you  know  not  if  you  will  be 
alive  to-morrow  ? 

Our  Saviour  says  it  to  every  one  — 
whoever  you  are,  young,  old,  in  sickness, 
in  health  —  watch  and  pray,  for  you  know 
not  when  the  time  will  come.  Look  at 
that  man  of  the  world,  he  fancies  that  he 
is  happy,  and  yet  he  is  the  most  wretched 
of  men.     He  at  least  anticipates  approach- 


334 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


ing  happiness ;  he,  nevertheless,  is  only 
pursuing  a  phantom.  How  could  he  be 
happy  ?  He  knows  neither  true  happiness, 
nor  the  way  to  procure  it.  He  is  as  one 
asleep,  and  dreams  of  castles  in  the  air ; 
he  mistakes  appearances  for  the  reality, 
and  at  last  he  wakes  at  the  moment  of  his 
death,  and  finds  himself  denuded  of 
everything. 

How  awful  is  this  slumber !  for  the 
worldling  wakes  and  finds  that  there  is  no 
time  for  repentance,  no  time  to  seek  for 
the  true  happiness  he  has  so  oft  despised, 
and  the  pleasures  which  seduced  him  have 
exhausted  all  his  strength. 

Do  not  allow  me,  O  my  God,  to  fall 
into  a  sleep  so  frightful.  And  if  I  have 
■fallen  into  sin,  do  not  wake  me  at  the 
moment  of  my  death,  like  that  madman  to 
whom  You  said,  "This  night  thy  soul 
shall  be  required  of  thee." 

Father  Segneri. 
Meditations. 

The  act  of  dying  is  very  simple  and 
very  short.  Yet  all  men  fear  it,  and  some 
fear  it  so  much  that  it  casts  a  shadow 
over  their  whole  lives.  It  is  the  separation 
of  body  and  soul,  the  end  of  that  com- 
panionship between  them,  which  is  a 
mystery  we  have  never  been  able  to  fathom, 
and  which  we  should  have  imagined,  if  we 
had  not  been  otherwise  taught,  involved 
our  very  existence,  our  personality. 

The  act  of  dying  is,  moreover,  a  pun- 
ishment, and  the  most  ancient  of  all 
punishments.      It    is   the   Creator's   first 


punishment  of  the  sinning  creature, 
invented  by  the  Creator  Himself,  the  first 
promulgated  invention  of  His  vindictive 
justice.  It  can,  therefore,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, hardly  be  a  light  one,  whether 
we  consider  the  Being  who  thus  punishes, 
or  the  thing  punished,  which  is  sin. 
Indeed,  it  is  a  penalty  which  nothing 
could  render  tolerable  to  the  creature, 
except  the  Creator  Himself  suffering  it 
and  diffusing  the  balm  of  His  own  death 
over  the  universal  deaths  of  men.  It  is 
true  that  men  have  desired  to  die,  and 
they  have  sinned  by  the  desire  because  it 
was  the  fruit  of  an  unsanctified  impatience. 
Others  have  desired  to  die,  but  then  they 
were  men  who  had  also  in  them  the  grace 
to  desire  to  suffer.  Some  have  desired  to 
die  because  they  pined  for  God,  and  the 
pains  of  death  were  a  small  price  to  pay 
for  so  huge  a  good. 

Some  deaths  have  been  so  beautiful 
that  they  can  hardly  be  recognized  as 
punishments.  Such  was  the  death  of  St. 
Joseph,  with  his  head  pillowed  on  the  lap 
of  Jesus.  Yet  the  twilight  bosom  of 
Abraham  was  but  a  dull  place  compared 
with  the  house  of  Nazareth  which  the 
eyes  of  Jesus  lighted.  Such  was  Mary's 
death,  the  penalty  of  which  was  rather  in 
its  delay.  It  was  a  soft  extinction,  through 
the  noiseless  flooding  of  her  heart  with 
divine  love. 

All  who  die  well  are  safe  with  God.  As 
the  life  is  so  shall  the  end  be. 

Father  Faber,  (Orat,^ 
Sermons. 


Copyright, 


Murphy  &  McCarthy. 


%  J^apjjp  2Deat|>, 


"^-^^^-^-^^^ 


^k^:fy<f^^ff^7<f^*^ 


CHAPTER  CXXXIV. 


'.•':  '.•':  {•':  •!•>  {•}  .;•>  •!••  •!•*•  •;•>  •;•>  •;•>  •;•>  {•>  {•;  .;•;.  .;ij  tir.  .;»;.  .•;% 

*     ON     DEP[TH.    t 


•?•■  '•?•  '•?•  *•?•  '•?•  *•?•  '•?•  'I?J  •?•  *•!•'  '•?•'  '•••'  'I*'*  '-*':  '•*':  i*'!  i*':  'J*':  •!•*■ 


(A  Good  and  Bad  Death.) 

Saints  Bernard,  Philip  Neri,  and  P^res  Giroust  and  Houdry. 

"  The  souls  of  the  just  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  the  torments  of  death  shall  not  touch  them.' 
■^-  Wisdom  iii.  i. 

"  Zambri  died  in  his  sins  which  he  had  sinned,  doing  evil  before  the  Lord."  —  3  Kings  xvi.  19. 


OW  consoling  it  is  to  see  a  just 
man  die  !  His  death  is  good, 
because  it  ends  his  miseries  ; 
it  is  better  still,  because  he 
begins  a  new  life ;  it  is  excel- 
lent, because  it  places  him  in 
sweet  security.  From  this  bed  of  mourn- 
ing, whereon  he  leaves  a  precious  load  of 
virtues,  he  goes  to  take  possession  of  the 
true  land  of  the  living. 

Jesus  acknowledges  him  as  His  brother 
and  as  His  friend,  for  he  has  died  to  the 
world  before  closing  his  eyes  from  its 
dazzling  light.  Such  is  the  death  of  the 
saints,  a  death  very  precious  in  the  sight 
of  God. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  see  how  shock- 
ing is  the  death  of  the  wicked.  The  least 
€vil  is  the  loss  of  all  the  good  things  of 
this  world  ;  the  separation  of  body  and 
soul  is  more  dreadful  still,  but  the  worst 
of  all  is  the  devouring  flame,  the  gnawing 
worm  that  never  dies. 

St.  Bernard. 


When  that  frail  frame,  that  body,  of 
which  he  was  far  from  being  indulgent, 
begins  to  succumb  under  human  infirmity, 
to  sink  under  the  laws  of  nature,  what 
keeps  it  back }  What  delays  its  final 
extinction  }  The  fruit  is  ripe  ;  it  begins 
to  loosen  from  the  pending  stalks ;  a 
gentle  shake  will  make  it  fall  upon  the 
ground. 

How  consoling  to  hear  the  good  man 
say  to  himself :  I  am  dying,  I  have  soon  to 
bid  adieu  to  the  world  ;  that  is  to  say,  I 
am  about  to  resign  worldly  blessings, 
which  I  have  hitherto  despised,  and  which, 
in  fact,  are  of  little  value  to  a  Christian 
soul.  Whilst  I  was  master  of  my  body,  I 
could  not  trust  it,  and  I  was  not  allowed  to 
pamper  it  with  delicacies.  What  use, 
then,  will  it  be  to  wish  to  preserve  that 
which  I  am  told  not  to  love } 

I  die !  —  that  is  to  say,  I  shall  sigh  no 
more  in  this  land  of  exile ;  I  shall  no 
longer  be  exposed  to  dangerous  enemies. 


338 


;>36 


HALF-HOURS  WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


to  uneasiness,  to  vexatious  troubles, 
inseparable  from  a  life  which  is  always  full 
of  trouble.  I  die  !  —  that  is  to  say,  I  shall 
not,  O  Lord,  offend  Thee  any  more.  I 
shall  have  no  more  temptations  to  struggle 
against,  no  sins  of  thought,  word,  or  deed, 
no  more  dangerous  battles  to  fight. 

If  this  detachment  is  not  always  so 
perfect  as  here  described,  it  is  always  with 
a  resignation  that  belies  every  sentiment 
•  opposed  to  the  divine  commands  ;  it  calls 
to  mind  the  holy  thoughts  that  have  been 
fixed  on  his  memory  from  early  youth  ;  it 
makes  a  virtue  of  that  which  God  thinks 
necessary,  and  making  use  of  death  in 
order  to  fortify  himself  against  death 
itself,  he  gives  up  blessings,  for  the  very 
reason  that  they  were  given  to  him  as 
transitory  benefits. 

Thus  far,  this  good  man  looks  upon 
himself  as  a  victim  which  God  sacrifices  to 
His  glory.  No  other  altar  than  the  bed 
on  which  he  lies,  where  he  is  humbled 
under  the  hand  which  strikes  him.  It  is 
there  that  the  victim  is  prepared  and  sac- 
rificed, there  glory  penetrates  his  bosom, 
there  the  fire  of  divine  love  consumes  him, 
and  there  the  holocaust  is  perfected. 

Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done  ;  this  sacrifice 
is  due  to  You,  and  I  am  well  repaid  if  Thou 
Jeignest  to  accept  it.  At  one  time  he 
looks  upon  himself  as  a  culprit  whom  God 
punishes,  and  mercy  ends  by  purifying  and 
chastening  him.  For  when  we  say  a  just 
man,  we  ought  not  to  understand  by  that, 
that  he  is  a  saint  of  the  first  order,  one 
free  from  the  slightest  imperfection,  one 
whose  merits  exceed  what  God  in  justice 


asks  from  His  creatures.  The  sick  peni- 
tent condemns  himself,  and  blesses  the 
judge  who  punishes  him  in  order  to  forgive 
him,  and  who  does  not  spare  himself  in 
order  that  he  might  the  better  be  spared. 
At  another  time,  in  submissive  humility, 
he  adores  the  Almighty  power  of  the 
Creator,  who  made  him,  and  who  disposes 
of  His  work  as  He  pleases.  God  so  wills 
it ;  God  ordains  it  ;  may  His  holy  will  be 
done.  At  last,  at  the  sight  of  Jesus  on 
the  Cross,  he  feels  encouraged,  and  at  the 
same  time  confounded.  You  have  suffered, 
O  Lord,  before  for  me,  and  how  incom- 
parably greater  have  Your  sufferings  been. 
Like  unto  You,  I  die  on  the  cross  ;  happy 
shall  I  be  if  I  may  reign  with  You  in 
heaven. 

Le    Pi:RE   GiROUST. 

At  the  hour  of  death  nothing  is  more 
frightful  to  the  wicked  than  the  recollec- 
tion of  their  sins.  At  that  hour  God  will 
repay  them  with  all  the  fears  and  remorse 
which  may  have  lain  dormant  during  life. 
His  judgments  then  will  be  much  more 
just,  and  much  more  holy. 

St.  Chrysostom  sums  this  up  in  few 
words,  for  he  says  :  Pondus  etpondiis,  men- 
sura  et  mensura.  There  is  a  weight  and  a 
weight,  a  measure  and  a  measure ;  a 
weight  during  life,  a  weight  at  the  hour  of 
death. 

During  the  life  of  that  libertine,  impurity 
passed  off  as  gallantry ;  at  death  it  is  an 
unbearable  fire  within,  equal  to  the  flames 
of  hell :  Pondus  et  pondus.  A  cruel  usury 
is  looked  upon  as  a  clever  stroke  of  busi- 


DBA  TH. 


337 


ness ;  at  death,  it  is  theft  and  robbery : 
Mensura  et  mensura.  An  alms  coldly 
refused  during  life,  is  allowed  :  at  the  hour 
of  death  it  is  cruelty  and  homicide :  Pon- 
dus  et  pondus.  A  calumny  is  enjoyable, 
an  allowable  revenge  during  life  ;  at  death 
it  is  harsh  injustice  :  Mensura  et  mensura. 
In  fact,  there  is  a  difference  in  looking  at 
a  sin  clothed  in  the  garb  of  alluring  pleas- 
ure, and  a  sin  exposed  to  view  in  all  its 
ugly  nakedness  ;  and  it  is  at  the  hour  of 
death  that  the  wicked  will  ^ee  their  sins  in 
the  latter  form  or  shape.  Thus  it  was  said 
formerly  by  the  Prophet :  "  The  sorrows  of 
death  surrounded  me,  and  the  torrents  of 
iniquity  troubled  me." 


In  vain  will  an  able  confessor  try  to 
drive  away  the  vision  from  his  mind,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  man  from  falling  into 
despair.  Everything,  even  the  sacraments 
of  Jesus  Christ,  will  remind  him  of  his 
sins, 

Le  PfeRE  V.  HOUDRT,  S.  J. 

We  must  accept  our  own  death,  and 
that  of  our  relations,  when  God  shall 
send  it  to  us,  and  not  desire  it  at  any 
other  time  ;  for  it  is  sometimes  necessary 
that  it  should  happen  at  that  particular 
moment,  for  the  good  of  our  own  and  their 
souls. 

St.  Philip  Neri. 


it. 


•^ 


CHAPTER   CXXXV. 


-4-  On  Ik  pai'ticulai'  Judpeni  -4- 


PfeREs  Du  Pont  and  Croiset. 
It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after  this  the  judgment."  —  Hebrews  ix.  27. 


HE  time  appointed  for  this  par- 
ticular judgment  is  the  pre- 
cise moment  of  death.  For 
although  God,  by  a  particular 
arrangement  of  His  justice, 
might  have  been  willing  to 
condemn  some  sinners  before  their  death, 
in  order  to  keep  men  in  fear  by  an 
exemplary  punishment,  nevertheless,  it 
is  His  will  to  judge  in  an  invisible 
manner,  when  the  soul  leaves  the  body ; 
and  at  this  very  moment,  all  will  be 
tried,  settled,  and  finished.  The  Judge 
hears  the  accusers,  pronounces  the  sen- 
tence, and  puts  it  into  execution  without 
-delay. 

It  is,  then,  this  dreadful  moment  I 
ought  to  have  ever  before  my  eyes,  since 
it  will  be  the  beginning  of  either  my  hap- 
piness or  of  my  eternal  condemnation. 

O  fatal  moment  which  leads  to  eternity  ! 
The  soul  which  is  summoned  to  appear, 
will  at  this  moment  be  alone,  deprived  of 
its  body,  separated  from  all  visible  crea- 
tures, accompanied  only  by  its  deeds. 
For,  before  its  separation  from  the  body, 


parents,  relations,  friends,  priests,  may  be 
found  around  the  bed  ;  there  is  not  a  single 
soul  can  follow  it,  not  one  who  can  pro- 
tect it  in  the  other  world. 

The  soul  of  a  king  is  of  no  more  value 
than  that  of  a  peasant ;  the  soul  of  a  rich 
man  may  be  poorer  than  that  of  the  mean- 
est beggar ;  the  most  clever  may  be  out- 
rivalled  by  the  most  ignorant  ;  dignities 
and  riches  are  only  fleeting  advantages, 
and  talents  are  of  no  consideration  in  that 
other  life,  where  good  works  are  only 
rewarded. 

Meditate,  my  brethren,  on  this  last 
moment,  and  employ  well  every  mement 
of  your  life ;  for  on  this  last  one  depends  a 
life  which  will  never  end. 

Father  Du  Pont. 

Meditations. 

Conceive,  if  it  is  possible,  what  must  be 
the  horrible  dread  of  a  soul  which  feel* 
that  it  hangs  to  its  body,  as  it  were,  by  a 
thread,  and  that  in  two  or  three  minutes 
it  will  have  to  appear  before  the  awful  tri- 
bunal of  God. 


THE  PARTICULAR  JUDGMENT. 


339 


At  that  time,  its  conscience  will  be  its 
worst  enemy ;  it  is  the  conscience  which 
will,  even  before  the  last  sigh,  make  mani- 
fest every  thought  and  word,  and,  so  to 
speak,  will  foreshadow  the  judgment  and 
sentence.  It  feels  that  time  will  soon  be 
no  more,  and  it  begins  to  see  the  horizon 
of  an  awful  eternity  ;  the  uncertainty  of  its 
fate,  the  fear  of  eternal  punishment,  the 
reasons  why  it  should  fear  it — aii,  all 
reduce  the  soul  to  a  state  which  may  be 
called  an  anticipated  Hell. 

This  poor  soul,  on  the  point  of  appear- 
ing before  God  (that  supreme  Judge, 
whom  it  well  knows  it  has  so  often 
insulted),  finds  itself  laden  with  debts,  and 
there  is  now  no  time  to  pay  them,  no 
means  of  cancelling  them.  It  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  able  to  find  enough  in  the 
merits  of  the  precious  Blood  to  satisfy  the 
Divine  justice ;  but  is  it  in  a  state  to  say 
that  it  is  worthy  of  the  promises  of  Christ  ? 

Troubled  and  frightened  as  it  is,  has  it 
the  presence  of  mind  and  tranquillity  suffi- 
cient for  that  ? 

But  this  person  expires,  and  at  the  very 
moment  the  trial  has  commenced,  the 
judgment  is  pronounced,  the  sentence  is 
executed ;  at  that  very  moment  that  per- 
son's soul  enters  into  an  awful  eternity  ;  at 
that  instant,  if  it  be  damned,  it  feels  the 
extent  of  the  torments  it  will  ever  have  to 
suffer.     No   regard  will   be  paid  to   age, 


employments,  or  quality  ;  of  all  the  titles- 
the  only  one  which  will  remain,  the  only 
one  which  will  be  taken  into  consideration 
after  death,  is  that  of  Christian,  and  on 
that  title  we  shall  all  be  judged. 

The  promises  made  in  baptism,  the 
strict  obligations  which  have  been  con- 
tracted, the  precepts  of  the  Christian  law, 
and  the  maxims  of  the  Church,  will  be 
examined  into  at  this  judgment.  If  this 
soul  should  be  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin, 
even  if  it  be  a  guilty  desire,  or  a  sin  of 
thought,  it  is  at  that  moment  condemned 
to  everlasting  flames.  Howsoever  hard 
may  be  this  judgment,  howsoever  frightful 
may  be  the  sentence,  the  soul  itself  feels 
the  justice  of  its  sentence. 

There,  excuses  are  useless ;  no  need  of 
alleging  weakness,  surprise,  bad  example, 
or  violence  of  temptation  ;  it  sees,  it  feels 
all  its  error,  all  those  vain  pretexts,  all 
those  frivoJous  reasons  which  served 
during  life  as  excuses  or  palliations  ;  these 
will  then  serve  to  increase  our  regret,  and 
will  enkindle  within  us  nought  but  anger 
and  indignation. 

All  is  lost ;  time,  all  means  of  salvation, 
the  infinite  price  of  the  blood  and  death 
of  the  Redeemer ;  all  is  lost  for  me, 
and  all  is  lost  forever,  since  I  lose  God 
Himself. 

Rev.  Pfe«E  Croiset. 

Retreats. 


te# 


^I?i-' 

•S^!  ' 


.«• 


•M-+-m  I- 1  I  I  I  I  r 


On  tti 


1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


•*• 


licist  Juflgment. 


^4« 


I   I  ■!  l-t  f  ^  f  ^  l-t-H-)--  I  I    I  I    I   I   I   I    I  t    M  H 


BouRDALOUE  and  Father  Segmeri. 

"  The  day  of  the  Lord  shall  come,  a  cruel  day  and  full  of  indignation,  and  of  wrath  and  fury,  to  by 
the  land  desolate,  and  to  destroy  the  sinners  thereof  out  of  it." —  Isaias  xiii.  9. 


HIS  last  judgment  will  not  only 
be  favorable  and  honorable  to, 
but  anxiously  longed  for  by, 
the  just  and  the  elect. 

For  their  glory,  says  St. 
Chrysostom,  will  shine  in  the 
light  of  day,  and  their  happiness,  and  even 
the  crowning  of  their  desires,  will  be  that 
not  only  their  sincerity  of  purpose,  but 
their  purity  of  intention,  will  be  at  last 
displayed  ;  their  glory  will  be  that  they 
are  thoroughly  known,  since  not  to  have 
been  known  was  the  original  cause  of  all 
their  disgrace. 

This,  ye  faithful  souls,  who,  notwith- 
standing the  corruptions  and  vices  of  the 
age,  have  served  your  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  this  is  what  must,  amidst  the  hard- 
ships of  life,  have  strengthened  your 
resolution,  and  filled  you  with  consolation, 
At  that  dreadful  moment  when  the 
book  of  conscience  will  be  open,  your 
hope,  enlivened  by  the  sight  of  the 
Sovereign  Judge,  and  on  the  point  of 
being  fulfilled,  will  support  you  and  well 
repay  you  for  the  unjust  persecutions  of 
the  world. 


Whilst  the  reprobate,  confounded, 
troubled,  and  astonished,  shall  advance 
with  downcast  eyes,  you,  because  that  will 
be  the  hour  of  your  justification,  will 
appear  with  confidence. 

Now,  envy  and  calumny  cast  at  you 
their  poisoned  darts ;  but  then,  envy  will 
be  forced  to  be  silent,  or,  if  it  should 
speak,  it  will  be  in  your  favor  ;  calumny 
will  be  refuted,  and  truth  will  shine  forth 
in  all  its  lustre.  Nevertheless,  you  will 
rejoice  in  the  secret  witness  of  your  own 
heart,  which  is  preferable  to  all  the  praises 
of  the  world. 

Say  with  St.  Paul,  It  is  of  little  conse- 
quence what  men  think  of  me,  since  it  is 
my  God  who  will  one  day  be  my  judge. 
"  For  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord " 
(i  Cor.  vii.).  Or  say  with  the  prophet 
Jeremias,  "It  is  Thou,  O  Lord,  who 
judgest  justly,  and  triest  the  reins  and 
the  hearts ;  let  me  see  Thy  revenge  on 
them  :  for  to  Thee  have  I  revealed  my 
cause"  {/er.  xi.  20). 

The  Son  of  God  will  come  to  glorify 
humility  in  the  persons  of  the  humble. 
It  is  a  justice  he   will   pay  to  His  elect. 


THE  LA  St  JUDGMENT. 


341 


That  humility,  that  simplicity,  that  patience 
in  suffering  without  a  thought  of  revenge, 
which  worldlings  will  have  looked  upon  as 
weakness  of  mind,  or  meanness  of  spirit, 
God  will  come  to  crown  these,  and  will 
convince  the  world  that  therein  consisted 
true  fortitude,  true  grandeur  of  soul,  true 
wisdom. 

It  is  "  then,"  says  the  Book  of  Wisdom 
(chap,  v.),  "  shall  the  just  stand  with  great 
constancy  against  those  that  have  afHicted 
them  and  taken  away  their  labors."  It  is 
then  that  the  wise  ones  of  the  world, 
freethinking  unbelievers,  will  not  only  be 
surprised,  but  disconcerted  to  see  those 
very  persons,  whom  they  looked  down  upon 
as  the  refuse  of  the  world,  placed  upon 
thrones  of  glory.  It  is  then  that  many, 
amazed  and  almost  beside  themselves,  will 
cry  out,  These  are  they  whom  we  have 
often  laughed  to  scorn.  Fools  that  we 
were !  their  life  appeared  to  us  to  be 
ridiculous,  and  their  way  of  life  as  folly. 
Nevertheless,  now  behold  them,  raised  to 
the  rank  of  children  of  God,  and  their 
inheritance  is  with  the  saints. 

It  is  then  that  the  pride  of  the  world 
will,  perforce,  bear  witness,  although  by 
compulsion,  to  the  humility  of  the  elect  of 
God ;  and  the  whole  effect  of  our  Lord's 
promise  will  be  perceived  clearly,,  and  in  a 
particular  manner  :  "  Every  one  that  hum- 
bleth  himself  shall  be  exalted  "  {Luke  xiv.). 

BOURDALOUE. 

Advent  Sermon. 


I  am  always  sure,  O  my  God,  of  having 
deserved  Your  anger ;  when  even  I  tried 
to  do  penance,  I  was  uncertain  whether 
my  heart  was  not  deceived,  or  that  I  had 
found  favor  in  Your  eye.  The  day  of 
Your  vengeance  being  near,  I  have  noth- 
ing to  expect  but  a  judgment  without 
mercy.  Have  I  not  reason  to  fear }  but 
I  knew  that  the  fear  of  Your  judgment 
would  be  of  service  to  me. 

It  is  that  holy  fear  which  has  peopled 
and  will  people  deserts.  It  would  make 
me  fly  from  the  seductions  of  the  world, 
it  would  make  me  wish  to  go  into  retreat, 
and  through  that  would  be  to  me  a  haven 
of  safety.  Create  in  my  heart,  O  my 
God,  this  wholesome  fear  which  has 
made  the  security  of  the  just  banish  from 
it  that  fatal  indifference  which  is  the 
greatest  danger  of  a  Christian. 

We  should,  indeed,  be  mad  and  very 
blind  not  to  think  of  this  last  judgment, 
or  to  think  lightly  of  it. 

This  was  not  the  case  with  St.  Bruno ; 
he  was  in  the  constant  habit  of  selecting 
the  last  day  as  his  meditation  ;  it  was  ever 
present  in  his  mind,  and  he  never  lost 
sight  of  the  severe  account  we  shall  have 
one  day  to  render  to  the  Sovereign  Judge. 

If  we  try  to  follow  the  example  of  this 

glorious    saint,  how  changed  will  be  our 

lives  !     How  soon  we  shall   become   new 

men  ! 

Ret.  Fathex  Segnerk 


4 

CHAPTKR    CXXXVII.    ^  ^^k 

#          #          #                ^/^'^^^ 

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ON     PURCKTORY. 

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"There  shall  not  enter  into  heaven  anything  defiled." —  Apocalypse  xxi.  27. 

"Amen,  I  say  to  thee,  thou  shalt  not  go  out  from  thence  till  thou  repay  the  last  farthing." 

—  Matthew  r.  26. 

fVAaf  the  Saints  and  Fathers  of  the  Church  have  written  on  Purgatory. 


'N  the  second  book  of  Machabees, 
chap,  xii.,  we  read  that  Judas 
Machabeus,  having  made  a 
gathering,  sent  twelve  thou- 
sand drachms  of  silver  to 
Jerusalem  to  be  offered  for 
the  sins  of  the  dead,  thinking  well  and 
religiously  concerning  the  resurrection. 

Not  only  does  Holy  Scripture  approve 
of  this,  but  it  praises  it  by  saying  that  it 
is  a  holy  and  wholesome  thought. 

Luther  and  other  heretics  boldly  deny 
that  the  two  books  of  the  Machabees  are 
not  of  the  number  of  sacred  books  ;  but, 
in  addition  to  the  fact  that  these  books 
had  for  more  than  three  centuries  been 
acknowledged  as  canonical,  we  have  an 
express  decree  of  the  third  Council  of 
Carthage,  at  which  St.  Augustine  assisted, 
and  who  subscribed  his  name  thereto 
along  with  the  other  Fathers. 

Before  this  Council  there  were  many 
authors  who  doubted  of  their  authenticity, 
but,  since  the  decree  of  this  said  Council, 

S42 


the  whole  Christian  world  have  received 
them  as  canonical  books. 

St.  Chrysostom  teaches  us  what  has 
been  the  practice  of  the  Apostles,  for,  in 
his  49th  Homily  to  the  people  of  Antioch» 
we  read  :  "  It  is  true  that  the  Apostles 
had  decreed  that  when  celebrating  the 
Divine  mysteries  a  commemoration  for  the 
dead  should  be  made,  for  they  well  knew 
that  the  dead  would  profit  by  it."  It  is 
thus  that  the  saintly  Doctor  speaks,  and 
he  affirms  that  it  was  by  order  of  the 
apostles  that  prayers  should  be  said  foi 
the  faithful  departed. 

But  if  we  wish  for  a  witness  of  thr 
apostolical  tradition,  can  we  desire  for  one 
more  satisfactory  than  that  of  one  of  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  and  His  apostles  .'' 

It  is  St.  Denis,  the  Areopagite,  who 
distinctly  explains,  in  the  book  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Hierarchy,  wher&in  he  tells 
of  many  things  instituted  by  God  in  favor 
of  those  who  have  departed  from  this  life 
in  a  Christian-like  way.     He  says  that  the 


PURGATORY. 


343 


priest  should  offer  up  a  devout  prayer  for 
the  dead ;  he  adds  that  this  prayer  is  to 
implore  the  Divine  mercy  to  pardon  all  the 
faults  of  the  deceased  which  he  may  have 
committed  through  human  frailty. 

We  cannot  question  this  truth  after  the 
decision  of  the  third  Council  of  Carthage, 
attested  by  St.  Augustine,  and  since  con- 
firmed by  the  Sixth  Synod.  This  Council 
not  only  declares  that  the  two  books  of 
the  Machabees  are  canonical,  but  it  forbids 
the  celebrant  of  the  Divine  mysteries  from 
offering  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  unless  he  is 
fasting.  This  is  why,  says  he,  if,  after  din- 
ner, you  are  obliged  to  pray  to  God  for  the 
repose  of  the  souls  of  the  faithful  departed, 
you  should  make  use  of  simple  prayers. 
Moreover,  the  Council  of  Nice  speaks  in 
somewhat  a  similar  strain.  When  a  bishop 
dies,  notices  must  be  sent  to  all  the  churches 
and  monasteries  in  his  diocese,  in  order 
that  prayers,  masses,  etc.,  may  be  offered 
up  for  his  soul. 

Who  can  teach  us  the  holy  customs  of 
the  early  church  better  than  so  many  pre- 
lates and  doctors,  no  less  illustrious  for 
their  piety  than  for  their  learning,  who 
have  been  ocular  witnesses  of  what  they 
have  written  about } 

This  is  what  St.  Augustine  says  :  "  We 
read  in  the  books  of  Machabees  that  sacri- 
fices were  offered  up  for  the  deceased,  but 
one  can  find  nothing  like  unto  this  in  the 
ancient  Scriptures.  The  authority  of  the 
Church  which  approves  of  so  holy  a  prac- 
tice, ought,  however,  to  be  of  great 
weight."  Again,  among  the  several 
prayers  that  are  recited  at  the  altar,  there 


are  some  offered  to  God  for  the  faithful 
departed  {De  atra  pro  mart).  We  must 
therefore  conclude,  from  the  words  of  this 
great  saint,  that  when  we  might  be  mis- 
taken as  to  what  he  says  of  Purgatory,  as 
Calvin  wished  (which  is  very  erroneous), 
we  must  confess  that  what  he  has  said 
about  the  custom  of  praying  for  the  dead 
(a  custom  acknowledged  by  the  whole 
Church)  must  be  incontestably  true  ;  how 
could  so  learned  a  doctor  not  know  of  a 
custom  which  was  in  use  throughout  the 
whole  Church,  a  custom  he  was  a  daily 
witness  of .? 

We  have  other  testimonies  quite  as 
genuine,  such  as  those  of  St.  Athanasius. 
St.  Basil,  St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen,  St 
Cyril,  St.  Chrysostom,  Tertullian,  St. 
Cyprian,  St.  Ambrose,  and  St.  Jerome. 
All  these  are  quoted  by  Bellarmin  in  his 
"Treatise  on  Purgatory." 

If  the  general  feeling  of  all  nations  and 
tribes  who  acknowledge  that  there  is  a 
Supreme  Being  is  an  invincible  argument 
against  the  atheists,  who  do  not  acknowl- 
edge one,  it  is  an  argument  no  less  con- 
vincing against  those  heretics  who  reject 
the  doctrine  of  Purgatory,  for  this  belief  is 
common  to  Pagans,  Turks,  Jews,  and  to 
the  majority  of  civilized  persons  who  pray 
to  the  dead. 

The  light  of  reason  will  tell  us  that 
there  are  three  classes  of  persons  in  the 
world.  The  first  are  those  who  are  so 
virtuous  and  holy  that  they  merit  an 
eternal  reward  ;  the  second  are  the  wicked, 
and  those  who  die  in  the  state  of  mortal 
sin,  and  these   are  justly   condemned  to 


344 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


everlasting  fire ;  the  third  class  retain 
the  middle  state  ;  they  have,  in  truth, 
performed  many  good  deeds  worthy  of 
reward,  but  at  the  same  time  they  have 
committed  venial  sins,  which  deserve  a 
temporal  punishment  at  least ;  thus  these 


said  sins  may  not  have  been  punished 
or  atoned  for  in  this  world,  consequently 
we  must  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
will  be  expiated  in  the  other.  This  is 
the  argument  of  St.  Augustine  {Enckirid. 
109). 


A  !  ife  Hitl  ^  i^  ^  i^  i^^^^^M^^^ 
*  ;  "W^   •^Ir^  ■^tI^  ^^W  ^1^  ^^1^  "^  "W^  ^^  ^^  "W-  ■W^   ^1^  ^^  ^^ 


^^  ^^   ^^  ' 

'^fv^'    ''W^'     "^f^ 


ON      H  ELL. 


PfeRE  BiROAT,  and  Father  Faber. 

"  Go,  ye  cursed,  into  «verlasting  fire,  which  has  been  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." 

—  Matthew  xxv.  41. 


HERE  is,  alas  !  a  difference 
between  the  sufferings  of  this 
world  and  the  torments  of 
hell.  The  sufferings  of  this 
world  are  limited,  and  do  not 
affect  the  whole  man  ;  the 
mind  suffers  only  in  proportion  to  its 
union  with  the  body,  and  one  member 
alone  endures  pain  in  proportion  to  its 
sympathy  with  the  brain  ;  but  the  torment- 
ing fires  of  hell  enter  into  every  power  of 
the  soul   and  every  member  of  the  body. 

The  pains  we  suffer  on  earth  are,  so 
to  speak,  but  momentary,  and  death  puts 
an  end  to  them  ;  but  in  hell  they  have  no 
end  ;  death  has  no  power  there,  and  their 
immortal  bodies  partake  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul. 

Again,  in  this  world  we  always  find  some 
little  consolation,  or  some  temporary  relief 
from  pain,  but  in  that  place  of  torture 
every  pain  will  be  extreme,  and  without 
intermission;  our  friends,  from  whom  we 
might  have  expected  some  consolation, 
will  then  be  our  enemies  ;  for  if  they  are 

345 


saved,  they  will  have  no  sympathy  with 
our  sufferings  ;  and  if  they  are  lost,  as  we 
are  lost,  they  will  only  increase  and 
aggravate  our  pains. 

The  fires  of  hell  will  perform  two  fright- 
ful functions  with  regard  to  the  damned ; 
one  will  serve  as  a  chain  to  bind  them  to 
the  place,  the  other  will  be  a  horrible 
mirror  reflecting  their  sins  and  their 
frightful  consequences,  the  sight  of  which 
will  increase  their  torments. 

Although  they  say  that  hell  is  a  region 
of  darkness,  that  the  action  of  light  will 
be  merged  in  the  power  of  burning,  it 
can,  however,  be  said  that  there  will  be  a 
certain  dark  and  opaque  light  which  will 
reflect  all  that  is  detestable  and  hateful, 
and  that  this  fire,  which  surrounds  them, 
will  be  like  a  blazing  theatre,  which  will 
show  them  a  thousand  horrid  phantoms. 
But  the  most  terrible  image  that  this 
mirror  will  reflect,  will  be  that  of  the  jus- 
tice of  Almighty  God,  eternally  incensed  ; 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  some  theolo- 
gians   that   the   greatest    punishment   of 


346 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


this  fire  consists  in  being  the  sign  of  the 
anger  of  God,  which  will  continually  show 
them,  and  that,  too,  by  an  inevitable  neces- 
sity, a  God  always  angry  with  them,  and 
always  ready  to  damn  them. 

Father  Biroat. 
Third  Friday  of  Lent. 

It  is  fearful  to  think  upon  the  union 
of  God's  power,  wisdom,  and  justice,  in 
producing  this  world  of  punishment,  this 
wonderful,  mysterious,  and  terrific  part  of 
creation  which  is,  in  its  desolate  mysteries, 
as  much  beyond  our  conception  as  the 
joys  of  heaven  are  in  their  resplendency. 
Nevertheless,  we  will  leave  the  great 
evil,  the  loss  of  God,  out  of  view,  and  all 
the  horrible  details  of  the  cruelties  of 
physical  torture.  Bating  all  these  things, 
what  sort  of  a  life  will  the  life  in  hell  be, 
after  the  resurrection } 

It  will  be  a  life  where  every  act  is  the 
most  hateful  and  abominable  wickedness. 
We  shall  understand  sin  better  then,  and 
be  able  more  truly  to  fathom  the  abysses 
of  its  malice.  Yet  every  thought  we 
think,  every  word  we  speak,  every  action 
we  perform,  we  shall  be  committing  sin, 
and  committing  it  with  a  guilty  shame 
and  terror,  which  will  be  insupportable. 

To  this  we  must  add  the  mental  agonies 
of  hell.  Envy,  despair,  spite,  rage,  gloom, 
sadness,  vexation,  wounded  sensitiveness, 
weariness,  loathing,  oppression,  grief, 
dejection,  wildness,  bitterness,  —  all  these 


are  there,  in  all  their  kinds,  and  in 
unspeakable  intensity.  Think  of  a  violent 
access  of  sorrow  now,  think  of  the  rawness 
of  lacerated  feeling,  think  of  a  day's  leaden 
load  of  oppression.  Now,  without  pause, 
without  alleviation,  without  even  vicissi- 
tude of  suffering,  here  is  a  blank,  huge, 
superincumbent  eternity  of  these  things, 
with  an  undistracting  multiplicity  of 
wretchednesses,  far  beyond  the  worst 
degrees  they  could  ever  reach  on  earth. 

The  life  in  hell  is  a  life  from  which 
there  is  a  total  absence  of  sympathy  and 
love.  This  is  an  easy  thing  to  say ;  but  it 
is  not  so  easy  to  penetrate  into  its  signifi- 
cance. 

The  life  in  hell  is  also  a  life  of  terror, 
and  a  life,  too,  without  pauses,  diminu- 
tions, or  vicissitudes.  No  angel  ever 
wings  his  way  thither  on  an  errand  of 
consolation.  All  the  united  eloquence  of 
hell  could  not  bring  one  drop  of  water  from 
earth's  thousand  fountains,  to  cool  the 
torture  for  one  lightning's  flash  of  time. 
All  is  unintermitting. 

Yet  this  is  the  bright  side  of  hell !  How 
bitter  the  words  sound ;  yet  it  is  not 
bitterness  which  prompts  them,  but  the 
intense  fear  which  pierces  through  me 
like  splinters  of  ice  at  this  moment.  This 
is  hell,  with  the  hell  left  out,  the  crowning 
woe,  the  loss  of  God. 

Father  Faber.  (Orat) 
Spiritual  Conferences. 


,^-^,^ ..  J_iLliiLiLUJ_]  IlLill  1 1 1 1 1 1  lUll  MliiUil  I IILI  lli  IJ  LI  LM  i  LI  n ,,.  .  ^c^ 


? 

PfeRES  Crasset  and  Nepvue,  S.  J.,  and  St.  Chrysostom. 

"  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  :    and  death  shall  be  no  more,  nor  mournino^,  nor 
crying,  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away."  —  Apocalypse  xxi.  4. 


'EAN  CRASSET  was  born  in 
Dieppe,  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1618,  and  died  in  1692.  This 
true  servant  of  God  formed  one 
of  the  band  of  the  followers  of  St. 
Ignatius,  and  will  always  be 
esteemed  as  one  of  the  many 
learned  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  In 
che  year  1685  he  published  a  work,  which  has 
often  been  reprinted;  it  is  called  "Christian 
Reflections  for  Every  Day  in  the  Year."  He 
also  has  left  us  a  History  of  Japan,  and  his 
detailed  account  of  the  Acts  of  the  Martyrs  is 
more  interesting  than  in  the  work  written  by 
Pbre  Charlevoig.  His  devotional  works  have 
been  much  admired,  and  may  still  be  read  with 
profit. 

I  BELIEVE,  0  my  God,  that  if  I  serve 
You  faithfully  in  this  life,  I  shall  be  eter- 
nally happy  after  my  death,  and  that  You 
will  bid  me  enter  into  the  palace  of  Your 
glory,  where  there  will  be  all  that  I  can 
wish  for,  and  where  there  will  be  nothing 
to  fear  ;  where  there  will  be  good  without 
evil,  pleasure  without  pain,  glory  without 
confusion,  peace  without  war,  joy  without 
sadness,  repose  without  trouble,  and  life 
everlasting.     I  hope  that  in  heaven  I  shall 

»4T 


see  You,  that  I  shall  love  You,  that  I  shall 
possess  You,  that  I  shall  rejoice  with  You; 
that  I  shall  see  You  the  first  cause,  that  I 
shall  love  essential  beauty,  that  I  shall 
possess  sovereign  goodness,  that  I  shall 
enjoy  a  happy  eternity.  I  believe  that  in 
You,  O  God,  I  shall  see  all  that  is  beauti- 
ful, that  I  shall  love  all  that  is  good,  that  I 
shall  possess  all  that  is  rich,  that  I  shall 
taste  all  that  is  sweet,  and  shall  hear  all 
that  is  melodious. 

Alas  !  that  we  should  give  ourselves  so 
much  trouble  in  amassing  riches  and 
property  ;  that  we  should  torment  our 
mind  and  body  in  the  success  or  non- 
success  of  our  plans  ;  that  we  should  pass 
anxious  days  and  sleepless  nights  in  trying 
to  escape  from  a  possible  or  probable 
anticipated  misfortune  !  Why  such  useless 
troubles  and  fears  .■* 

Had  you  worked  to  gain  heaven,  every 
moment  of  pain  would  produce  an 
additional  lustre  to  your  crown  of  glory. 
But  because  you  work  for  this  world,  you 
labor  incessantly  and  gain  nothing;  you 


348 


HALF-HOURS   WITH  THE  SAINTS,  ETC. 


sow  in  the  wind,  and  reap  only  the 
tempest.  All  that  you  have  done,  all  that 
you  have  suffered,  will  be  of  no  avail  ;  all 
your  ridiculous  projects  will  end  in  smoke, 
all  your  works  are  dead,  and  with  them, 
you  will  die. 

PfeRE  Crasset. 
La  Foi. 

Paradise  !  what  is  it  ? 

It  is  the  most  wonderful  invention  of 
the  wisdom  of  God,  the  masterpiece  of 
His  mighty  power,  the  boundary  of  His 
liberality  and  magnificence,  the  worthy 
cost  of  the  precious  blood  of  a  God ;  a 
boon  so  grand  that  God,  all-powerful  as  He 
is,  could  give  us  nothing  better  than  Him- 
self :  Quid  enini  poterat  dare  seipso  melius, 
velipse?  says  St.  Bernard.  For  it  is  He 
Himself  who  is  given  to  the  Blessed  in 
heaven,  and  can  He  give  anything  better 
than  Himself? 

To  obtain  this  happiness,  He  only  asks 
us  for  a  little  restraint  on  our  passions,  a 
sigh  or  tear  from  a  contrite  and  humble 
heart,  a  drop  of  water  given  for  His  sake. 
Is  this  too  much  ?  If  we  refuse  so  small 
a  tribute,  do  we  not  deserve  to  be  deprived 
of  the  reward  forevermore  ? 

Paradise  is  an  immense  boon,  since  it 
is  the  final  touch  of  the  magnificence  of  a 
^od.  God  manifests  His  riches.  His 
liberality,  in  all  other  gifts,  but  it  is  only 
in  heaven,  says  the  prophet,  where  He 
appears  to  be  magnificent.  The  earth, 
the  sea,  the  sky,  the-  stars,  and  all  the 
wondrous  and  visible  works  of  the  Lord, 


manifest  His  power  and  majesty  ;  but  in 
Paradise  alone  His  wondrous  magnificence 
is  to  be  seen.  Every  blessing  that  Goc 
bestows  upon  His  creatures  here  below 
are  but  as  globules  dropping  from  that 
torrent  of  joy  which  will  inundate  the 
souls  of  His  elect.  Sometimes  God,  in 
His  mercy,  allows  His  servants  to  feel  a 
foretaste  of  delight,  and  He  does  it  to 
make  them  understand  that  if  so  much 
sweetness  be  granted  to  them  while  here 
on  earth,  what  an  ocean  of  joy  is  prepared 
for  them  in  Paradise. 

Woe  to  us,  if  we  prefer  this  our  exile  to 
our  own  true  home.  We  shall  indeed 
deserve  to  be  ever  unhappy,  if  we  are  so 
blind  as  to  love  the  world. 

Nepvue. 
Reflections  Chrdtiennes. 

We  take  a  pleasure  in  listening  to  old 
experienced  travellers,  who  can  tell  us  of 
the  exact  distance,  situation,  extent,  and 
peculiarities  of  cities  they  have  visited, 
but  to  the  traveller  who  is  on  his  road  to 
heaven,  we  do  not  go  out  of  our  way  to 
inquire  how  far  we  are  removed  from  our 
eternal  home. 

If  we  wilfully  neglect  to  seek  the  road 
that  leads  to  God,  we  shall  find  that  we  are 
as  far  off  as  earth  is  to  heaven.  But  if 
we  sincerely  try  to  reach  that  blessed  city, 
we  shall  soon  find  ourselves  at  its  gate. 
That  swerving  from  the  right  path  does 
not  depend  upon  the  distance,  but  on  the 
length  of  our  life's  journey. 

St.  Chrysostom. 


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